I have often been asked whether there is really a point when you know you have made enough money and can finally relax? The true answer to this question does involve a fair amount of individual reflection but this is what I have come to understand.
Having money in front of you is never the root solution to anything and will never be the source of personal fulfillment. Say your magic number (the amount of money that you currently imagine will solve all your difficulties) today is Kes 1 million. If you do get it you will want Kes 5 million and so on. So that “feeling” of fulfillment will never come and there will always be a new target in front of you i.e. how to get more money, and you will consistently find yourself falling short no matter how much money you have. So we need to stop looking at money as a solution to anything but instead a tool that can be used to grow us and challenge us to change certain aspects of our characters. Most people want to get the Kes 1 million without changing anything in themselves, which is really where the hard work is. Circumstances do not make a person, they reveal them and what they need to work on. To make this Kes 1 mn you need to foster discipline, and that may be the lesson your current situation is teaching you. If you can’t consistently put aside Kes 5000 a month, bother to reconcile your bank statements or you are spending 30 hours a week in front of the TV don’t expect to make the Kes 1 mn. Without the discipline even if you did get Kes 1 mn, you would squander it. This is the reason that most people who get money overnight e.g. winning the lottery loose it very quickly. Having the money does not resolve the core root problems with their characters.
Wealth is not a Feeling. Euphoric feelings are flighty and temporary and unfortunately most of us are ruled by feelings. You may not feel like cutting expenses, you may not feel like getting up on Saturday to go to your Investment Group meeting but do it anyway. What feels good is not always right. In the quest to chase what feels good and feel rich, we have gotten ourselves into major problems with our spending, debt, our priorities, etc. Since the “feel good” factor only lasts a few seconds, we then need to look for something else like new clothes or a bigger car. Without understanding that feelings should not dictate your actions, you can get your Kes 1 mn only to spend it on a temporary “feel good” item and find yourself with the same problems.
Let your goals and everyday actions be underpinned by values not just making money for the sake. You could work towards building investments that generate income so that you can spend time with family. Your fulfillment will come not so much from the investments but from being able to spend time with family. You will find you are not being driven by what you feel but by that value. Then the decision to cut down on expenses or spending time to create extra income is not seen as a sacrifice but a choice.
By Waceke Nduati-Omanga
Waceke runs programs on Personal Finance Management and Entrepreneurship. Registration is currently open and ongoing through our website centonomy.com For more information get in touch with her through waceken@centonomy.com /Facebook-Waceke Nduati /Tweet @cekenduati| Twitter @centonomy