Free The Drones is asking "What Use Is Personal Finance Advice If You’re Making Minimum Wage?" Fair question when their's not much laying around the bank account.

My response would be that there is great use in low income earners taking personal finance advice. Investment advice for low income earners may be less important but advice for people earning minimum wages, PF advice is paramount.

Here's my advice for low income earners wanting to get ahead;

1. Learn Contentment but Cultivate Dissatisfaction

If you can't be content with what you have already then getting more will never make you happy. Take pride in your current possessions rather than wishing for something you can't have yet.

Once you understand contentment you can then begin to cultivate a healthy dissatisfaction for staying where you are.

2. Earn More than a Low Income

Find other ways to build your income. This may be via a sideline business, a part-time job or using your hobby skills to generate extra income. Selling body parts may not be the best income source but there are many ways to find extra income;

- Become an election polling attendant
- Signup for Census distribution and collection
- Get a paper or junk mail round
- Take up a night-fill position at the local shops
- Sell your hobby plants at the local weekend market

3. Submit yourself to a Savings Plan

If you're surviving on your low income then start putting your extra income into a good savings account. Commit yourself not to use any of these funds unless its for a dire emergency (holidays are not a dire emergency).

4. Reward Yourself when you hit your Goals

Set some goals both for your income generation and also for your savings achievements. As you set them, build in some reward system for yourself as well and when you hit them then celebrate. Keep your rewards in balance though.

5. Give to Others Less Fortunate

As a low income earner its easy to justify that the rich wil support the poor. However, for you to grow financially you need to realise that money is not the "be all" and "end all". Some good advice I received early on was to not hold money too tightly that it ends up controlling you. You take control and learn to live without it by giving some away on occassions.

6. Opportunities only knock once - but there are a lot of opportunities

A plethora of opportunities await you as that savings account continues to grow. Be choosy and wise by considering all your options and what the risks are. Then commit to one. Opportunities won't stay around forever but realise that there are many available.

7. Embrace your family and friends

This doesn't seem like personal finance advice but it is one of the best tips you'll ever get. With your family and friends on your side life is going to be a whole heap easier than if they begin fighting against you or leaving you altogether. Take time out to spend with them and nurture your relationships - they're more important than money anyway.

8. Take Risks that aren't Gambles

Some opportunities that come your way will present far greater risks than others. This is not necessarily a bad thing. The risk may be high but if you've done your homework then it becomes and educated risk and not a gamble. In fact, a well researched risk may actually be safer than an opportunity with less risk.

9. Make Frugality an enjoyable challenge

One of the challenges of living on a low income is trying to make ends meets after each pay packet. Rather than begrudging thriftiness embrace it as a challenge to live even more scrupulously. Set yourself goals to be even more efficient with your spending.

Conclusion

Low income earners can sometimes be the wealthiest people because they're less frivolous with their money. Don't feel that a low income is going to hold you back from achieving your financial dreams. See this as a challenge and you will rise to the occassion.

Posted by Stuart at 11:42 AM | Permalink