Happy New Year!
2016 is upon us, and whilst financial predictions are useless it would be safe to assume investment markets will continue to be volatile and that market commentators and the media will continue to send out mixed and confusing messages.
Understandably many investors will be paralysed into inaction by these mixed messages.
So to for our first edition of Money Matters for 2016, I thought it would be timely to share with you, and to remind myself, of the three key pillars of my financial belief system.
- Investor behaviour, not investment markets determine a person’s financial well-being. We can’t control markets, and despite all of the economic mumbo jumbo we are fed every day, most people certainly don’t understand investment markets. We can, however, control how we behave during the differing market cycles. There is a way to systematically create wealth day in, day out – regardless of what the markets are doing.
- It’s not what you earn, but what you do with what you earn that determines a person’s financial well-being. Why is it that there are people earning six figure sums who have created zero net worth, whilst others on modest incomes are systematically increasing their wealth – often beyond their wildest dreams?
- To achieve financial freedom – you need to make money while you sleep – not just while you work. To escape the rat race and achieve financial freedom, you need to replace the income you earn from your labour. To do that you need a systematic plan of acquiring assets that earn you money while you sleep.
Planning to be financially free from the rat race is not an end in itself – it’s about creating choices so that you can spend more time doing the things you love with the people you love. Don’t be paralysed into inaction. Plan to be financially independent. Seek advice, and take advantage of the opportunities that 2016 will bring.