What sacrifices are you prepared to make to achieve financial freedom?
I had to start with a mindset change/ shift in order to get myself to change some of my bad habits. It also took being openminded to understand why I do certain things – because of my past, my growing up and also it’s how my parents might have done it.
Anyway, I’m listing some challenges, or rather sacrifices I’m making when it comes to reaching financial freedom.
Here is my list:-
Sacrifice #1. Sticking to a budget
Need I say more about sticking to a budget? It’s important and one should make a list on a weekly and/ or monthly basis on what you are planning to spend vs what you have spent. Start by writing down the necessities first, like your rent, insurance, fuel and groceries.
Be open to go over the budget, because there is always something that you forgot to add to the shopping list, or sometimes stuff like fundraising activities at your child’s school comes up.
Sacrifice #2. Getting out of your comfort zone
Getting out of your comfort zone can mean a lot of things – for me it meant talking about my personal finance experience on social media platforms, which led to people giving me advice (I needed) on it.
It also meant taking action to cut costs. In my case, I found a different life insurance, but it took me months to finally cancel the one I no longer want to use. I found that a lot of times I delay doing things because I don’t like doing the admin – calling people to cancel it, blah blah. In the end the delay cost me money.
Another sacrifice was my time – I filed my taxes this year – I even had to file for previous years that I didn’t do. I wanted to do the right thing this year because I don’t want to owe Sars money. Going to the Sars branch a few times this year, standing in lines was something out of my comfort zone.
ALSO READ: 9 Good Reasons Why You Should Consider Becoming Debt-Free
Sacrifice #3. Educate yourself
I don’t have a retirement fund yet. I know, I know, bad move.
Since I had been retrenched last year and the previous years, I felt that I wasn’t earning enough to save any money, I have not been able to invest in my retirement.
This year I have attended events where I was forced to think about my retirement and I’ve started reading on how I can plan for it, how much I’d need to save.
I found that one needs to read and learn from others continuously because otherwise you might forget to add the important things like a retirement fund to your budget. Through educating myself, and people in the presence of the right people, I get constant reminders of what I should do to prepare for the future.
Sacrifice #4. Accept that you cannot keep up with the Joneses
I realise that even my colleagues (at work) know that I’d rather save money than spend it. Some of them do a lot of online shopping and they know that I don’t. In a way I am scared it will open me up to want to spend more – I prefer to shop in store instead.
I also keep a list of things I want to buy, I also set an amount of how much I plan to spend.
Sacrifice #5. Side-hustles
This one also has to do about sacrificing my time (and maybe peace too)…
There are many nights when I am tired from my 8-5 day job, on these nights I would rather just watch a movie on Netflix (sometimes I do) or catch up on local YouTubers’ content, but then I have to work on my side hustles.
Having an extra income helps a lot – I can pay more on bills or I’ll have more money for groceries or take-aways. It also gives me peace of mind – that I have more money in my pocket. Having to do something else also had me learning a lot on the skill.
ALSO READ: FINALLY I Paid Off My Car Finance
Have you had to make any sacrifices this year? Let me know in the comments below.