How to fit personal development in your finances

Have you ever been in a good position, whether in love, work, or life in general, but there is a part of you still questioning if that’s all there is to it? Personal growth, to me means accelerating or moving from one way of doing things, viewing the world, working in a certain kind of job and making a certain amount of money towards another point that satisfies you better, appeals to you more and gives you better peace of mind. Personal growth is the reason we get out of comfort zones to hang around people that our friends may find weird and go after goals that others may not understand. Which is okay by the way if others don’t understand it. There’s a reason why it’s called personal growth.

There are schools in the north with this slogan: Knowledge is power. As much as I understood the sentence, I never really comprehended the words until a few years back. Knowledge is how you know there’s a world beyond your world, with people who’ve had problems similar and worse than the ones you have today. Knowledge proves everything has an end and things can improve from the way they are today. It’s also knowledge that can show you how things can improve. So, knowledge can give you hope, encouragement and the tools to develop and change your life towards growth. Having knowledge is powerful, which confirms all the self-help books that say – ‘The best investment you can make is in yourself.’ This blog post aims at showing you how you can fit personal development in your budget and ensure that money is not the only thing growing in your life.

1. Start with why – why do you want to develop yourself? Where are you trying to get? Why are you trying to get there? I’m always motivated when I start a new course. But after a few weeks, it’s commitment that gets me through that course and not motivation. Knowing our reasons for doing something keeps us going on days when motivation leaves. And motivation will leave eventually, but you need to keep going.

2. Have a personal development plan – In line with your why, what skills do you need to learn to get to where you want to be? Do you know anyone doing what you want or similar? Read their biographies, stalk them on social media, talk to them. How do they think, what do they do in the morning? What do they think of themselves? How are you in relation to these people? Whether you are learning about becoming more productive with your time, how to be more emotionally intelligent, finding your identity, learning a new skill, or managing your finances, the trick is to be more intentional and consume knowledge in line with that plan.

3. Include personal development in your budget – Becoming good with your finances requires planning for things you need or want and allocating your income to your plans. If you like to read but don’t budget for books, you are likely going to find yourself with a budget deficit or your savings short because you spent money on books instead. Whether you set a specific amount, or a percentage of your income is up to you. But have a line item in your budget that allow you to invest in your growth as a person. Checkout this post to learn more about setting your budget. 

4. It doesn’t have to be expensive. Books, blogs, podcasts, videos, courses, etc. are all examples of knowledge outlets. Have you heard of second-hand bookshops? Get Mary Kondo on the books you have now and take those which don’t spark joy to uncle Spikes’ Bookshop for an exchange with new books.

We have so many options today. Some are cheaper than others. Others are more effective at instilling knowledge, depending on your learning preferences and what’s in your wallet. If you have access to the internet, you can access to the Bible App, podcasts, etc. Sometimes all it takes is a commitment to read a TonGrowth&Money blog post for 10 minutes before getting back to Instagram. Or you could take 1 hour to watch a Netflix documentary on nutrition (or whatever topic you want) and get back to your series after. Listen to a podcast on your way to work. It’s all about being intentional with time and choosing that which will grow you, in addition to what’s fun.

5. Stop wasting money, finish what you started. I love buying books. I used to buy so many books, start reading them and stop when life got busy. Whenever I got time again, I’d probably have bought another book or 2 that I would be excited to start. And I never went back to finishing the old books.

It’s not a bad thing to love buying books, unless it becomes emotional spending. I love bookshops, especially when I don’t like something about my life. The fiction section looks good to me when I want to escape and avoid thinking about the mess in life. Now, I’m working on being an adult who confronts things instead of run. I read because I want to read and I’m enjoying a book. I commit to finishing what I start by challenging myself to finish 1 book a month and document it on Instagram. Checkout my Story highlights – Bookmarks and join the challenge.

6. Create good habits – Planning to do something and actually doing it are 2 different things. In line with your plan to self-development, what’s the one habit you need to build? I have been working on waking up early to work out, pray, journal and have breakfast before I start my day. Habits stem from consistency. According to research, it takes about 21 days to form a new habit. Pick one thing you want to stick and do it for 3 weeks consistently. When you fall, give yourself some grace and get back up. Give yourself a chance. The best investment you can ever make really is in yourself.