Dreams often take money, which is super unfortunate. Unless your dream is to become a hermit, I guess. But other dreams, whether it’s switching careers, buying a house, starting your own business or living from a backpack for months at a time, generally they take money. But it would be a terrible shame to let that stop you chasing what you want.
Chances are you really can do it, you just need to get ready.
Prepare Yourself
Like all things worth doing, chasing your dreams is worth doing right. So go in with a plan, not on a whim. What is your end game? What steps will it take to get there? How much money do you need saved to make it? How much time do you have to devote to it? What problems might you come across?
And of course, don’t forget to prepare your attitude.
“Learning new skills…is stressful and difficult for most adults,” Sydney Career Coaching‘s career expert, Tina Monk, tells PEDESTRIAN.TV. “Make sure you surround yourself with an optimistic, upbeat network of people who are supportive. Embrace the learning process and look at this time as an investment in your future.”
Stick To A Budget
Oh hey, there it is, the budget point. You’re prepared now, right? You know how much money you’ll need saved and how much you’ll need to spend to make your dreams come true.
So now set a budget to make sure you actually stick to it and make sure you track your spending to keep yourself accountable. Write it down or use something like an app to set daily budgets and track your spending.
A research survey conducted by Tiller Money (as reported by Lifehack) showed that tracking your spending means you’ll stop throwing money away on stuff you don’t need without realising, and you’re more likely to reach your financial goals.
Visually seeing your progress can also help you get in the right headspace to stick to your budget.
“Our relationship to money is very charged with emotion,” explains Dan Auerbach, Psychotherapist with Counselling Sydney, “Learning to tighten up can be about learning to regulate emotion and delaying gratification. It may be about exploring what you need in order to calm yourself or feel satisfied.”
Embrace Minimalism
Some situations in life allow you the luxury of being able to buy fancy food/clothes/*insert fave treat here*. Dream chasing, typically, does not.
But honestly, who cares? Chances are you have everything you need anyway. Embrace minimalism. Well sort of. You don’t even have to go the whole hog, because you’ve already been buying stuff. You don’t even have to get rid of it, just don’t buy MORE stuff.
Although if you do clear out your space, be sure to sell those suckers off for more ‘dream chasing’ cashola.
Get A Side Hustle
I fully admit that there may be some dreams that make this impossible. Particularly ones that involve travelling around other countries where legally you’re not allowed to work, and might not have an internet connection for freelance type work. Sorry to you, you’ll just have to be flawless at preparation.
If at all possible, Tina suggests staying in your current work as long as you can.
“Hating where you work and what you do is an intolerable permanent situation. However, it is a tolerable temporary predicament. Having the additional income coming in while preparing for a transition prevents stress. Transitions rarely go to plan.”
Need something more flexible? Nab a cafe/bar job, go freelance or remote, sign up to these mini-hustles for a little more pocket money:
This article was sponsored by ANZ (AFSL and Australian Credit Licence No. 234527) but it sure wasn’t written by them. Always speak to the experts before making financial choices, ok?
