A lot has changed with the way millennials lead their lives in contemporary times. It’s completely different from what people expected with the onset of the new millennium in 2000. Back then, the biggest fear was the Y2K phenomenon; a computer bug that threatened to disrupt our lives in the interpretation of dates beyond 1999.
We have come a long way from that. Today, the world has embraced a much more capitalistic perception of everything. Skills and education are more important than ever. However, they are merely but pre-requisites for what we are all expected to have in order to thrive in the new age. Financial challenges are bound to occur at one point in our lives. How to get back from them is the most pertinent issue. We explore a couple of options at our disposal.
Assess
We can take the first cue from the rich. They seem to have mastered the art of assessing their financial situations before venturing into anything. To achieve financial freedom, we should evaluate our standings in terms of debts and assets. As a rule, our debts should never exceed assets at our disposal. When debts exceed assets, this means that we are broke.
We can offset debts by seeking alternative means of employment and by creating and selling products and/or services. Doing this means committing to doing whatever it takes to strike a balance.
Use Logic
Logic simply means making rational decisions. It would be illogical to go grocery shopping when we are hungry since we will be more likely to overspend. This is caused by the incessant drive to satisfy our appetite right then and there. It’s a classic case of emotion over rationality.
Researchers have found that emotions are the leading cause of expenditures whilst logic is the driving force of income generation. By taking logical measures, we create value and in effect, make monetary gains. Relying on emotions only leads to greater expenditures and less change to make investments. Logic should always prevail over emotions.
Diversify Income Sources
Warren Buffet is credited for famously saying that we should never depend on a single source of income. By placing all our eggs in one basket, we expose ourselves to the risk of failure.
During recessions, we may face the greatest crunch if we are solely dependent on one source of income. Instead, we should diversify our income sources. This can be done by having passive sources of income where money can be generated even when it is said to be ‘idle.’
The other way would be by committing to the gig economies. We can create gigs of activities we’re skilled in and sell them as services to clients seeking the same services. By placing a monetary value on our skills and offering them to clients on various platforms, say online, we ensure that our skills aren’t dormant.
Freelancing is just as important as working a 9-5 job. Becoming an Uber driver during our off time or renting our rooms on Airbnb is another way we can access new revenue streams.
Obsess
Find a purpose to working. We can start small by making savings every now and then. The next step would be to set targets we wish to achieve. Once we begin seeing results, we’re bound to realize that there’s an associated good feeling with becoming successful.
The trick is in remaining hungry to meet our goals long after we surpass the initial targets. Doing this needs one to have a level of obsession and belief in what they’re doing. It’s the thing that differentiates millionaires from common folk. They keep pushing their limits in order to attain a sense of comfort.
Be Mindful of the Future
Perhaps the single greatest reason we work so diligently at our places of work is that we’re aware that the future isn’t always guaranteed to pan out perfectly. Once we realize this, we are much more likely to commit our best of efforts to our crafts and reap the rewards that come with this.
To prepare for the future, we need to be mindful of the present. The next step will be in gauging how trends are going and then projecting how we will fit right in. We should always seek to fill gaps in society with products and services that future generations will need. With this kind of mindset, we’ll be ready to take on the world.