Generating long-term multiple sources of income is termed wealth building. Job base income cannot only be categorized as wealth building, except it includes the followings, Savings, investments, and any assets that generate income. Proper financial planning and future financial goals are the concrete foundation for wealth building. Strong financial freedom relies on wealth building
Know Your Net Worth
Your net worth is your current total of assets (what you own) minus liabilities (what you owe). Simply put, it’s your total wealth. Knowing your net worth is essential for understanding your financial situation, and it’ll help you determine what steps you can take next. If your net worth is negative, then you have debt—and you need to tackle that debt before moving on to the next steps. But if your net worth is positive, then you’re in a good place to start building wealth. At this point, it’s essential to understand the difference between short-term savings and long-term investments. Short-term savings include things like an emergency fund, retirement fund, and cash you plan to spend within the next year. Long-term investments, on the other hand, are those you plan to hold onto for the next decade or more.
Track Your Spending
Tracking your spending is essential for any type of financial goal. You have to know what you’re spending your money on before you can decide where to change things up and where to keep them the same. You don’t have to use an app or computer program to do this: You can keep a paper journal if you’re old-fashioned, or you can keep things simple by writing down what you spend each month on a notepad. Whatever you decide to do, once you start tracking your spending, you’ll notice patterns and find areas you can change. For instance, you may find that you spend too much on groceries—or that you’re putting too much money toward your car payment each month. Whatever you discover, it’s important to take action on it, because the only way to get your finances where you want them to be is to be aware of where they currently stand.
Pay Off Your Debt
Debt such as student loans, credit card bills, and personal loans can be super challenging to pay off—but it’s important to prioritize doing so before you start investing in stocks or other long-term savings options. There are two main reasons for this: First, paying off your debt will free up extra cash each month, and second, the interest you pay on debt is money you’ll never see again—whereas investing offers a potential way to make more money than you currently have. The key here is to prioritize which debt to pay off first. For example, you may want to pay off the debt with the highest interest rate first (or the debt with the lowest amount first, if you don’t have a lot of extra cash to put toward debt). Whichever method you choose, just make sure to tackle your debt and get rid of it as soon as possible, so you can free up cash and get started on long-term savings.
Invest 10% of your income
Investing can sound intimidating, but you don’t have to dive into stocks or other complicated financial instruments right out of the gate. Instead, start by investing 10% of your income, no matter what type of income you have. You can set up an investment account with a brokerage firm such as Charles Schwab or TD Ameritrade, or you can open up a savings account with a bank. The key is to simply put your money away and let it grow over time. Once you’ve started investing, you can decide how you want to divide up your money among different types of investments. For instance, you may decide to put 90% of your money in stocks and 10% in bonds to balance out your risk level. Whatever you decide, just make sure to research the investments you want to put your money into before diving in.
Save the Rest
Once you’ve gotten your debt paid off and begun investing, the remaining money you make—after you’ve paid your basic expenses—should go toward saving. There are lots of ways to save: You can open up a savings account with a bank, put money toward your retirement fund (if you work for a company that offers a 401(k) plan), or start investing in long-term savings accounts such as stocks or mutual funds. Once again, it’s important to be aware of the difference between short-term and long-term savings. For example, you may want to open up a high-yield savings account to hold your emergency fund, which should contain enough money to cover three to six months of expenses. On the other hand, you may want to open up a mutual fund or stock account to save for your retirement, since you can’t put money into a retirement fund until you turn 21 (or if you’re a parent, you can’t put money into a retirement fund at all).
Conclusion
Your net worth is more than just a number—it’s a reflection of your financial health. Knowing your net worth and tracking your spending will help you determine where you currently stand financially, and it’ll help you decide where you want to go next. If your net worth is negative, you have debt and should tackle that as soon as possible. Once your debt is paid off, you should start investing 10% of your income toward long-term savings. The remaining money should go toward short-term savings such as an emergency fund. Once you’ve gotten your financial situation in order, you’ll have everything you need to build wealth and ensure a bright financial future.
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