1. Instant Gratification

I have seen so many people that keep on chasing after shiny objects. For example – the stock market, bitcoins, what is new, and what is popular. When people jump into ventures like these with the Instant Gratification mindset, sometimes they win and sometimes they don’t.

We live in a fast-paced society and you can compare it to drive-thrus. People buy food from drive-thru restaurants to get it instantly, but the majority of the food that is available in drive-thrus is not healthy. For the healthy ones, you need to take time and wait for them to be prepared. You cannot rush success. In order to create wealth, you need to shift your mentality towards Delayed Gratification instead. What that means is that you take time to find the right vehicle that you will invest your money in while looking at the long term benefits, and not the short term returns.

There’s nothing wrong with short term results, but when it comes to my own retirement money and financial freedom, I want to make sure that it is safe and secure, and it will get me a steady return on my investments. In order to achieve that, we need to be willing to have Delayed Gratification.

It is like building a farm with money trees. You cannot expect it to grow overnight. You have to consistently invest and let it grow to have something you can enjoy for the rest of your life.

2. Procrastination

I have seen 2 types of people – the action takers and the procrastinators.

The action takers, whenever we start with the plan, they say “Angeline, I’m ready to go, let’s do it!”. They have a plan and they tend to become successful. The procrastinators, they have no financial plan, no form of investments, and they say “I don’t think I’m ready yet.”

If you procrastinate investing, saving money, and the commitment to build financial future – your financial freedom will be procrastinated too.

If you are the type of person who desires financial success, don’t wait until you have everything in place and just start. Take action right now. If you don’t know how to begin yet, find a coach. It doesn’t have to be me – there are lots of other coaches who can help you. Stop procrastinating and start doing.

3. Looking at Investments as Expenses

Society has programmed our minds as consumers. Most people would look at investments and think of it as expenses.

When you look at commercials, you will never find one that encourages you to save and invest your money. All of them will encourage you to spend and become a consumer, and that’s why majority of people have the consumer mentality.

Learn to differentiate expenses from investments. It is an expense when you spend money and do not get anything in return – like a shirt, for example. When you buy a shirt, you do not get anything in return. An investment is money that you set aside to multiply and get something in return.

Keep this in mind – when you invest your money every single month, that’s for your future.

4. Lack of Holistic Financial Blueprint

I talk to people and ask them what they want in life and they say, “Angeline, I want to become financially free.” Then I ask, how much money will make them consider themselves financially free, and majority of these people do not know the answer.

The mistake comes from focusing on just one thing – stocks, real estate, etc. Building financial success is like building a house. You can’t just have a roof, a wall, or the kitchen without the complete blueprint. You will not just break the ground. When you build your wealth, you are building your mansion. You will start from the beginning – you will go to an architect and build your blueprints. You will plan and make changes to make sure that you will not go over your budget. The same thing applies when you are building financial success.

It’s nice to say you want financial independence, but if you don’t even have clarity or a plan to make it happen, how will you know if you’re gonna get there? Once you figure out how to build your blueprint and put them all together, once you figure out how to build your financial dream home, that would give you more peace of mind and certainty so you could enjoy the life that you can only ever dream of.

5. Focusing on Making More Money

Regardless if you are a business owner or you’re working 9-5, a big mistake most would make is wanting to make more money.

The answer to financial freedom is not making more money. It doesn’t matter how much money you’re making, what matters is how much you’re saving.

Let’s say you make $10,000 a month but your expenses are also $10,000 a month – what good does that do? You will want to earn more, but the pattern continues. If you do not change your spending habits, the more you make, the more it will go out.

There are people who make only $2800 a month and save $1000, while some who earn $10,000 who are unable to save and invest. So, making more money is not the answer.

Shift your mindset to investing and saving more than you spend.

Today, I encourage you to make that mindset shift, because I believe that everything you want is within you and all you need is that shift to create the financial success you’ve been dreaming of.