Outdated Money Rules That Don’t Work Today

For a long time, people told you.

• Go to school and study hard
• graduate and get a good paying job
• save and build your retirement savings
• Buy a house and a car
• And stop wasting money paying people for things you can do yourself.

But where has that gotten you?

These are the rules that most people live by. Yet, it doesn't make them any different.

They will not change your lifestyle or your earnings.

But if you want to be different. If you find yourself wanting more, let's take some time and tackle why these rules don't work today. It's only by breaking the old beliefs, that you can make space for new and updated ideas.

1. You need a degree

How many times have people told you that you needed a specific degree to qualify for a job? Do you look at vacancy notices and think, "I'm just not qualified."

See, to go down the traditional path that we are trying to show you isn't working today, you do need a degree. But if you want to do something different. If you are serious about learning and self educating. Then a degree will be a waste of money and time.

Many of the high achievers and business owners today didn't get a degree. But they had the drive and desire to be successful. They learned by taking action.

In order for you to do the same, you need to develop a passion for learning. A passion for growth and development. You need to commit to excellence and discipline.

So if you don't have the money to get that degree, don't be afraid.

There are  excellent learning resources that help you to get the information you need. Resources that get straight to the point and don't cost you thousands of dollars.

And remember, that drive is more important than a Degree.

Just think, how many people do you know with fancy degrees, unhappy and stuck?

2. You Get Rich From Your Job

Get a good paying job, and live a comfortable life. Gone are the days, when this was true.

Most people fall into the trap of increasing their spending, as income increases. Combine that with inflation, and every time salary increases, so does the money they use from day to day.

See a job is selling your time for money. Yet, there is only a limited amount of time that you can sell within a week, a month and a year.

If you are trying to increase your wealth with your job, it caps out at the number of hours you can work. And although many people choose to dedicate all their waking hours to work, it soon leads to burnout.

So think about it. A job is a good way to secure your income, but if you want to start building your wealth, it's not going to get you far. It should be a stepping stone to help you secure income now, while you work to secure your finances.

3. You Need to Build Retirement Savings to Retire Rich

For a long time, people believed that saving for retirement was the way to go. It was the only way that you could secure your finances for the final years of your life, when you could stop working.

But do you really want to spend the best years of your life, sitting at a desk? Building somebody else's wealth? Then stop working when you are older, and don't have the energy to do all the things you dreamed about having time to do?

I remember reading a story about a man, who was the CEO of a company. His wife told him that he worked too hard. All she wanted was for them to spend time together and travel the world.

He promised her that they could do that when he retired. So he worked harder, to buy a boat, so that they could go sailing around the world.

Three months before he retired, she died from cancer. He ended up sailing around the world by himself. Regretting every year he dedicated to his job, and not enjoying his life with her.

So while yes, you do need to think about your future and planning for the later years in your life. You also need to think about how to live the most fulfilling life now. Before it's too late, and you can't enjoy the simple things.

4. You need money to make money

Many people probably discouraged you, when you talked about your dream. The first thing they do is point to the fact that you need money to be able to do this, or do that.

But actually what you need is to get started. Start small. Sell your services. Create content. Solve a problem. You will start to gain traction. And you will start to make money. When you start, you will see that there is so much that you can get done without money. Again what you need is time, and drive.

But before you get started, these opportunities won't open up. People need to see you working. They need to see you doing something. They need proof of your abilities and skills, for them to start believing in your dream.

And if you don't get their support, don't give up.

You don't need a big start up loan. You don't need a big line of credit, or a huge investor. Although these will make the process easier, they don't guarantee success.

The things that you will learn by taking action, and starting small, will help you.  When the money comes, you will be ready for it.

5. Don't rent what you can buy

Another crazy outdated rule. People used to tell you, why rent for years when you can just buy it?

Get a loan and pay for it slowly.

But the things they tell you to buy are not real assets.

Check out the post where I talk about what real assets are here.

See, if you are going to be using something once in a while. It doesn't make sense to buy it. The tax, depreciation, repairs and interest expenses take money from your pocket. In this case, it is always better to rent.

But if it is something you can justify the use. You need and will use it. You will take your money's worth from it. Or it can help to bring in more income. Then absolutely consider buying it.

6. Don't pay someone to do something you can do yourself

• Repairing small damages in your house
• changing your car part that is giving trouble
• doing your own logo and marketing materials
• responding to emails
• filing your own taxes

Whether you are running a business or a household, we all agree that these are small little tasks. These are things you can do yourself.

If you don't know how, a simple google search can guide you to getting it done. But is that really how it turns out? Usually, you end up half-assing the task, or stretching it out over a long time.

Yet, there are people who can come in and do it in a few hours. Saving you time. And although you have to pay them to do it, the time you save, for sure makes it worth it.

Story Time

Actually this reminds me of a time, we left the door at home open. A rat walked in freely into his new home, and made its way into my closet. It's the warmest part of the house.

I couldn't sleep that night, because it kept waking me up. I moved out of my room for the night, at about 3am. Then the next day, my brother came over to help me catch it.

We spent about 3 hours chasing it in the room, and kept missing it by a little.  Then I called an exterminator to come. He got there at 12am, and by 12:05, he had caught the rat.

If I had only called him earlier in the day, I could have gotten the sleep I needed.

After that I learned.

If you are looking for people to help you, then www.gigged.bz could be the place you can go.

We looked for and connected with excellent service providers, and put them all in one place. So you save both time and money when hiring.

They Didn't Age So Well

These rules are not completely bad. I still believe in saving. Working. Education and ownership is important. You just need to think about the approach you are taking when doing them.

The challenge

I'd like to challenge you differently this week. Think about rules in other areas of your life that you think are outdated. Then comment on them below.

I'm excited to find out what this challenge brings up for you.