Career Advice

What Taking Care of Your Finances Mean for Career Growth?

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Why do we get surprised that some people in their 30s are already successful with money and career? Why are we surprised to meet a 20-something-years-old chief executive officer who manages their own business? It’s not that we are envious of such people. The point is that it shocks us to know people like them exist. Why couldn’t they be a rule rather than an exception? Why can’t all people understand that money and career are most likely aligned with each other and that taking care of your finances also means taking care of what the future holds for you?

Yes, money and career are forever interlinked. It’s not just because money comes with career growth, but because it comes from you taking care of your money. Do you know what money experts say about growing one’s wealth? That for you to grow your money, nothing bad should happen to you in 20 years. It means you or anyone in your family won’t get sick enough that you have to spend your savings. It means your house will not fall apart that you will need major repairs.

Imagine having 20 years of no major incidents. You can’t even last a day without scratching the side of your car and needing to take it to the car mechanic. So, yes, how can you last 20 years without anything happening to you, financial-wise? The answer is you don’t. It’s impossible for that to happen. What’s possible is for you to handle your money well enough that you can pursue your career, dreams, and hopes.

Investing Your Money Early On

When did you learn about investing? Do you know that you can invest for as low as $20? In the Philippines, that’s around P1,000. You can start investing your hard-earned P1,000 and see it grow 10 to 20 years from now. Yes, it’s a long way from here, but that will give you enough wiggle room to grow and learn.

A good investment for your money is the unit investment trust fund(UITF) offered by various local banks. A UITF means that you are buying units of participation in a fund that has a net asset value per unit. The value of that fund depends on market movements, but this is generally a well-protected investment since commercial banks manage it.

You can go down the route of more traditional investments such as stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. If you are thinking of starting a business, that’s also a great option. Normally, though, you should want to both put your money in a low-risk type of investment while also taking a risk via a small business venture.

Why Does It Matter?

How you handle your money matters because financial freedom gives you the confidence to pursue your career. If you constantly need money, you will never resign from the nine-to-five job that gives you enough money to get by. You will never have the courage to start a business for fear that you won’t have money for your monthly expenses. You will never go back to school when that’s all you want because money is tight, and you cannot afford another student loan.

So once you have the chance to take care of your money, do it for your future. It’s not only about your retirement nest. So many people are obsessed with retirement funds when you don’t even know if there’s even a retirement that you’re looking at. Instead, focus on investing your money for something more immediate such as the prospect of owning your own home, traveling the world, going back to school, and pursuing a career that made up most of your childhood dreams.

Most of us do either of the two things: chase careers or chase money. That’s why when we see people seem to get it together—have money and a career—we are surprised to know it’s possible. But is it really impossible?Click To Tweet

Sadly, career growth is intertwined with your financial ability to pursue it. You need to make a lot of sacrifices on your way to what you want to achieve. But if you don’t have the financial freedom to invest your time into slowly climbing that ladder, you will miss every opportunity that comes your way. So, taking care of your finances is about pursuing your career and fulfilling your dreams, too.

People have to learn the hard way that money, unfortunately, makes a lot of things easier. That’s not to say that one should only focus on earning more money, but it’s more about putting it in the right places and helping it steer you in the right direction. Handling your money well will give you the power to pursue even your most ludicrous career plans.

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