A leading financial adviser has revealed how she has adapted her spending in order to manage her money better this year during the coronavirus pandemic, and why buying your own home isn’t the only way to retire early and rich.
Canna Campbell, from Sydney, said the pandemic has taught us all a lot about navigating and looking after our finances, and for her it has been a huge opportunity to reassess.
‘Understanding your money value system is the single most important way to get on top of your finances,’ Canna said in a video on her YouTube channel.
‘It helps you to deal with sacrifices better and really exercises your self-control when it comes to working on your financial goals.’
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A leading financial adviser has revealed how she has adapted her spending in order to manage her money better this year during the coronavirus pandemic (Canna Campbell pictured)
1. Understand your money value system
Figuring out your ‘money value system’ means sitting down and reminding yourself of the one or two things that are most important to you, above all others.
‘My value system is time and choice,’ Canna said.
‘I value having time to myself, having time with my husband and my family and my friends, and the more time I have with them, the happier and healthier I am.’
The best way Canna makes more time for herself and her loved ones is by building up passive income streams so that she can ‘choose to work because I want to and not because I have to’.
‘When it comes to saying no to something or putting something on hold for a bit, it’s so much easier if you have a money value system,’ Canna added.
‘I get pleasure out of knowing that I am living a life that is aligned with my value system and this makes me generally happier in life.’
Figuring out your ‘money value system’ means sitting down and reminding yourself of the one or two things that are most important to you, Canna (pictured) said
2. Don’t think you have to buy a house
The second way Canna has reassessed this year is that she has realised that it is not absolutely essential to get on the property ladder if you want to retire early.
While the financial adviser has invested in some property in Sydney, Canna said this isn’t the only way to get rich – and you’re far better off thinking about your passive income streams.
‘Forgo the lifestyle goal of desperately wanting a home, even though there are certain societal pressures that can tell us that is the ultimate goal,’ she said.
‘The reality is it’s actually quite a financial handicap when you own your own home, because you have to carry the burden with all of the ongoing expenses of ownership including interest, strata levies, council rates, water bills and general wear and tear.’
When you rent, Canna said you can outsource a lot of the biggest costs and use your money elsewhere:
‘While I’m happy with my financial situation and I’m very grateful for what I’ve built, I think it could have been a lot stronger and I might have even retired by now if I had used all of that surplus cash flow purely on growing my passive income stream,’ she explained.
Focus on what matters to you the most, and if that is not owning a house, don’t think that you have to buy one, just because it’s what society tells you to do.
Canna (pictured) said buying your own home isn’t the only way to get rich – and you’re far better off thinking about your passive income streams
Canna said one of the biggest and most positive money changes she has made this year is her decision to use her social media in a positive way and following people who inspire her to save
3. Use social media in a positive way
Canna said one of the biggest and most positive money changes she has made this year is her decision to use her social media in a positive way.
‘Social media gets a bad reputation and we’re constantly told to get off it as we spend too much time there, but it’s really who you choose to follow that could be letting you down,’ Canna said.
Instead of following shops that encourage you to spend and fashionistas who make you want to shop, she recommends finding profiles among the debt-free community who celebrate savings, investments and paying down debt.
‘I love following the debt-free community and people posting about the shares they’ve just bought and the passive income they are building,’ Canna said.
‘That feeds my motivation and inspiration.’
For ideas around who to follow on Instagram, view who Canna herself is following on her own profile.