3 Ways To Invest In Yourself All Year Round
By: Kalpen Patel
Tags: Self Improvement, Money, Self Investment, Money Management, Gift Ideas

Hi everyone, thank you for coming back to my blog. I hope you found my last blog ‘EasyPeasyMoney.net…..is LIVE!’ interesting and useful, where I talked about my new website and what it has to offer you, so you can better mange your money and get you on your way to financial freedom, quicker!

Now, it’s coming up to Christmas and most you are probably thinking (and struggling, like me) about what to gift your other half, kids, parents and other family members, but most often than not, you forget about yourself during this period.

I feel it is important that, even though you don’t really push the boat out or treat yourselves often because you have a family to feed and bills to pay, you should always look to better yourself by investing in yourself.

What I mean by that is you should spend money on things that will change your mind-set and make you think of your finances, career, health and relationships in a different, but more beneficial way, not just at Christmas, but all year round!

In order to help you out (and maybe even give you some gift ideas for others…you’re welcome!) I have listed the different ways you can invest in yourself, all year round:

1. Educate yourself

Become financially literate, if you aren’t already, by reading books that will help you understand basic finance and help you building a foundation and a mind-set that will lead you to be more conscious of your spending, saving and investing habits. Financial literacy is unfortunately not part of our school curriculum so there is lots to learn if you are new to this. My recommendations are to start with these books:

If you are already financially literate (because you have been reading my blog and have already read the books I have recommended above), then you can educate yourself on other things, for example, how to start your own business or side hustle or even how to start investing in property. My recommendations are to start with these books:

Or even learn about something completely new to you, for example, how to code, so you can create apps or even games, or

2. Explore your creative side

There is a fountain of creativity within most of us that has never been tapped or certainly hasn’t been used to its highest potential. You may need to unearth, and hone your individual creativity.

Creativity, in any form, helps you to grow personally and professionally, to view problems and solutions in different ways and to utilise other parts of your mind that may have been previously untapped. It is important to keep in mind that creativity has many faces and is far broader than being a painter or sculptor; it’s also about trying new things.

Learn a new language — Sign up to a weekly class or use language training software or an easy app like Duolingo

Try gourmet cooking — Sign up to a formal class or buy Gourmet Cooking for One or Two cookbook and do it from your own kitchen

cookbook and do it from your own kitchen Enjoy music — Learn a new instrument or just listen to more music during the day from your Echo device with Amazon Music

device with Create something — Create paintings, sculptures, pottery or design your own jewellery or clothes, then look to sell them online using a sales funnel (To learn how to do this, click here, it’s well worth it!)

Choose some form of activity that you have never tried, haven’t practiced in years, or have never explored fully.

3. Nurture your mind and body

Nurturing both your mind and body allows you to have more to give (now and in the future) more energy, more knowledge, more ideas, more compassion, greater strength, physical and mental endurance.

Expand your mind

Learning new things and keeping your mind active even in simple ways helps to grow and maintain your mental ability.

Read — Read anything and everything, like I metioned above, it doesn’t have to be about being financially literate, but something you want to learn or are curious about.

Explore culture — Attend performances in theatres, listen to different style of music, travel, or join an organisation or group comprised of people from different backgrounds

Open your mind — Engage in conversations with those who disagree with you. Look at an argument and try to make a case for the opposing point of view.

Keep your mind active — Play word games, (yes, even Words with Friends counts), board games that include strategy (like Z-Man Games Pandemic, how fitting for the year we have just had) or try using your brain to perform simple calculations rather than relying on a calculator (use games like Gangsta Granny’s Mental Maths Games to help you with this).

Care for your body

Your body is like a well-oiled machine. If you care for it in the way that you might maintain an expensive car, it will perform marvellously and last for a very long time. Remember the basics:

Give it high quality fuel — Make healthy food choices as often as possible. What you eat does play a large role in your energy and ability to perform. You truly are what you eat.

Don’t push it too hard — Rest and relax often, slow down and don’t overload your system. Also, don’t shift gears too quickly, it causes stress and damage to “your machine,” A.K.A. your body.

Get regular and necessary maintenance — Go to the doctor when you’re sick, don’t put it off until you totally break down. Better yet, use preventative maintenance, get check-ups, take appropriate vitamins and pay attention to irregular or erratic behaviour.

Polish the exterior — Take care of the outside too. Many people dismiss this as frivolous and self-indulgent, but it’s not as long as you don’t go overboard. I’m not talking about facelifts and Botox, I’m talking about getting a haircut, and wearing clothes that make you feel confident and good about yourself.

Until next time, thank you and stay safe.