What feeling or thought comes to mind when you read personal finance advice and accomplishments?
“I feel ashamed.” “I am not doing enough.” “You don’t know my life?”
No matter the feeling, you should always discern the advice and accomplishments you you read on a daily basis. You should take into account your personal situation just as much as you take what any expert relay to you, personal.
“I feel ashamed.”
You may read advice as it relates to the amount you should have in savings, how much you should put in your retirement accounts, and/or even how much you should spend on things that make you happy (i.e. self care).
There are many news headlines about what Millennials are not doing in order to secure their future.
“Millennials Are Spending More On Flights Than Saving For Their Future.” “Millennials Have Less Than $10,000 in Their Retirement Accounts.” “Millennials Are Not Buying Cars And Homes as Baby Boomers”
You do not have to insert your names into these headlines. There is no reason to feel ashamed. Those headlines are simply comparisons that maybe unrelated to what you want to accomplish. Many personal finance experts offer benchmarks as to what you should do with your money; however, those benchmarks may not be connected to your plans. That is why it is important to create specific goals for yourself that pushes you towards the life you were created to live.
There is no one way to manage your finances. The most important thing for you to do is to manage your habits that will best position you towards financial freedom.
“I am not doing enough.”
Have you read inspiring stories with the following headlines? “This woman saved $60K in on a $80,000 salary or “This couple travelled to 25 countries before the age of 30.”
You can be easily impressed with their accomplishments. Your response after reading maybe “Oh, I want to save $60K or better yet $10K” or “I want to travel to 25 countries too.” Even though those are great feelings, they are merely a reflection of someone else’s plan and not your own. You have no idea on the reasoning behind the woman saving 60K in 17 months. The amount saved may have been a figure calculated by how much her 12 months expenses are or how much she needed to save towards retirement in a year to reach an end goal.
The couple that travelled to 25 countries before the age of 30 may have student loan debt free, credit card debt free, or living overall living with less expenses.
You don’t have to feel as if you are not doing enough by measuring your progress based on someone’s dream.
“You don’t know my life.”
Student loan debt. Children. Aging parents. Younger siblings.
These are not excuses; however, they are your realities and responsibilities at the moment. You do not have to accept the critiques from those people who are unfamiliar with the complexities of your life.
As you hear critiques from those about what you need to do, you will also hear them as it relates to what you shouldn’t do.
While you take care of your most important priorities, it is important to make sure you take care of you. Give yourself permission to live your life in the process.
Balance is important in everything you do. You can still chase your dreams while you are in debt. You can still have fun while taking care of family.
What will you give yourself permission to do, today?