Discover how to unlock financial success

Discussing money is still often seen as taboo, leaving it shrouded in mystery – a complex topic for elite financial experts only. But a few helpful tips, a reliable financial advisor and, most importantly, an open mind are often all you need to take your finances to the next level.

Death, sex and money are the three main issues that are unmentionable in polite society. We’ll leave the first two for now (saving those for some future Yuh Learning articles!). In casual chat, we call money by many names – cash, paycheck, salary, bills, etc. But the world of finance is plagued by puzzling terms that sound like a foreign language: liquidity, capital, assets, collateral, you get the idea. It’s actually pretty much all the same thing – and that’s the problem!

The widespread use of specialist jargon often creates the impression that the field is complicated – if not impossible – to grasp for those of us who don’t work in or study finance. Having to dig deep to decode these terms and their meanings creates a fear of the unknown, and of failure – what if we can’t understand this at all? What if we’re not *gasp* smart enough? – which is a natural part of the human condition. However, finance is accessible and understandable for everyone, if you have the right support. So why don’t we learn how money works at school?
Let’s look at how I taught myself to better manage my money. My journey has been one of trial and error, but I’ve learned that rather than focusing on decrypting unappealing financial terms, such as depreciation, recession, inflation and deflation, I prefer to focus on useful financial tools that empower me to make the most of these different economic conditions. During periods of prosperity or inflation, I focus on buying shares, and during periods of recession or deflation, I prefer to buy bonds. In other words, you may wear a watch to tell you the time, but you do not necessarily need to know exactly how its components work to be able to use it.
I am not saying that everyone can become the next George Soros or Jeff Bezos overnight, but a bit of sound advice is often all you need to invest your money like a pro. My first piece of advice would be to find yourself a financial adviser who is reliable, regulated and works with you to help you achieve your goals.

For the rest, all you need is one or two good tips to help your savings grow. Again, we could criticise our schooling for not teaching us these things, or the universe that didn’t give us bankers as parents. But what if I told you that the blame for your financial shortcomings mainly lies with the person you see in the mirror every morning? We often fall into the trap of believing that we are powerless to change our circumstances, but nothing could be further from the truth! Most people procrastinate or fail to achieve their goals precisely because they don’t want to accept responsibility for their difficulties or failures.
Not many people like to say this out loud, but success in trading (as in other things) is 80% psychology and 20% strategy. How is it that two people can start from the same point but achieve different degrees of success? The answer is because they each cope differently in the face of adversity. Losses are an undeniable part of the trading experience and only those who can manage them have a chance of becoming better traders one day. So, you should first ask yourself two questions before you seek out more tips and tricks on how to grow your savings. One, what are your beliefs about money? And two, what does being wealthy mean to you?
 
And a follow-up question: how would you feel if you lost a large banknote from your wallet? Money can create fear in someone who does not earn enough of it, just as it can create greed in someone who earns too much. If you can learn to master these potentially destructive feelings, you can take your first steps in the investment world with greater peace of mind.
 
In any case, my stock investments are calling, so I will have to end this here.
See you soon!