A great way to start the New Year would be to get yourself in self-improvement mode.  I want to stress the importance of financial education at this time, because I believe that money affects not only our financial life but the other important aspects of our life as well… family, health, work, emotions, etc.

It actually doesn’t matter if you’re making a five- or six-figure-income; what matters is how much is left with you at the end of the day and for how long you are able to keep it.

If you want take control of your finances, make your money work for you, you should start TODAY, not tomorrow.  You need to invest time in learning, expanding your financial education, and executing what you learn.

Here are 5 simple steps to jumpstart your financial education:

  • Instead of being a couch potato, READ (actually devour) books about money and success!  Read first The Science of Getting Rich by Wallace Wattles.  This is to get you in the proper mindset, that there is indeed a science of getting rich, and there are people who are sharing the secrets to true wealth.
  • Get financial mentors – be very careful to whom you listen to because you’re more likely to end up like them.  Study the rich and learn their secrets.  Again, get off that couch!
  • Start a small business on the side – sell sandwiches, clothes, cookies, bags, vitamins, real estate, sell anything!  Don’t stop trying even if you keep on failing.  What’s important now is what you learn and not what you earn!
  • Set aside 4 to 5 hours a week to play Cashflow 101, the game invented by best-selling author of the Rich Dad series, Robert Kiyosaki.  It is a fun way to learn the basics of fundamental investing and how to take control of your personal finances, building a business through proper cash flow management, and learning how to invest with greater confidence in real estate and other businesses.  It was created and designed to teach financial literacy.

This particular game greatly helped me and continues to help me in shifting my mindset from employee to entrepreneur.  It’s not that easy especially for someone like me who was ‘addicted’ to a paycheck.

  • Immerse yourself on seminars on money and financial success.  This way, you’ll also get to meet like-minded people, and you can learn from each other.

It doesn’t matter whether you start with negative, zero, or positive balance in your bank account.  What’s important is you are taking that first step forward to increase your financial literacy.  Don’t wait for the opportunity, create it.  Andrew Jackson said,

“You must pay the price if you wish to secure the blessings.”

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