6 Money Lessons I Have Learned Before Turning 40

Encounter the same mistakes and realize the lessons later

For almost half of my life, I thought money was something that I was entitled to have.

It was the perception I had back then when I was a spoiled brat. And I am thankful that I woke up.

Though, I needed to undergo rock bottom experiences for me to realize stuff about wealth and life.

My learnings about money resonated with me in stages.

I treated money differently when I was in my 20s and 30s. I am now a few months away from turning 40 — and it seems that the learning and insights about personal finance never stop from here.

When I was in my 20s, I was mad about saving money and keeping my pocket bulky. In my 30s, I was exploring financial vehicles and other instruments where I can invest.

As I draw closer towards my magic number, it seems that I am back into saving, growing my money through side hustles, and creating lovely memories with my family.

I wonder what lessons are in store for me in the next decade.

As I look back in time, I am now sharing the six lessons I have learned about money through time.

1. Do not spend to impress.

This behavior was evident when I was in college.

I would buy so many clothes so that others would think that I do not repeat my wardrobe. And if I do, I made sure that it had a long interval before I use it again in school.

And take note I created my wardrobe schedule.

Now that I am approaching 40 years old, I look around to audit my buying patterns.

We have standard appliances installed in our house except for a washing machine. We let others do our laundry.

I would remember the days wearing just one shoe after graduating from my first college. I would have it repaired if any of the soles got ripped.

Most of the everyday shoes I wear today are hand-me-downs and gifts from loved ones.

My apparel consumes very little space in our closet. In contrast to the branded and several clothes, I owned in college.

Instead of having a sneaker collection, I have a library of books that I get to read regularly.

I have been using a nineteen-year-old car for eight years. When the engine broke down, I decided to buy a new family vehicle in 2016.

I still have this guilty inkling to own a Rolex one of these days, but I shove the idea since I do not have the means yet but maybe someday.

Instead of spending money to impress and please other people

I spend money on making memories with people who I love.

To fill- in the love tank of people you love matters the most rather than filling an ego worth nothing at all.

Right now, I maintain enough clothes to wear every day. I have one pair of a suit in case I need to firm up for a particular day.

Who cares anyway if you repeat clothes every so often. As long as the garments are clean and you look fine, then that should be okay.

The only people that you need to impress are those people who care for you.

Spending money to impress people is being a slave to their point of view.

2. Think but don’t love the money

The root of evil is not money but the love for money.

When I was a young kid, I was spoiled. Whatever I requested from my parents they gave to me, no questions asked.

They provided me a comfortable life — and I am very thankful for that.

When my father’s business went bankrupt, the hard lessons about money held me during that time.

So the warning for me was to grow up and be wise with money.

Becoming smart with money is indeed a mature feat. But it can destroy you too if you are not careful about it.

When I started working as an accountant, I was an extreme saver.

I witnessed how my money grew through the months that I have been a madman for saving money a lot.

I didn’t notice that I was already putting my security on money as time went by. It was hard for me to withdraw money from my bank.

At some point, I lacked the desire to give to those who were seeking my help.

So you better check the intention of your heart. Once in a while to ensure that you do not fall for this love money trap.

Do not let money control your life.

3. Everybody has the opportunity.

We do not have equal opportunities — but we all have the chance to grow our money.

Financial institutions offer high net worth individuals personalized finance management services. They also enjoy special privileges such as investment-related advice to meet their goals.

There are also dedicated personnel to help them plan for their retirement.

They can also enjoy advice about setting-up plans to pass this on in the future — to their beneficiaries in time.

Some exclusive benefits would include better interest rates on their investments — and in case they need to transact business any time, they do not need to fall in line.

In my case, I don’t have cash amounting to $100,000 — but I can grow my money at a rate enjoyed by the rich guy if I can explore other vehicles to make my money grow even within the same time.

I may come up with a business offering high-valued services or products.

In case I need some wisdom to plan retirement, I can reach out to a financial advisor.

When it comes to estate planning, I can bank on friends who are in public practice to get their opinion. I can also put some time into research to learn about it more.

Rich or poor, there will always be an opportunity to grow your money.

Do you believe it?

Maybe you have the intention — but you lack execution.

Maybe you are lazy or procrastinate more.

Or probably you are afraid to take any amount of risk so, you leave everything as is.

4. Capitalize on the best asset

Learning never stops.

I am now reaping the tuition fee paid on my second college degree through the career I have built over the years.

The money I paid for a health program improved my sugar levels — and I maintained my standard weight.

The e-book and workshop I paid recently to improve my writing helped improved my craft materially.

I had a few paid workshops that were non-sense — but it did not stop me from learning.

Overall, this learning put on together holistically provided me with so many benefits.

Invest in yourself.

5. Sizeable money does not equate to higher assets.

It is up to us to decide on the treatment of our income or respective salaries once it is in our hands.

I know two people who earn the same amount of money every month.

One decided to invest while the other chose to do nothing about it.

As the years went by, the one who invested his money already had rental properties, while the other guy’s financial status remained as is.

The point is we are all given the choice of what to do with our money. And it has nothing to do with the amount of your income or salary.

Robert Kiyosaki nicely stated this. It is not how much money you make but how much money you keep, how hard it works for you and how many generations you keep it for

6. Convert your talent into money

I am not a brilliant speaker — but I was able to learn how to speak in public. And until now, I still experience butterflies in my stomach.

It all started with this little experiment on capturing myself on videos and posting the edited version on Facebook.

After doing this video blogging for several months, my network started to notice me.

Base on my past work, my video editing skills were terrible — and I buckle most of the time during actual recording.

But the mere fact that people invite me to speak in their company or university means my content makes sense to them, the reason why they are listening.

And the bonus part here is people are willing to pay me money in exchange for talking.