Updated: August 11, 2023
When thinking about someone financially stable, most people simply imagine a person who’s earning a lot of money.
Other common signs of financial stability, which people believe, include having regular work, owning a car and a home, and being able to afford a few luxuries in life.
However, these external signals can be inaccurate. Someone might earn a six-digit monthly income, drive a fancy car, own a home, and look rich — but in reality, they are deep in millions of debt.
So how can you really tell if someone is financially stable? Or better yet, how can you determine if you’ve already achieved financial stability?
My answer would be to look for the less common signs given below. It’s a list of realities that better describe what it means to be financially stable and secure.
1. You never worry about your bills.
Your bills always get paid on time, sometimes even ahead of the due date. And you never dread receiving your credit card bills because you’re confident that you have the money to pay them.
2. You don’t feel the need to show off your wealth.
There’s this funny quote I read recently, “Men in suits look really successful until you find out they work for the men in t-shirts and jeans.”
Don’t get it wrong. Financially stable people do own nice and fancy things, but they buy them for themselves and never to impress others.
3. You’re okay with the reality that rich people pay fewer taxes.
People with the employee mindset will find this hard to understand. But just think about it, who are these rich people?
They’re mostly entrepreneurs and investors. And they’re responsible for creating jobs, they help stimulate the economy, and they have foundations and advocacies that help others.
So instead of saying it’s unfair that rich people pay fewer taxes, you aspire to become one of them. And it’s not because you also want to enjoy tax deductions and exemptions but because you also want to do the good things they do for the country.
4. You prefer food for both its taste and nutritional value.
Food is a basic necessity, and eating is considered one of the simple pleasures in life. When you’re financially stable, you love eating and actually consume more healthy and delicious meals regularly.
5. You have a mentor or a role model that you want to emulate.
When you’re not stressed about your finances, you have more room in your life to plan for self-improvement and success. And this is usually followed by having someone whom you can look up to and learn from.
It doesn’t always have to be financial, it can also be about other aspects of your life. Someone who can inspire and motivate you to become a better person physically, emotionally, or spiritually.
6. You understand art and why it costs so much.
You’re not busy making ends meet. Thus, you have more time to understand art. And consequently, it becomes clear to you how much of an artist’s skill and talent is spent in creating their work.
7. You are not motivated by money alone.
Achieving financial stability requires making the necessary effort to save and invest. Having done this, you now realize that life isn’t just about money. You are now more driven by your interests, passion, and desire to leave a good legacy.
8. You have a greater appreciation of the value of time.
You’re already halfway towards reaching financial freedom. And by now, you’ve seen how important it is to be productive with your work and why you need to be patient with your goals.
You understand that each day is an opportunity to progress toward your dreams. And you’ll be careful not to waste time on things that don’t help you move forward.
9. You don’t feel stuck in life.
You have a lot of options. And if you really want to, you can afford to find another job, switch careers, or even go into new and unfamiliar ventures.
The reason why you don’t feel stuck is because you’re not tied down by debt. And you have enough savings to sustain you in case you decide to make big changes in your life.
10. You know how to start over if your life resets.
Imagine for a moment that, for some reason beyond your control, you lose all your money and go bankrupt. What would you do next to start over?
Difficult times are coming, but you’re confident that you can survive because you have skills, talents, and knowledge that you can use to get back up on your feet.
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I do think that I am in no way financially stable based on the signs you mentioned. However, I hope that I will be in the near future. I have also created my own blog about finance and my dream to become financially independent by the age of 40. I have read your blogs and I have learned a lot. I hope you’ll be able to inspire more readers like me to dream big and go for financial stability.
I think I can do thesr thigs except for the taxes LOL
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There is a great deal of truth in this article. So much in fact, that I think each paragraph could be expanded into a full article. Number 3 especially hits home for me as an American EXpat living in the Philippines. The leftists and socialists types truly hate our business, entrepreneurs and anyone who “makes it.” The liberals promise more free stuff to win elections. They forget who pays the bill while piling on more and more repressive regulations and ever higher taxes. Smart business people must use any deductions or write-off available to them or there would be no growth in small business, the backbone of the American economy. I earnestly pray the Filipino people will NEVER let the tainted leftist thinking get a foothold.
Well, here we are a few days past one year since I first commented on this great article and now under an extended lock-down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We have three local business ventures all idle due to social distancing and various restrictions. Still, I can honestly state that my family and I are at peace with the entire situation. All regular bills are fully up to date. The charities we support have more needs than ever and yet when asked by the staff if we could help a little more, we were able to do so.
My beautiful (and super smart) bride has used this downtime to build and launch a fourth business that has already began to earn. This time, 100% on-line so we hope it will be more “virus proof” than our other ventures. There has also been an opportunity for my wife to return to school, earning additional certification in the area of our new venture.
It is a strange feeling to beg, plead ( order?) my wife to please not accept academic writing assignments now that another one of her work seasons has begun. I am thinking she has more than enough to do with business development and school 5 days/week for nine months. She has always made it known that writing is one of her passions in life. For her, doing the research for various assignments is like being paid to stay in school witch she loves. We did reach a compromise that she will only accept longer time frame assignments that may be worked on over weekends so as not to put additional pressure on her during her school week.
Some will question our judgement on hiring a YAYA / house help at a time of crisis when money is in short supply. We actually do need some help to free up extra time. During the daytime hours, I am catching up on some home repairs that I enjoy accomplishing myself to be sure they are completed they way I want it done. I need to ‘hit the hay’ early to get some rest before the US stock and options markets open at 9 PM Philippine time. Not a great idea for me to pick up our 11 month old son to comfort him while working on plumbing or covered with attic dust while doing some wiring. My wife needs some quite time in the office to “tend to business.” We also see that the young lady we have with us is and will be a wonderful choice. There was an instant bond between her and our young son when our new helper walked in the front door to begin work!!!
Our new family member is the second child of the YAYA my wife employed for many years when she was on her own in an apartment setting. It is good that our employee’s Mom is nearby, on the other side of town. They can visit weekends to prevent homesickness and we can all share a nice lunch together. We also feel strongly that we will make a difference for this young lady to help her overcome a setback she had. For various reasons that were not her fault, she did not complete high school. We have the means to set her up to complete her studies on-line. To top off all of this, our twelve year old daughter now has a older companion to confide in and talk with when a parent just will not do the trick.
YES, we are all in rough times, no doubt about it. Do we feel very blessed? YES, we give thanks all day and at every meal for everything our family has overcome. We give thanks for the plethora of new business opportunities we have. We give thanks that we were empowered to be able to help others who were hurt so badly during the dark days of the pandemic. I guess I talk too much? These are the candid, rambling thoughts of an EXpat who has loved his time here in the Philippines.