We all want a big estate, a powerful car, stylish clothes from the finest brands, and so on. While many of these things certainly can be realised, having a grip on your finances is all about identifying your own and personal ‘needs’ and ‘wants’, and acting accordingly.

I have a few questions for you: Do you know your monthly net wage? Do you know how much money you spent on groceries last week? If you consolidate all of your accounts, including checking accounts, credit cards, and investments, how did your assets and liabilities develop per month during the past 6 months?

We hear stories about self-made millionaire and people who made it from being a cook to owning a private jet. We often tend to treat such people as ‘being lucky’, or we feel the need to state that they probably had the help of a wealthy uncle or family. Seldom, however, we really try to understand what goes on in the mind of someone who truly ‘made it’, and more importantly, trying to learn from it.