Hi, sweet ladies
. As salaam alaykum warahmotuhlah wabarakatuh.
Today, let’s talk money
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Recently, I noticed that when there is a gathering of Muslimahs, all we talk about is shopping, cooking, husband, and not money, and even if we do talk about money we switch after 5 minutes. Why is it like that?
Okay. I get, as Muslimahs, we are so privileged that Allah has made things easy for us. Our responsibilities have been given to our father and husband. But then, it isn’t wrong to have your own Financial peace.
Wanting to be financially stable and not stepping out of the rules Allah has set down isn’t a bad thought for a Muslimah.
Well, I’m not here to bore you out with words like; set that goal, have that list, dive into that business, etc we all are probably tired of hearing that or reading stuff like that. Rather, I’m here to help you tackle those little mistakes we make that are hindering the Financial peace we want.
When we are talking about financial stability, the first thing our brain automatically thinks of is the job, business, etc. Don’t get me wrong I’m not saying you shouldn’t work but the truth is how well are you utilizing that income uhn? You can work straight for 4years and still have nothing to show for it. We have a lot to learn when it comes to understanding what it means to be at peace financially.
Have you ever stopped to ask yourself, why after all these years you are still struggling to find that Financial peace? Well here are some things you might want to watch out for;
1. Identify your bad money habit
We all have that bad habit we really want to stop. Mine is retail therapy, who else does this? Well, I can say I’m the boss of that. After splurging all of my savings, I realized the retail therapy was working only because I had the money. Now that I’m broke, I have decided to channel all my energy into reading, writing, and doing something productive with my time. How ironic!
You really need to check if you are spending more or saving more. There is nothing wrong with one wanting to splurge on life’s little pleasures, but one has to be careful because splurging can become a habit. And we don’t want our bad habits ruining our potential peace, do we?
Some common bad money habit we have are;
- Overspending
- Not saving
- Fear of investing
- Paying your bills late
- Paying for things you never need, etc
We really need to check ourselves and try to Identify those bad money habits we have, to start curbing them.
2. Check your friends
I really can’t emphasize this enough, a writer once said;
Who you associate with is who you become.
Voogd writes,
Once you get clear on who you are and what you want, you must reevaluate your circle of influence. Who you associate with is who you become.
If you hang around five confident people, you will be the sixth.
If you hang around five intelligent people, you will be the sixth.
If you hang around five millionaires, you will be the sixth.
If you hang around five idiots, you will be the sixth.
If you hang around five broke people, you will be the sixth.
It’s inevitable.
Just like friends’ influence impacts your everyday decision, they also impact your financial goals. Whether you choose to believe it or not.
Check your friends and see if they influence you positively or negatively. I’m not saying you should stop being friends with people just because they don’t give you investment ideas, all I’m saying is, start to move with people who will influence your financial thinking positively.
Read also; Having a Father Who Saw Value in Me Has Made Me Very Fearless in Pursuing My Dreams
3. Dwelling too long on money mistakes
At one point in time, we have all made that money mistakes. I also made a lot, in fact, I made a truckload of money mistakes. I’m a very terrible saver. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to stop saving, I have decided to make peace with myself and stop feeling terrible for all the money mistakes I have made. Rather, I keep trying until I get better at it. I will implore you to do the same. The truth is as long as we live we are going to make that money mistakes ranging from bad investment choices to overspending etc, but what is important is how we choose to reduce those mistakes to the barest minimum. So forgive yourself, girl! And let’s get that Financial peace.
4. What is your savings like
Saving is really important when it comes to financial stability. If you are the type that spends more, don’t panic you can still get that savings goal, all you just have to do is have a monthly budget. I have a flatmate who lives on a budget and she is so strict with her budget that she doesn’t spend outside the box. Then, I thought it was a waste of time and energy, believe me, I have learned the hard way. Having a budget automatically gives you the want to save. Even if it is just #100 you can save weekly, for now, continue with it. It isn’t really about the money now it is the consistency that matters and with time naturally you would increase the saving amount.
Another thing that might help is, set a goal for saving. Like set a goal for the month, an example is saying I would like to save up #100,000 this month, you can even give it a name let’s say I want to save up #100k for a vacation at the Maldives that is a goal plus motivation. Trust me it helps.
Read also; Do good deeds and stay trustful wherever you find yourself.
5. What are your records like
What I mean by this is, how thorough are you with your records? Let me make this simple, try having different accounts for savings. Remember I mentioned earlier that you should give your savings name. Exactly what I mean. Name your savings for example; investment, shopping, vacation, emergency, etc. Now don’t let this scare you off by thinking it is probably too much well let me give you an example;
You have #1000 you want to save you can share it into 5 portions;200 goes to investment, 200 goes to miscellaneous, and like that. See easy.
Well, that’s it for now, there are lots of ways to get started, but I believe if you can tackle all these tiny problems you are one step to achieving that Financial peace you have always dreamed of.
Let me leave you with this remember that your money is like an employee to you and you wouldn’t want your money to be your boss.
Have a nice week ahead.
written by Kehinde Taiwo Sherifat
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