(Series 1)
By NURADLI RIDZWAN SHAH MOHD DALI
The articles you are about to read will change your way of life in the future because by reading and practicing what is suggested, you will be able to differentiate your financial methods and strategies from the norms practiced by people in this world.
Many we see struggle to obtain higher education at local and foreign universities, many excel, many get good jobs, but still many fail to manage their own finances, leading to disturbed sleep and health problems. This is the majority group, which is 80 percent.
There are a few who just pass. Their salaries from work are not as high as others but they can live happily without financial problems. They are the small group, which is 20 percent. What causes these two groups to be different? You must have your own answer about how this situation can occur. Your opinion is still valued because we all have our own opinions based on knowledge, past experiences, and environment.
I just want to present one of the reasons among the dozens of reasons you have answered about why this small group does not have financial problems while the large group faces financial issues.
I agree with your answer, but can we agree that the main difference in their ability to control their finances is in how to plan, strategize, and take action on their financial stability and growth? I am often asked whether we need to plan our finances.
In fact, I was once invited to the television show ‘Selamat Pagi Malaysia’ to discuss family spending issues. I was asked, do we need to involve the family in our financial planning? What is your answer? Moreover, what is your action? Do you consistently create a budget at least once a year? If you are already married, do you involve your wife or husband? If you already have children, do you involve them in your family planning?
Some say this happens because they have never learned about financial management. For example, you are a teacher, financial knowledge is not your field, so you just go with the flow. In the end, after decades of working, debts accumulate. ‘Will I still be burdened with so much debt when I retire?’ The time after retirement should be spent on many social, religious activities, and contributing to society.
Many believe that if someone studies in the ivory tower in business, accounting, or finance, they will automatically have a bright future because they have the knowledge to manage finances.
However, the reality is that this statement deviates from the actual reality because if we look, former graduates in these fields also face financial problems just like graduates in other fields.
Generally, many graduates who have worked will have a cash balance in the bank of RM100 at the end of each month. My experience when starting in the working world can be said to be similar. ‘Not even until the end, the pocket is already dry.’ In fact, some have run out of their monthly salary by the middle of the month, between the 15th and 25th of each month.
The question is, why do graduates from finance, accounting, and business who have studied financial knowledge for four to five years at university still have financial problems like most others? A friend of mine who took a finance major once complained about his inability to control personal finances even though we both studied finance at university. He has some significant debts that need to be resolved.
Are the finance-based subjects at university insufficient, or do students fail to understand what they are learning? Upon closer examination, most subjects offered at university focus on how students should manage the finances of companies or investors.
Accounting students will become experts in recording and reporting company accounts, finance students will become financial analysts to invest investors’ money, while business students will become experts in managing the company’s operations to increase profits.
Students become too specialized in managing other people’s and companies’ finances that they forget that personal finances also need to be managed wisely to ensure they are not trapped in financial burdens that will make them slaves until they are old.
Therefore, I want to open the minds of all readers to achieve financial freedom together so that we are not trapped with financial burdens such as excessive debt and so on. Simply put, we need to change our mindset from the ordinary to a MILLIONAIRE mindset.
Various questions will arise in your mind, will having a millionaire mindset help us escape the trap of financial burdens and achieve financial freedom? The answer is YES. This is because by programming the mind, we will become more focused on achieving something that has been set.
If you read the book ‘Think and Grow Rich’ by Napoleon Hill, who interviewed 500 millionaires of his time, you will find that all the millionaires he interviewed started their mornings with thinking techniques to achieve success. The millionaire thinks every morning to achieve a goal that has been set. The techniques or practices used by those millionaires are actually techniques that we often practice. The practice referred to is praying after performing the Fajr prayer.
Praying can focus all our energy and actions to achieve a goal for that day. Praying after Fajr can program our minds to be more focused on achieving our goals, and if we pray continuously or consistently, then insya-Allah we will be able to achieve our goals.
So if we always pray at every prayer time, we will focus on what we want each day to achieve larger goals such as becoming a faithful millionaire within five years and so on. Essentially, we need to delve into income, expenses, and investments, and certainly barakah.
The question of why you need to become a millionaire does not need to be listed here, just opening opportunities for us to facilitate our worship and pay zakat is enough. In the next series, I will discuss dreams. Dreams play an important role. What were your dreams as a child? What were your dreams as a teenager? What were your dreams when you are old? What were your dreams after facing death? What were your dreams on the Day of Judgment?
TO BE CONTINUED
Dr. Nuradli Ridzwan Shah Mohd Dali is the Director of the Institute of Wealth and Islamic Finance Management (IFWMI), Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM)
THIS ARTICLE IS FROM THE DAKWAH MAGAZINE PUBLISHED BY YADIM
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