Taking control of your cash flow doesn’t mean scrimping and saving without respite. It means grabbing hold of the reins and steering your money where you want it to go. Award-winning motivator and TED talk legend, Tony Robbins, shows you how to do it in his bestselling book, MONEY Master the Game: 7 Simple Steps to Financial Freedom.
Let’s be honest: most of us will admit to having money worries from time to time, if not regularly. Money might make the world go around, but it seems to be in short supply most of the time.
In an ideal world, we would all have enough to do the things we want and need to do. But we don’t live in a perfect world, which means trying to rob Peter to pay Paul to make ends meet.
“You can be rich by having more than you need, or by needing less than you have” —
Tony Robbins
Working every single hour of the day might seem like the obvious solution, but that comes with two significant issues attached to it:
Working excessively is not good for your health
You’re missing out on time you could be spending with your family and loved ones
A bleak picture
The bottom line is that we’re all living much longer, and while that’s great in many regards, it does mean that we need more cash to fund our lifestyles. Governments are forcing us to work for longer than ever before, and who knows what your pension will be worth when your retirement age rolls around. Of course, that’s if you have this allowance in place at all. Add to that the increasing cost of living amounts, and you’re looking at a pretty bleak picture.
Suppose you want to enjoy your later years without having to work until you literally can’t work for a day longer. In that case, it’s crucial to find a way to boost and then control your cash flow, keeping those dollars coming for many years to come.
It’s not all doom and gloom, though. While money might be something that is currently controlling your life, it’s entirely possible to take back the reins and steer your cash flow where you want it to go.
How?
Setting up a passive income method that runs itself allows you to enjoy yourself with your family and friends.
Yes, we’re talking about investing, but doing so wisely and carefully. It minimizes risk and maximizes gain!
Of course, you might be thinking this is a great idea but then wondering what you’re going to invest in. If you don’t have any savings, it’s time to start putting some cash aside every month, therefore creating your investment fund. Once you choose the investments you’re going to work with, your new cash flow sideline will run itself with minimal effort from you!
How to set a realistic budget in 5 easy steps
First things first, you need a pot of savings to invest. That means putting aside some money every month. To do that, you need to create a budget and identify how much you can realistically afford to save without it eating into your regular living costs and standard of life.
“Money is nothing more than a reflection of your creativity, your capacity to focus, and your ability to add value and receive back”
Tony Robbins
Setting a budget might not be the most glamorous task, but it will solve a myriad of your financial problems. Here’s how you do it in five simple steps.
✅ Step 1. Sit down with a piece of paper, a pen, and a calculator.
At the top of the page, write down how much cash you earn every month after tax. If you have regular income from somewhere else, e.g., renting out a home, write that down and give yourself a round figure of income every month.
✅ Step 2. Write down every single expenditure you have every month.
So, we’re talking about rent, water, electricity, gas, food, clothing, gym membership, and any other items that regularly empty your bank account. Add these up to a round figure.
✅ Step 3. Look at those expenditure amounts and work out if you can cut any from the list.
For example, ask yourself whether you use that gym membership enough to pay for it every month. If not, cancel it and keep the cash instead! Can you cut down realistically on any amounts, such as perhaps clothing or how much you spend on eating out every month?
✅ Step 4. Once you’ve cut down your expenditure, subtract your total expense from your income.
What is extra is your spare cash, and half of that you can put aside from savings. After a while, this will be your investment fund once it has expanded in amount.
✅ Step 5. Set up a high-interest savings account or another separate fund to automatically pay your savings amount every month.
It’s a good idea to set up an electronic transfer, so you’re not tempted to spend the intended savings on a rainy day.
Arm yourself with the facts
After a few months, once your investment fund has grown, you need to start researching and thinking about the types of investments you want to pour some of your cash into.
Always listen to the experts here! Do you have a friend who regularly invests successfully? If you do, why not ask if you can shadow their investment efforts and learn from them? An investment mentor is a fantastic idea.
“Never test the depth of the river with both feet”
Tony Robbins
If an investment seems too good to be true, it probably is. Be wary, do your homework, and ask professionals for their advice.
Allow your investments to run themselves
After a while, you’ll notice that you have several investments, all brewing up a profit nicely. You can decide to sell out on an investment, grab the rewards, take the money, or reinvest it from time to time. Whichever option you go for, creating a passive income method will allow you to have more cash for your later years. It will also take the pressure off and let you spend time with those who matter — your family, friends, and loved ones.
Life isn’t about spending every waking second working. It’s about grabbing the moments and doing your best with them, creating memories along the way. Tony Robbins’ MONEY Master The Game is packed with useful information and tips on making your investments run as smoothly as possible. If you’re keen to learn financial literacy more efficiently and faster, check out the book’s 15-minute summary on the Headway app.
Since Headway is a bite-sized learning app for fun and easy growth, you’ll find there many great tools for achieving your goals. Fascinating visual explainers, self-growth challenges for boosting skills, daily insights, informative summaries, and more.
So go to the Headway app to make the first step toward the best version of yourself!
