Conclusion#
What influences a person’s future wealth the most, is whether they have started managing their finances.
Everyone Can Achieve Wealth Through Personal Finance
This book aims to illustrate a simple truth: investing and managing your finances can not only improve the financial situation of an individual or family, but is also an excellent path to wealth creation. Furthermore, anyone can achieve wealth through personal finance. You don’t need to be rich, have a high income, possess a high degree, have specialized knowledge or advanced skills, nor rely on luck. What you need is the desire for wealth, a correct investment philosophy (not just techniques), and the patience to wait for the long term. Therefore, whether a person has money or not, or how high their income is, doesn’t matter. What truly influences a person’s future wealth is whether they have started managing their finances. This endeavor is not easy, but it’s undoubtedly worth your effort!
Readers, please immediately review your current asset allocation. Is too much of your capital sitting in bank accounts or other “guaranteed return” investments? Is your investment portfolio sufficiently diversified? Do you frequently buy and sell in the stock market?
After understanding your asset allocation, you should earnestly plan your financial goals and follow these five principles:
1. Clearly define the amount of wealth you hope to achieve and keep it in mind at all times. Simply thinking “I want to be rich” is not enough.
2. Set a specific date for achieving your goal.
3. Determine what price you’re willing to pay and what actions you’ll take to reach your ideal goal.
4. Think about your goal at least twice a day to reinforce your belief.
5. Take action, whether you feel completely ready or not.
In Appendix II, readers can use the wealth creation formula and examples provided to calculate how to achieve their financial goals.
Your future wealth depends on what you do today. Don’t let unnecessary hesitation cast a shadow on your heart. As long as you understand investment and financial management, you too can become wealthy in the future. Everyone possesses the necessary ingredients for wealth creation: a small amount of capital and a God-given resource—time. As long as you are willing to learn about personal finance, you have the potential to become a multi-millionaire.
When you find people around you feeling lost due to a lack of vision for the future, share with them the “¥14,000 a year for 40 years can make you a multi-millionaire” formula and help them reignite their hope.
Financial Dependence Is Your Own Responsibility
The unequal distribution of wealth in today’s society is increasingly severe. Some blame flawed policies, others point to artificial market manipulation. I believe neither is the primary cause. One of the main reasons for the wealth gap is the disparity in financial literacy among people.
The reason for poverty in modern times is not so much insufficient income, lack of thrift, or excessive spending, but rather improper financial management. In modern society, achieving financial independence after the age of 40 is a fundamental responsibility for everyone. Whether you want to or not, or whether you like it or not, investment and financial management have become essential knowledge for modern individuals. Remember, with our current income levels and investment opportunities, “remaining poor after 40” is self-inflicted, and “not being a multi-millionaire after 70” is due to a lack of financial knowledge.
Advances in modern medicine have increased human life expectancy, leading to an aging society. Longer lifespans are a blessing, but enjoying a comfortable retirement is even more crucial. We must accumulate sufficient wealth to secure our lives in old age.
Effortless Personal Finance, Enjoy the Process
From the examples provided in this article, we can see that those who are good at managing their finances understand how to invest their assets in stocks and real estate with high long-term returns, and they avoid unnecessary short-term trading, thus achieving wealth with ease. Those who are not good at managing their finances either focus solely on saving and keeping their assets in “safe” bank deposits or try to get rich quickly by engaging in short-term trading in the stock or futures markets. These individuals will eventually be left far behind in the race for financial success.
Most people keep their assets in financial institutions without investing them, and when they do start investing, they aim for quick riches. As a result, their money stagnates in banks, and their pursuit of quick wealth often leads to substantial losses. They fail to realize that with a little courage, by investing in stocks and real estate and patiently waiting for decades, they can naturally achieve wealth.
Simply put, building wealth through personal finance only requires two things: investing your capital in areas with high returns and having the patience to wait for the long term. The required investment is low, the probability of success is high, and the process is relaxed and enjoyable.
I advise readers not to rush to get rich through investment, causing anxiety and ultimately achieving the opposite of what they desire. By following the methods described in this book, you can achieve financial success without expending excessive time and energy, allowing you to focus on your existing career.
Personal finance is a marathon, not a sprint. If you view the entire process from a long-term perspective, temporary setbacks don’t signify failure, and momentary gains don’t guarantee lasting success. With this mindset, you can maintain a more open perspective and avoid becoming overly attached to gains and losses.
I admit that consistently buying assets and holding them long-term can make personal finance seem dull and unbearable. However, before engaging in any financial activities, investors must clarify their objectives: is it to build wealth or to seek the thrill of gambling? Personal finance can not only lead to wealth but also bring joy and knowledge. Everyone should learn how to manage their finances and find enjoyment in the process.
Don’t Feel Guilty About Being Wealthy
Wealth should be acquired and used ethically. You don’t need to apologize to others for your wealth. Only the pursuit of wealth through unscrupulous means is sinful and unfortunate. Therefore, everyone should not only be confident but also feel obligated to earn wealth. There’s no need to be secretive or ashamed about pursuing wealth. On the contrary, being financially dependent is a burden on society. Moreover, wealthy individuals are more capable of contributing to society. In short, if you can’t find a good reason why getting rich is bad, why not allow yourself to become wealthy?
You earning more in the investment market doesn’t mean others will earn less or lose more. If everyone is proficient in managing their finances, not only can individuals prosper, but economic resources can also be utilized effectively, leading to rapid overall economic growth. In a market economy, the wealth of society is built upon the wealth of its people. Only a prosperous populace can create a prosperous economy.
In today’s financially driven world, whether for personal advancement or the benefit of society as a whole, everyone should strengthen their understanding of personal finance. When everyone is skilled in managing their finances, individuals and families can live prosperous lives, the wealth gap can be narrowed, and the nation can progress and flourish.
Action Speaks Louder Than Words
“Knowing and not doing is not knowing.” The biggest obstacle to personal finance is not that it’s difficult to do, but that it’s difficult to start. The key to overcoming this is to act immediately. One of the main reasons for failure in personal finance is avoiding decisions. However, if you want to achieve your goal of building wealth through investment, there’s no other way than to take action.
After reading the basic principles of investment and financial management outlined in this article, you should understand that building wealth is not only achievable but also not difficult. So, act now! Time is money. The earlier you start, the sooner you’ll reach your financial goals and share the fruits of your labor with your family.
Looking ahead, changes in society, politics, economics, and finance will accelerate, and the resulting redistribution of wealth will inevitably follow suit. For yourself, your family, and society as a whole, managing your finances is a role everyone should embrace.
Persistence Is Key
For readers seeking quick riches, this book might disappoint you. A more accurate title would be: “How to Invest and Manage Your Finances to Slowly but Steadily Build Wealth.”
Many believe that successful people are infallible—never failing, never experiencing losses. Many also think they must be omniscient and possess sufficient knowledge before they can start investing and managing their finances. Our most common flaw is our unwillingness to try repeatedly and to persevere. Building wealth through personal finance is not difficult! The reason most people don’t achieve their goals is their inability to persevere and their lack of patience.
Persistence is essential for success in personal finance. Suppose you embark on a wealth-building plan and encounter setbacks along the way. Don’t be discouraged. Some people regularly save and invest annually. When prices rise, they are satisfied and continue their plan. But when prices fall, they panic and abandon their investment strategy. They fail to understand that price fluctuations are inherent in the investment market, and investment results will inevitably fluctuate.
If, midway through your financial plan, you succumb to the temptation to spend your investment capital or give up due to repeated setbacks, all your previous efforts will be wasted. Success in personal finance depends on endurance and resolve: endurance to delay gratification and resist immediate consumption temptations; and resolve to withstand significant wealth fluctuations over long periods without losing your composure. As long as you have perseverance and resolve, trust in compound interest, and believe in the “wealth creation formula,” the ultimate wealth will undoubtedly be yours.
“No dreams, no wealth.” Those who build wealth through personal finance must be driven by desire and ambition. They also need sufficient courage, knowledge, patience, and perseverance. A lack of courage, flawed methods, impatience, or giving up halfway will not work. Whether you can achieve wealth and financial independence in the future depends entirely on your actions and efforts today.
Unlock Your Hidden Wealth Potential
Believe it or not, the price of living a wealthy and successful life is no greater than the price of living a poor and miserable one. Achieving this depends entirely on wisdom, belief, and action. After reading this book, readers should understand that everyone can achieve wealth through personal finance. The reason most people are not wealthy is not due to low income, but rather a lack of understanding of how to create wealth through investment and financial management. The primary purpose of this book is to help everyone unlock their hidden wealth potential.
If, after reading this book, you still cannot effectively apply these investment principles to manage your money and improve your financial situation, then this book is a complete failure. Financial education is not merely about imparting knowledge; its significance lies in genuinely changing the reader’s financial behavior.
This is a book of action, not a textbook for enhancing investment knowledge or a “decorative book” for your bookshelf. This book aims to inspire readers to change their mindset and behavior. Its success depends on readers taking action based on the core principles presented, breaking free from mediocrity, and embarking on the path to wealth. Therefore, at the end of most chapters, key points are summarized for readers to reflect upon and apply.
Investment and financial management can not only lead to wealth but also bring joy to investors. Everyone should learn how to manage their finances and reap the substantial rewards. I believe most readers already possess the basic requirements for building wealth: a small amount of capital, sufficient time, and the investment knowledge gained from this book. The world of personal finance, full of changes and opportunities, awaits you. It is filled with treasures and pitfalls. Don’t hesitate, and don’t leave empty-handed.
The principles of building wealth through investment and financial management are neither profound nor mysterious. They are absolutely achievable for everyone, and many have indeed easily become wealthy through these methods. As we’ve mentioned before, “If you’re willing to learn, managing your finances is as simple as walking.”
Among the financial principles presented in this book, you’ll find many that contradict deeply ingrained investment concepts and financial habits, and some even go against human nature. Therefore, to realize the ideal of wealth creation through investment and financial management, the first step is to break free from some “deep-rooted and misguided” investment concepts, common knowledge, and habits. Almost none of these concepts and principles are easy to achieve. Therefore, I advise readers to not only read each chapter carefully but also to review, reflect, establish strict rules, and ultimately change their behavior.
Wealth Is a Means to a Better Life
Finally, this book must emphasize that wealth is not the purpose of life, but a means to create a better life. The ultimate goal of investment and financial management is not just to become rich, but to use wealth to realize your life’s aspirations. Therefore, a fulfilling and balanced life is the starting point for personal finance.
Everyone should actively and optimistically plan and execute their lifelong financial journey. Based on the principles we’ve presented, everyone can achieve substantial wealth through personal finance without sacrificing time, energy, work, or life. However, it’s crucial to remember that only those who balance career, life, health, family, and wealth can be considered truly successful in managing their finances. Those who gain the world’s riches but lose their health, family, and the meaning of life cannot be considered truly successful. In today’s society, many are lost in the pursuit of wealth, sacrificing more valuable things in life. Therefore, this principle of balancing personal finance and life is particularly important and deserves careful consideration.
Although this book repeatedly emphasizes that success in personal finance depends on mindset, time, and action, not luck, I still congratulate you, the reader, on being fortunate enough to encounter this book. By adhering to the investment principles within, you are sure to become a multi-millionaire in the decades to come!