How to afford the lifestyle you want

Life is a highway. I wanna ride it! Many of us find ourselves running the rate race of life, without actually enjoying any of it. We work, we sleep, we work, we occasionally see a loved one and then we sleep and work all over again. Is this the lifestyle you wanted? The one you aspired to lead? Whilst finances can be hard, especially at the moment, it’s important to push forward with the dreams we have and work towards living the life we really want. We’re only around on this planet for a short amount of time so making the most of it is important. Let’s have a look at how to afford the lifestyle you want.

Decide What You Want

What exactly do you want? What life do you want to lead? Think back to when you were growing up? At what point did things change, plans change? When did the track deviate from where you wanted it to go, to where it is now? We live in a generation where we are constantly bombarded by imagery. Posts, messages, and pictures of other people’s lives. Idealistic stuff. Maybe things we once aspired towards.

Now is the time to decide exactly what you want. Then we can start working towards how to afford the lifestyle you want. It’s definitely not going to be easy and when we consider aspects of personal finance it’s likely going to be fairly tricky. However, when we have a goal in front of us, working towards that will be much easier than dancing around in the dark without a clue of the direction we really want to head in.

Prioritise & Plan

When you want to work towards a go, you need to have a plan. You also need to prioritise what you are doing. Your actions. A budget will help you in this situation as when you know exactly what your financial situation is, you can divide it up to put towards the areas of your life you need to pay for. Once the bills are settled, you know what you have left over to do the things you want. This could be travel, hobbies, or the daily drink down the pub.

You might have to make sacrifices in one area in order to afford another. However, that is what prioritising is all about. When you prioritise the one thing you want above other things, you will start to find it easier to say no to those other temptations. Whatever life you want to lead, you need to put steps in place to plan to afford the lifestyle that you want.

Shop Around & Buy Quality

One of the best ways to afford the lifestyle that you want is to shop around for the best price on the items you want to buy. Another is to buy quality. If you really want a certain brand of dress, make sure you get it at the best possible price. If you buy cheap, you often buy twice so getting the one item you want is probably a great idea. You don’t have to buy everything though.

Without a budget, you might be tempted to but a budget will keep reigns on your spending. A few select pieces will speak the lifestyle you want without it costing you a small fortune. Look after these items and they will retain value. You can always sell them again at a later date. They might actually be worth more later down the line! Make sure the price you are paying is fair. Grab discounts where you can and always try to claw back a bit of cashback.

Skill Up

A great way to make and save money is by improving your skills. Not only will this set you up for a higher-paid job, but you will also be able to adopt skills to your arsenal that will help you save money. Imagine if you could fix your own tap yourself, rather than getting a plumber out. How about changing the tyre on your car or recarpeting the stairs? There are lots of DIY jobs that we get other people to do and then have to pay them.

Keep more of your money in your bank account by doing these jobs yourself. You can then use the money you would have spent on a tradesperson, to do the things you want to do in life. You could even trade skills to save money.

Enter Competitions

Competitions are a great way to get something for free. If you get it for free, you don’t have to pay for it but can still enjoy it! There are plenty of competitions out there, with real winners every day. Some people make a living from comping. Don’t just enter every competition you find. Use your time wisely and enter the ones which are to do with the lifestyle you want.

Maybe it’s a holiday or a hotel stay. Perhaps a pamper weekend or some new makeup. It could even be a gift card to use on your shopping. Enter those competitions and you never know, you might be the lucky winner. Someone has got to be selected so make sure you are in it, to win it.

Make Every Penny Count

When looking at how to afford the lifestyle you want, you need to make every penny count. This could be by flying a different route because it’s cheaper. Staying slightly less time or bundling your travels together so you don’t fly home and then fly out again. If you want to visit two countries, you can do that in three flights rather than four by simply combing two trips into one. This will likely save you money yet give you the exact same thing!

Making every part of your money count is important because we work to live, we don’t live to work. If you can maximise what you do with the salary that you make, you will be happier. You’ll have less debt and reach the goals you are aiming for within the budget you give yourself.

Be Flexible & Enjoy Yourself

Flexibility is important when you are looking at how to afford the lifestyle you want. There will be times when things go wrong or you perhaps overspend when you shouldn’t have. There will be things you wish you could do and opportunities you simply cannot say no to, even though they aren’t part of your plan. Flexibility keeps us human and allows us to change depending on what life throws at us. It is so important to enjoy yourself.

If you find the limitations you put on yourself too constrictive, adapt and change. You need to enjoy yourself, otherwise being able to afford the lifestyle you want is taking away from living that life.