My Financial Journey in 2019
Achieving and maintaining financial health is one of my ongoing goals. On my journey so far, I have learned many valuable lessons. One of them has been to normalize the conversation around money.
In this post, I will reflect on my financial journey, the top lessons I learned about finances in 2019, and an outlook on my financial plan for 2020.
MC's Financial Journey in 2019
When I think about my decisions and actions when it came to my finances in 2019, there were a lot of new and unexpected things for me. At regular intervals this year, I have been closely monitoring how I spent my money. It is important to me to always know my financial status, plan for how I want to spend my money, and track how I spend it. Especially since I took some financial risks this year, I needed to stay focused on my financial health.
What lessons did I learn about money?
#1: Taking big financial steps is very scary
This year, I made a huge investment that impacted my finances significantly. The surprising part was that I was not prepared for the feelings I will have after I made the investment. I thought I was ready, and all I needed to do was work hard to replenish my savings after I took a lot of money out to invest in a project. Interestingly, I did not plan for the emotional impact it would have on me. Being worried about Read more about "My experience making difficult Financial Decisions".
#2: Be ready to pay for things that make your life easier
This one was hard for me to learn. I had to fight the mental battle of feeling like I can do everything myself. Learning to delegate tasks or part of my life to make some time available for things that I really want to do. This year I spent money on household support and ordered things online to save me some time. Although it took me a while to overcome the guilt I was feeling, when I started seeing the great results of paying a little more to make my life easy, I knew it was worth it.
#3: Continue practicing your good money habits
In my post titled "10 things to do for your financial wellness in 2019", I shared some of the things I was committed to doing in my finances this year. Especially with everything going on this year, I was reminded of the fact that the reason I was successful financially was that I am disciplined and have learned good money habits. Knowing that I could rebuild my savings because I had been practicing for a while, gave me confidence.
#4: Talk about your finances with people
Two conversations about money really helped me this year. First of all, I spoke to a lady like me who wanted some advice on building her finances. Being able to share some of the tips that have helped me on my journey reminded me of my humble beginnings and how I got here. The second conversation that helped me was talking to another woman who is in a similar phase in her life and has comparable financial responsibilities. Talking to someone who could relate to my situation was very refreshing. I know talking about money is not something we do very often. There are a lot of benefits from talking to people around you and sharing financial knowledge.
#5: Be bold when exploring new financial aspects
I started investing money seriously in 2017. Through 2018 I stayed consistent and continued my learning journey. However, in 2019, with the markets being less predictable, I found myself being afraid to make any investment moves. I stopped learning about investments and didn't do anything for most of the year. As I reflect on my behavior, I see that navigating uncertainty with finances is something I am not comfortable with and need to learn.
Outlook on My Financial Plan for 2020
As I set my goals for 2020, I have been thinking about what I want to do with my finances in 2020. Here are some of my initial ideas that I will be adding to my list
What do I want to do more of?
Explore new sources of income
Replenish my savings
Continue growing my money through investing
What do I want to do less of?
Worry about money
Be scared to try new techniques of growing my money
Invest more in others than in myself
Final Thoughts
Financial independence is attainable for you too.
Set financial goals and visualize where you want to be financially.
Take steps towards achieving the financial future you want.
Call to Action
What lessons have you learned about money this year?
What are you looking to do differently next year with respect to your finances?
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