Investing in yourself means believing that you are worthy of leveling up your financial, career and/or relationship status. And believe me, you ARE worthy of investing in yourself, no matter where you are currently at in the game.
Investing in yourself also means making a few sacrifices along the way. Not buying that new jacket or spending a few extra nights at home instead of at the bar with friends. This all sounds not-so-fun, but that is part of the problem! Investing in yourself doesn’t have to be painful. If you follow a few simple tips, investing in yourself can actually be pretty fun and easy!
Investing Made Easy
We know by now that investing in yourself can give you great ROI (Return-On-Investment). It can improve career opportunities, set you up to live in that dream home you’ve always wanted, and give you the chance to help the people you love. In fact, It can enrich your life by introducing you to people, ideas, hobbies, and experiences you may have never done. And it will help you create a life that’s more satisfying and balanced. But it’s gotta be fun and manageable along the way, or it’s not going to work.
Three Tips to Get Started Investing In Yourself
- Set S&M goals and be accountable to yourself and others
Take some time to write down your investment dreams. What’s most important? Being a first-time homeowner? Getting married to the love of your life? The two-month writing retreat in Ireland? Whatever it is, start setting goals to meet that dream first. Make the goals specific and measurable to keep them realistic and achievable. Here are the basic criteria for a S&M goal:
- Specific (simple, sensible, significant).
- Measurable (meaningful, motivating)
The trick to making S&M goals work is to KEEP IT SIMPLE. If it’s significant to YOU, it won’t matter how much work it takes.
Here are a few tips to keep in mind:
- Use technology and apps like StickK, a goal-setting platform that helps you to put money on the line in order to achieve your goals. There are so many out there!
- Find pictures of your dream investment and print them out to hang on the wall, or put one as the screen background on your phone. Whatever you do, put them somewhere you will see them every day.
- Make it a game. And when you accomplish your weekly or monthly S&M goal towards your investment dream, celebrate your win!
- Break your bad habits
We all have bad habits and, let’s be real, breaking them is sometimes a lifelong journey. The trick here is to replace the bad habits with good ones. If browsing Etsy on a Sunday morning is a favorite pastime activity, don’t just force yourself to stop browsing. Maybe just try to switch it up – stop the Etsy phone notifications and browse for that dream home instead.
- Get out of debt, but don’t let that stop you from getting started
A recent study found that 80% of Americans have debt. So, if you feel like you are swimming alone in the deep end of the debt pool, trust me, you’re not! Most of us have debt, from college debt to credit card debt, and even mortgage debt – it’s a common way of life. It doesn’t have to be! And it also doesn’t have to stop you from investing in yourself. The key is balance.
How do I invest in myself?
Investing in yourself can feel like an overwhelming step, but it doesn’t have to be! If you’ve never invested in yourself before, start small. Put aside that extra cash for emergencies, start by saving for upcoming travel or a big purchase you want to make. Next steps might be to talk to a money coach about putting together a game plan, or to a financial advisor about things like retirement accounts and life insurance.
If investing money is still a little tight these days, remember there are other ways to invest in yourself. Investing your time can also help you advance those investment goals. Don’t be afraid to get creative if the goal is important to you!
Investing in yourself means making small, consistent improvements that enable you to do more, be more, grow more, and love more. It’s a slow process, but one that can be easy and fun if you focus on what you love and dream. Investing in yourself and getting your $hit together is hard when you go at it alone, though. Good thing you don’t have to! Join my tribe and I will be ready to help you make the right investments every step of the way.