"I Don't Have Enough To Start Investing"

There’s a very strange idea many of us around the world have. An idea that we hold dear to our hearts which goes something like this:?“I don’t have enough money to begin investing”.

It’s amazing how many of us seem to be waiting for ‘better times’ or the ‘big break’ before we start something, and as a result, the months and years fly by.

The thing is, that ‘big break’ may not even be the blessing you think it will be if you haven’t already developed the habits of money management and investing.

Many among the rich and famous have managed to lose most or all their money after their ‘big break’ - journalist Larry King, singer Willie Nelson, actress Kim Basinger, boxer Mike Tyson and many more ended up bankrupt due to poor money management decisions. And let’s remember?the many, many lottery winners ?who managed to end up back where they started or even worse off despite having their ‘big break’ and being able to invest vast sums in one go.

The problem with the?‘waiting until I have more’?mindset is that most of us never get ‘big breaks’ (most wealthy people spend years building their big breaks), and when we earn more we spend more and remain in a position of ‘not having enough to anything’.

Sometimes we think it’s not worth doing something small - which ensures we miss years of potential market growth that can turn those small starts into modest fortunes.

In an era where almost anyone can invest in fractional stocks for as low as $10 a trade, it is incredible to hear that people who can afford to buy Starbucks coffees every week, sign up for multiple streaming service subscriptions, endless bar bills and numerous vacations don’t think they ‘have enough to invest’.

In one of his books, Tony Robbins told the tale of a man who made roughly $14,000 USD a year for the majority of his life. He was able to retire rich by training himself to set aside a tiny portion of his income before spending the rest. The most modest sums can grow into small fortunes with compound interest and time, and this has been shown time and time again for longer than anyone reading this has been alive.

There are persons with variable salaries or extremely low incomes who are able to invest even 1% or 2% of their earnings before spending the rest of their money on enjoying their life.

The majority of those people won't experience a "big break" or make amazing sums in short periods of time, but they'll end up with significantly more money than those who decided to "wait till they had more" to invest and either never got around to it at all or started much later in life.

You have two choices every time money hits your bank account:

• “I’ll wait until I have more before I start anything”
• “I’ll park away whatever small sum I can and leave it to grow, while I spend the rest”

Warren Buffett calls the latter ‘paying yourself first.

Before you pay Netflix, Starbucks, the owner of the bar, or anyone else, pay yourself first.

Your future self will thank you for it, I promise.