All of us can agree that financial difficulties greatly impact our lives. Whether we are struggling financially or just living in uncertainty from paycheck to paycheck, the dread is over our heads all the time. With limited resources, you have to be more careful about your spending.
I personally know more people who are living until the 10th of a month and surviving for the rest of that month, than people who rationally spread their income and expenditures. It is simply more common to be frivolous and short-sided than to be strategic and pragmatic.
Human species, in the beginning, started in poverty and worked their way up as both society and individuals to what we are today. The skill necessary to create wealth and to improve yourself personally is what you should be aiming to do. #
When trying to self develop on a budget or limited resources the necessity is going to be your guiding star. In order to gain the best experience, you will usually discover constructive, unique, and sometimes artistic approaches to this matter.
Opportunities in this age of technology are truly limitless. You simply have to craftily make the most out of them. Choose your goals wisely and you will get creative with ideas for improving yourself
You can do this by searching for help and answers on the internet, asking locally for help if someone is giving the free course, finding a community of people with similar issues/interests, and searching for platforms and mentorships.
The hardest part is where to start. So maybe you should not overthink this part too much but simply ask for help from your friends and family. You will have a chance to not only hear other people’s opinions about the topic of self development but also you may receive some recommended ways how they are doing it.
The key to remember is you are not alone in this. Countless other people are looking for developing themself while having financial difficulties. Arm yourself with patience, diligence, and research like you have never done before.
Self-Development on a Budget: Where to start?
One of the most difficult yet most important questions is where to start. The good thing is you can use your time to search and strategize your next steps.
One of the more time-consuming but rewarding ways you can go with this is to search locally if there are any workshops that can help you create and polish your skills and personal development. Every community has something like that. You can ask around if you don’t know where to look at them or simply search for them on the internet.
Chances are they will have a website and/or social media account where you can have information about who they are, where they are, and what they do. So you can decide from that point to connect with them or move on to the next one.
Another way to improve yourself and learn new skills is to search for online platforms that can teach you that skill. The most common and well-known are Coursera, Skillshare, Udemy, LinkedIn Learning, Udacity, and edX. At the time of writing this post Udemy, Linkedin Learning (1-month free trial), Udacity, and edX have a completely free course for access and learning.
For more specialized courses like coding and computer science, I personally recommend freeCodeCamp.
Probably I could write and categorize a list of free online platforms that you can learn from but you get the main idea. There is a free opportunity and free platform that you can use to help you in your personal development. Use them as much as possible.
The most difficult but best way is to find a mentor. Why most difficult? Mainly because if you find a good mentor for you chances are that he will be expensive and less reachable in your current situation. There are mentors that have free first sessions and then they start to charge for their time.
Try to find them and once you do, search for the reviews, comments literally anything that you can find. Be careful if it is too good to be true, and if they have paid reviews. Use and invest your time and hard earned money wisely.
If you want to see a list of movies just to pump you up for your self improvement journey, I have written a post about it. You can check it here.
What to Expect from Your Research?
First, you will have some ground information on where to go and what to look for. You will have basic information and knowledge on what to focus on, and what courses, workshops, and programs you should focus.
From that point, you can strategize your approach. Organize yourself on attending and have some objective goals written up.
You can find some breakthrough information. That will lead you to even more improving yourself.
In a sense, you will find security and relief knowing that you are on the right track. That will only motivate you further.
You will, by knowing all this, find a pathway and progressive way to improve and become a better version of yourself.
Your confidence will skyrocket and you will be fully committed to your new life.
What to Watch Out for When Self Developing on a Budget?
Use common sense – If something sounds too good to be true it probably is. Do your research about a course, mentor, or community thoroughly. Don’t rely too much on 5-star reviews or well-written ads and comments. Dive deeper than basic information that you stumbled upon firsthand.
Short gains – You should think of this part of life as a long term reprogramming and readjusting your life. Don’t even try or bother with short gains and quick solutions to your situation. Put a mind to it, and be patient.
Appreciate the time and effort you put into yourself. You will value both more and that will give you the necessary boost when starting off.
Start without a plan – Starting with only what is on your mind as an idea, without preparation, research and thinking is only going to result in losing time. Wasting precious time can be an endless process and most people do just that.
Break out of that vicious cycle. Just stop and think for a second and you will be better.
Waste time in endless search – There is too much information both online and offline that you can obtain. It is pretty easy to dive into a search and just go on a research journey. By the time you noticed how much time has expired, you will realize that you are nowhere near your first goal, which is to get information and start making a plan.
If you easily lose yourself in those situations you can set alarms when doing research. Your mind will be in more efficient mode by simply knowing that we set limited time for that task.
How to Make Your Budget Work for You?
There are a couple of things that can make you more efficient in finding the right path for your self-improvement.
The goal ultimately is to shift your mindset. I have written a post about a tool that can help you, so it will be a great addition to your arsenal, don’t worry it is free – no emails, no course behind it 🙂 . You can read it here.
Invest good time and effort into your research so you get your money’s worth. When learning new skills and improving yourself on a budget you must choose more carefully where you want to invest your money and time. Don’t rush it but don’t drag it for too long.
Focus on the important things and get going. Think of the size of your budget as a risk you have to take in order to gain something. IF you are not comfortable with losing all that time and money you have to find some other means to get your improvements. Start searching again.
Seek reviews and ask questions before you invest your money in courses, workshops, programs, etc. Do not rush or don’t be fooled by limited discounts, places, or just for your price. Most of them are marketing tricks to get your money now and ask questions later. Cool your head, don’t rush anywhere.
Look for reviews, comments, and ratings in detail. Start with the lowest ones and work your way up. The more comments and written reviews the better. For instance, on some book or product that you need on Amazon, there are tons of information from customers about that product. You can see the reviews and comments and decide if it is good for you.
Ask a question before your decision. If you set your eyes on some product but can’t find some information from others ask and it will probably be answered.
Make a List of courses, products, and classrooms and choose – With all the information that you find that can work for you, chances are you will find more than one good product. Put the ones you have chosen on a list and compare them. Make positive and negative of everyone.
Do again research from other sources and find more reviews that you can compare. Most likely you will be able to find course reviews on YouTube, but again don’t watch only one go deep again before a final decision is made.
Don’t get too emotionally attached to your research and chosen product. They are tools that are there to help you in your journey. Read, learn and move on from your current position.
If there is space for it always negotiate on the pricing. Chances are that you will receive another discount, special pricing, coupon, etc. Your money your decision, make the most use of it.
Thanks for reading, have a nice day and take care.
