KEY PRINCIPLE ONE – Take an interest in all things money

This is the 1^st of a 7-part series on money, titled

“SEVEN KEY PRINCIPLES TO WEALTH.”

“A gold medal is a wonderful thing, but if you’re not enough without it; you will never be enough with it”

– John Candy in “Cool Runnings”

Money is a wonderful thing and can enable you to fulfil your goals and desires in life, but if you’re not enough without money, you will never be enough with it. I joke, in my book, “The no Bullshit approach to Create The Life You Want,” that “money can’t buy you happiness, but it can buy you a jet ski – and you never see anyone unhappy; on a jet ski.” While this statement is true, unless you’re happy, prior to having the money to buy the jet ski, then the jet ski isn’t going to change much in the long run.

Money would be probably the least favourite thing for most people to talk about, or read about. In fact, in many social circles, talking about money is taboo. This is why most people struggle financially, because money is the subject that they put in the too hard basket, or simply don’t even think about.

Many people go through life, with a wing and a pray that each time they need to pay a bill, there is enough money in their account. The main reason most people don’t think about money, is because they either think it is too hard to understand, or worse, if they figure it out, they will realise how financially screwed they are.

I myself, used to be in the latter category, but after many years of financial pain, I decided that enough was enough. I used to live from pay day, to pay day and most of the time, I ran out of money before my week ran out.

I began looking for a financial planner, to guide me to financial freedom, but I really wasn’t satisfied with anyone that I found. So, what did I do? I decided to become a financial planner myself. A slightly obsessive idea, but none the less, I completed my Diploma of Financial Planning, as well as my Advanced Diploma of Financial Planning. My motivation for doing this, was so that I knew what to do for myself, so I always had control of my financial destiny.

If you give your money to a professional and they lose it by making bad investments, you will be pissed off and no doubt not use them again. On top of this, you will probably not trust any other advisors, for the rest of your life.

While that approach won’t see you lose more money, it won’t help you making more money either. On the other hand, if you make a mistake and lose money, when you are in charge, the key difference, is that you will learn a very valuable lesson and therefore not likely make the same mistake again.

If you take a real interest in your own financial situation and education, then you will be surprised at how fast you will accumulate wealth. We all make mistakes and I am certain that like me, you will make errors in investing, but these lessons will serve you well in the long term.

Throughout the next six blogs, we will go into depth as to how to save and invest money, but I wanted to begin this series, with the most important key, to your financial freedom – knowledge. I urge you to read as many books on finance, investing, money and economics as possible. At first, they may seem hard to understand, but like anything new, with time, you will become an expert on the subject.

When I started reading about finance, I had absolutely no clue. Over time, I began to understand small details and eventually, a lot more than I ever imagined. Now I have not only written a book that primarily focuses on the subject, but I have turned my own financial situation around, far beyond what I thought possible, just two years ago.

I urge you to begin reading some of the following books on money:

• Money, master the game – Tony Robbins
• Think and grow rich – Napoleon Hill
• Money – Paul Clitheroe
• More Money – Noel Whittaker
• You were born rich – Bob Proctor

Theses books are a great starting point, for your financial journey.

If you want to see my full reading list of over 300 books on personal development, that I have read, you can download it for free at my reading list page, on my website: http://jdmoorea.com/j-d-moorea-author/reading-list/

In my next blog, we look at Key Principle two: Never pay full price for anything.