Looking back on my How I Make Living in an Expensive City Work For Me post, I now understand both my financial strengths and weaknesses a bit better.
One thing I’ve always been pretty good at is saving money. However, I noticed a pattern: I save diligently for a specific goal, like living and studying in Korea, but once that goal is reached, I tend to use up the money and have to start from scratch again for the next thing.
After reading Rich Dad Poor Dad, which I honestly wasn’t the biggest fan of as it’s very repetitive and some viewpoints were questionable, I’d still say it’s worth reading once. I believe it’s good to read from different perspectives, as long as it doesn’t drain your energy. I will talk more about that book and the others I’ve read in my Books I’ve Read in June post.
But here are the three lessons I’ve learned these last three months:
Tracking Your Net Worth
For a long time, I didn’t like the idea of defining my “net worth.” It felt like putting a price tag on myself. But now, I view it as a practical tool to better understand the relationship between how I spend and how I grow wealth.
Looking at annual earnings alone can be misleading as they don’t show how much you’re actually keeping or building. Inspired by Your Money or Your Life by Joseph R. Dominguez and Vicki Robin, I created a graph to track mine, which became a fun little game.
Paying Yourself is Like Paying a Bill
Saving money was never a struggle for me. The problem was that once I saved, I’d dip into those savings again—sometimes within just a few weeks.
When I pay my credit card bill, I can’t just take the money back later if I change my mind. So why should savings be different?
Now, I treat saving like paying a bill. I use different high-yield savings accounts for various goals, including travel, big purchases, and an emergency fund. I don’t let those accounts cover random bills.
Of course, I still work with a monthly budget, so I know how much I can spend without creating new stress. But I now save money to grow it rather than just to have it.
Investing in Yourself
Index Funds from my Roth IRA and soon HSA are as close as I’ve gotten to investing. However, through reading and reflection, I came to understand that the best investment is in myself. By constantly learning new skills in this ever-changing world, I gift myself the ability to generate money in multiple ways. However, I seek knowledge and experiences for personal growth. Now that I have been at my new job for three months, I have finally started taking dance classes again. I also plan on putting money aside specifically for learning from now on.
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I still don’t feel fully confident when it comes to finances, but I am much more intentional about it.
If you’re also figuring it out, you’re not late. Today is always better than tomorrow.