Living in Northern Alberta, Canada, we see floods of people who came here to make their money and move on (myself being one of them). Everyone has the same plan-“we’re only here for five years…” is one of the most commonly heard phrases in our parts. I’ve seen people leave only to return the next year and I’ve seen people’s five year plan turn into a 15 year-plan. Is it because they missed the area? Maybe, I mean, we love it, but I suspect money management has something to do with it.
I, myself am four years into my “five-year plan” and it’s unlikely I’ll be leaving anytime soon. With a lot of thought, and having matured and made it to level 30 of life, I’ve discovered personal finance. I’ve taken control of my assets, started asking my bank and myself, those difficult questions and became fully-absorbed into what seems to be a tangled web of savings, investments, stocks and dividends.
And the dirty secret to financial independence? There isn’t one, financial management is no longer for the elite, or those who already have the money, and have the connections to help them get richer and stay where they want to be. Thanks to the internet and our generation’s culture of information-sharing, the power has never been more in our hands.
The day I decided to take control of my money (and my future) I was starting a new career and was $50,000 dollars in debt, now, still at the beginning of my journey I have managed to build a six-figure portfolio, which I’ll be updating you on on a monthly basis.
There’s a stigma attached to wealth management, the masses tend to use “rich” as a bad word or a dirty word, but the truth is money is a massive part of every persons life so why not strive to have it?… In abundance. If you’ve ever felt alienated by these terms of “wealth management, personal finance, portfolio management” etc, you’re not alone! And, gone (or going) are the days that these terms apply only to those with a lot of money with their special connections, making their exclusive deals, in their private clubs. Not bitter, I swear. I’m sure this does happen, and it works, however, this is certainly not my experience.
Growing up in relative poverty, I realized that you’re never more aware of money than when you don’t have it! You’re extremely aware that there’s no food in the cupboards, or your runners have holes in them and you can’t afford to be a part of that class trip. But it’s also a good thing to be hungry (in the metaphorical sense, not literally) because I look at money differently, I’m in a position now where I make decent(ish) money, for the first time in my life I have money and there’s no way that I’m going backwards. And so, here we are…