How I did it. Saving 30K before the age of 25 - Part 2

Hello again everyone. Thank you for reading part 1 of my achievement. Here is part 2. In this part, we will look at some of my strange mentalities. So, welcome to the world of Lez Save Money.

Principle # 1 – Develop a Sense of Shamelessness

A lot of times when you are on your journey to financial independence through saving and investing, you are bound to face many psychological challenges. For example, do you remember how you felt the first time someone called you a cheapskate? A miser? A thightwad? Stingy? A penny pincher? A scrooge? A no-fun-stay-at-home-loser?

They haven’t yet? Well, they WILL at one point or another, ‘cuz that’s just plain old human nature for ya. People gotta put down other people in order to feel superior and to pamper their inner insecurities. So the questions really are, “When they do call you by such negative terms, what would you say? How would you react? Would you feel hurt?”

How you answer the above questions will determine how you view your sense of self-worth and your commitment to your financial goals. For me, I just decided to have no shame, and I guess I don’t really care what others think or say about me. Although, sometimes I do tend to break down and let others affect me negatively. Like I have mentioned before, the world today can be a cold place for people who refuse to accept the norm – whether the norm be heterosexuality or consumerism.

So back to Principle # 1, train yourself to become shameless by fostering your sense of self-worth internally, rather than externally.

Principle # 2 – Think of Financial Goals as a Video Game, Monopoly, or other Board Games.

That’s right. Life really is nothing but a game. Sometimes you have control over your actions, sometimes you don’t. Sometimes life will deal you a good hand, and other times a shitty round. The thing is, it doesn’t really matter! What matters most is how you approach the games and what you can build out of the things you already have.

Let me rephrase myself. If you want to be successful, you have to learn to control your emotions. Think of life as a game. I mean, if I were to lose a basketball game tonight, would I get so depressed that I would jump off a bridge? No, cuz that would be stupid. It was just a game. If you cannot accept certain risks associated with making investments, then, don’t play. If I know I am a terrible basketball player and I still wanna play, well, I gotta find other ways to train myself. For example, work out more often, learn to run faster, learn to shoot better, etc. Practice, practice, and practice. And once you’ve done that, and you still can’t win? Play with players who are worse than you, so you can rip them off. LOL. Just kidding. Find a new game to join.

Remember, wealth can be created in many different ways.

Principle # 3 – Think, Talk, and Act like a Self-help Book

One of the most obvious factors to my financial success of having a positive net worth of 30k USD is largely due to the amount of self-help books I’ve read. I find that reading self-help books on personal finance, as well as on self-esteems, motivations, goal-settings, and relationships, have helped me become a better person. But what is more important is that I’ve managed to cement fundamental savings/investing rules into my brain through the process of repetition.

Each day, I would track my daily spending, and visualize my goals. I would repeat my goals for the month as well as for the year. For example, if I wanted to save 10K over the next 12 months, I would already envision myself in possession of that money. And, if you have ever read the book, Think and Grow Rich, by Napoleon Hill, you’ll know exactly what I am talking about!!

So yes, train yourself to think, talk, and act like your favorite self-help book and you’ll be well on your way to financial independence.

Let me end on principles one to three, these principles are your insights into my strange mind. I believe that how we think affects how we act and vice versa. So, part 2 focuses on the importance of psychological factors that I call “the power of financial freedom.” In part 3, we will look at practical tips that we can all use to save 30k before the age of 25, or after, if you like.