My experience making difficult Financial Decisions

Lately, I have been reflecting on my financial journey, some of the tough decisions I had to make and the lessons I learned on the way. There have been so many times where my finances were a significant factor in my personal growth and development. When I think about my relationship with money, it used to be one of worry and now it has developed into one of respect.
 
In this blog post, I will share the five hardest financial decisions I have made and how they have positively influenced my financial status.

My 5 difficult Financial Decisions
Becoming Financially Independent
There is a significant level of comfort that we all had when we are growing up and living under our parents’ roofs. For me, it came to an end at the age of 16. At that time, I started living on my own and taking care of myself financially. My journey started quite rough as I didn't have a solid financial foundation and had to build it all up from scratch. Looking back, I now see that this was the start of many more financial decisions to come.
 
Lessons I learned

• Being financially independent is challenging but very rewarding
• The beginning of a journey informs but does not determine the end

 
Reducing the number of hours I worked to focus on school
While I studied for my Bachelor's degree, I was working on many small jobs simultaneously. I worked in a café, on campus, and babysat to raise funds I needed for my basic needs. As my expenses increased, I found myself having to work more, which in turn took away time that I needed to study. I decided to cut my living expenses and focus on school. The financial discipline I learned in this phase of my life is a continuous companion.
 
Lessons I learned

• Set the right priorities in your life
• Money should support your goals

 
Paying for my graduate degree
I had just started working full time and really wanted to earn my Master's degree. Although education in Germany was mostly free or low-cost, I chose a school and course that will let me study part-time and gain a degree in English, which meant I had to pay tuition. I must say I feel very fortunate that the cost was nothing close to studying in other countries. However, since I had to fund my tuition fully, I had to save a lot of the money I made in my first full-time job. I remember struggling to pay the first 2000 euros for my first classes. This was one of my most significant investment in myself and my career, and it has paid off.
 
Lessons I learned

• Invest in yourself and your future
• Do big things to get significant results

 
Investing in my first long-term stocks
In the past years, I focused on growing my savings. The discipline I learned in my early days helped me build a significant emergency fund and savings. However, I started learning a new lesson about other ways to grow my money. When I started my investment journey, I took baby steps. I started with a very small investment and grew it as I got more confident.
 
Lessons I learned

• Be open to learn new money lessons and skills
• Think about your financial future and what you want to do to secure it

 
Taking money out of my long-term savings to invest in a big project
This is the most recent, most significant, and hardest decision I have ever made with regards to my finances. For many years, I have been very disciplined about growing my savings. I have not missed a monthly payment to my saving account for at least the last ten years. So, when the time came for me to literally move a lot of my savings into an investment, I started to panic because I did not feel as financially secure as I like to be. Now that I'm thinking about it, I was in no financial danger. This investment has been a dream for a long time, and now it's a reality.
 
Lessons learned

• Sometimes you have to let go of security to grow financially
• Create a financial plan for significant expenses or investments
• Celebrate your new financial success

 
Call to Action

• What are some of the hard decisions you have had to make? Reflect on your financial journey.
• What accomplishments have you experienced financially? Celebrate your achievements.

 
Final Thoughts

• Our financial journeys may be complex- there is always a lesson to be learned.
• It is crucial to keep growing our knowledge and expertise on money.

 
Great Resources

• 5 Ways to Make Hard Decisions Easier
• 8 Tips to Help You Make a Major Financial Decision
• How to Make Good Financial Decisions
• 10 Financial Choices You'll Regret in 10 Years
• How to make better financial decisions