As Tomide reminisced on his finances from the beginning of the Year 2021, he marvelled with pride on how consistent he has been in ensuring a financially disciplined life. He had been pretty much consistent in investing 15% of his income monthly. He had missed the mark one of two times though, due to some reasonable excuses, he was still impressed by his commitment.
He had a reasonable amount in savings and his emergency fund was quite good. He also marvelled at how well he had been able to optimise his income to fund his needs and wants over the year. He had taken different paid courses during the year, and he also spent money on causes he believed in. He also didn’t miss out on pampering himself from time to time. “I am doing well” He thought to himself with dignity.
Fast-forward to evening of the same day, Tomide was having a swell time with his guys. It was meant to be a time to catch up on each other and relax in the coolness of the evening at the roof top of their favourite restaurant. Well, the evening started just that way until Chuks decided to start briefing his guys about some of his investment plans and some feats he recently achieved in his finances. Wale joined the discussion and mentioned some big money moves he and his brothers are working on. Suddenly, a wave of intimidation and inferiority swept through Tomide. The voice started telling him how far he is from his friends’ feats and how his little achievements amounted to nothing. At this point, he began to wonder where all the self-pride he felt that morning disappeared to.
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Let’s take a break from Tomide and his friends. What is the lesson from this story? Your finance is personal; hence, you should focus on your journey, celebrate your little wins, and enjoy your growth process. While the achievements of other should serve as a motivation to you, do not let them make your growth and achievements feel inferior. You are on your journey to ensuring that your finances become better each day; no one is your yardstick. Celebrate others but most importantly, celebrate yourself on your finance journey. Focus on your personal goals and ensure that your finances align with your goals, else, you will easily become swayed away because you are trying to imitate others (who most likely have different goals from yours).
It is called Personal finance because it is personal to you!
Enjoy your personal finance journey!
To your financial independence and freedom!
