Are you working just to pay bills and debt?

To become wealthy, you must be willing to invest the money you have today, in order to afford the things tomorrow, that others won’t.

However, a financial attitude adjustment is needed whether you are rich or poor. Some South Africans are trapped by a consumption mentality. We want everything now. Clothes, cars, houses, holidays and gadgets.

Sometimes we want these things, to show people that we living and doing better than them. As a result, we end up working, living and breathing to solely pay bills and debt orders. As a young person, I have seen it all. The R20,000 bill for alcohol at a club, the exorbitant car instalments and housing rentals that are paid, yet fridges remain empty.

We need to stop abusing credit cards and personal loan facilities. We need a financial attitude adjustment before we dig our debt graves deeper. This is especially more important for young graduates and those entering the work environment. The price of being blacklisted or under debt review is too high. Start nurturing the relationship you have with your money today.

You need to start saving and investing for your future. Own shares, property and assets that accumulate in value and create a passive income stream.

You need to take control and financially emancipate yourself.

This won’t be easy nor will it happen overnight but it all starts today with a financial attitude adjustment. You need to change the way that you think, feel and behave towards your finances. Understand that wealth is the shade you get from the seed of savings and investments you sow. This takes time, sacrifice and delayed gratification. Plant your seed today by saving and investing the little you have. You don’t have to be rich to start.

Read financial books. See a financial advisor. Get information on financial products, some require as little as R300 a month.

Be consistent and patient.

Make sacrifices by not purchasing the items you want today on credit, but delaying them until tomorrow when you have saved up. This will save you from paying high-interest rates. Start budgeting and planning. Look at your unnecessary expenses and cut them. Ensure that your income is always greater than you expenses. It always shocks me that we have time to research twars on twitter and watch Our Perfect Wedding, but we don’t read, ask and research about our own finances. You are so invested in how other people are living life on social media but show zero enthusiasm in your own.

Take control.

Hone your ability to understand how money works in the world. Get to a point where you have the knowledge, skills and confidence to make responsible financial decisions that suit your financial situation. Read financial books. See a financial advisor. Get information on financial products, some require as little as R300 a month.

Don’t wait to show an interest in learning about money when you are already drowning in debt. Like a house, begin with the foundations. This will require some effort on your behalf. Stay in your finance lane and live within your means. I have learnt that it is wiser to learn a lesson with a R100 than with a R1000.

Take control of your bank balance and adjust your financial attitude.