by Scott Allan
Let’s consider the total amount spent at the rate of $10 per day for five years:
$10.00 (a day) × 365 (days) × 5 (years) = $18, 250
Now that you can see what the little stuff adds up to, discipline yourself to only buy the things that you really need. Go for “bare bones” living and stop splurging. Don’t give in to your cravings immediately. Remember that for every day you spend money on the little stuff, it’s robbing you of the freedom you could have in the near future.
2. Put it in a safe place (the secret stash)
Years ago, I read a book that changed the way that I saved my money. It was The Wealthy Barber by David Chilton and it introduced me to a new concept: If you want to retire rich, you have to pay yourself before you pay anyone else. Although it made sense at the time, I didn’t do it.
A few years later, I started reading David Bach’s The Automatic Millionaire and his wisdom and advice took my knowledge of financial management to a whole new level. In the book, he emphasized the same concept I had read about years ago—pay yourself first!
I immediately heeded the advice, opened a separate account, and now every month, the money is automatically transferred from one account to another. I never see the transfer and I never do anything except work and let the bank move my money where I want it. It is this simple system that will eventually put a lot of cash in your hands. If you pay yourself first, you will be able to amass a small fortune over the course of ten, fifteen, or twenty years.
Imagine how much you will save if you automatically put away $200.00 per month. Do the math. Multiply this by twelve months and then again by twenty years. Before you even account for any interest, you already have $48,000 saved over the course of twenty years. This is a nice nest egg.
Develop an automated system for saving cash. Set yourself up with a save and stash system, let it grow, and someday you will be thankful you did. Even if you already have a pension plan, this is a separate account that you could have just for yourself. Think about all the wonderful things you could do with this cash.
If you only get a single idea from this chapter, I hope this is it. Visualize the vacation you’re going to take, the dream house on the beach you’re planning to buy, or simply working less so that you can spend more time with family and friends.
3. Control your debt
The personal debt accumulated over the years as a result of compulsive and excessive spending through credit cards and the interest on the principal amount has placed many people under significant financial stress, and in severe cases, caused complete financial ruin.
In today’s world, anything is possible with the swipe of a card or an instant loan that pays for the things we want. The truth about accepting a loan is that unless you invest the money into something that is offering a return that is greater than its original value, you could be placing yourself in a vulnerable and financially regressive situation.
We have been led to believe that it is easier to play now and pay later. Why wait for the good things in life when you can have everything you ever wanted today? The concept of owning everything now and worrying about it later has become a way of life.
Many people have accumulated debts worth tens of thousands of dollars before establishing themselves in their careers or starting a family. If this is happening—or has happened—to you, there are several actions you can take to stop digging a financial hole. It’s time for you to take control of your life and finances.
By controlling and managing yourself, you can avoid becoming burdened by the financial pressure of owing thousands with nothing to show for it. Here are some valuable suggestions to enable you to start controlling the amount of your debt accumulation every year.
a. Hold no more than one credit card.
Managing only one credit card is easier than attempting to juggle three or four bills every month. Owning several cards from multiple financial institutions (as most people do) makes it easier to slip further into debt, with multiple payments compounded by multiple interest rates.
The only winners here are the banks; you end up owing and eventually losing everything. By reducing your lifestyle to just one card, you can easily manage the expenditures and become more aware of what you are purchasing because you will have only one statement to review at the end of the month instead of a stack of bills.
You can also avoid using the card by stashing it at home. Only use it for special occasions. This will reduce your impulsive urge to use it every chance you get. By using only one card and keeping track of expenditures in a ledger, there will be no surprises when you receive your monthly statement.
b. Register one card online…only one.
If you shop online, register just one card as your primary source of payment. Having only one credit card bill enables you to track your purchases and the amount spent more easily than when you have several bills. Although registering several cards with eBay or Amazon gives you more shopping power and payment choices, it exposes you to the risk of falling deeper into debt.
The urge to purchase is greater when you have multiple payment choices and you can spread these payments around to balance the burden. These days, shopping online can offer terrific convenience, but it can also lead to financial ruin if you pay by multiple credit cards with excessive payments that go unnoticed.
c. Pay with cash whenever you can.
If you don’t have the cash, put off making a purchase until you do. You will experience a deeper level of satisfaction that you applied personal discipline toward saving the money rather than just paying for it with a card and spending money you don’t yet have. The belief that you can own it now and pay later is ruining your chances of financial freedom.
4. Make money from home
Walk through your house and make a list of all the things you own. Write down everything you can find, from antiques to stuffed toys. If you’re like most people, you have accumulated items through birthdays, Christmases, and shopping sprees. Furthermore, most of the stuff you have spent years collecting is sitting in boxes, gathering dust and depreciating in value.
What if you could turn all your stuff into cash? Haven’t you ever wished you could get your money back on something you bought on impulse, but knew it was too late to return? Unless something is a rare antique or a collector’s item, you probably won’t make more than half what you paid for it. Nevertheless, cleaning out your house or office could provide you with loads of cash if you do what millions of people are doing nowadays—selling their stuff online for cash!
A friend of mine recently made a list of everything in his house, set aside all the things he no longer used, and took pictures of all these items. Within a few weeks, he sold them all online and earned over $3,000.00. But this wasn’t the end of it. He enjoyed selling online so much that he started an online business. As a result, he has doubled his monthly income.
You may be surrounded by items that are worth thousands of dollars without even knowing it. You could potentially take a trip, buy a new car, or put money in the bank for when you really need it.
For the next few days, walk through your home and take an inventory—paintings, silverware, clothes, toys, games, DVDs, collections, appliances, odds and ends, and even furniture. Make a complete list. Then, decide what you can sell. You could sell everything online, have a big yard sale, or enter a flea market. Either way, you will be able to pass along your unwanted stuff to others who need it.
Another option is to donate your stuff to a local charity or give it away to those who need it more than you do. You don’t always have to make money to feel wealthy; a heart that is rich in giving is worth more than all the money you could make in a lifetime. There are plenty of charities to choose from. This will give you the opportunity to empty out your overflowing closets and fill up the lives of others who need your things more than you do.
5. Get wealth educated
Until a little less than five years ago, I knew almost nothing about saving, investing, or mana
ging personal finances. I had never taken any kind of investment class and I had little knowledge about financial matters. By asking around, I discovered that most other people were just as financially uneducated as me.
In my days of high school (and maybe yours, too) dissecting a frog or learning about people who had been dead for hundreds of years was more important than training future generations to be responsible with money, teaching them how to invest or save, or educating them about a retirement fund.
It wasn’t until several years ago that I decided that I no longer wanted to be stumped when it came to financial matters. If I was to start living my dreams, I had to get serious about saving and monitoring the cash that flowed in and out of my life every day.
After conducting some investigation, I discovered that the right source of information was crucial for financial education. I connected with people who understood finance. I found several authors who wrote books on the subject, and their research and techniques have helped countless people—including me—to understand the dynamics of personal finance.
If you desire to be financially educated, you have to be willing to invest the time and apply the necessary effort. Nobody is going to sit you down and give you the facts on how to save, spend, or earn more money. It’s up to you to take the initiative! You have to educate yourself by reading the right books and talking with the right people. Put together a plan that is not only simple but also works for you.
You need to get access to the financial education that was never offered in school or by parents or friends, and once you are financially educated, teach what you know to others. Below, I have provided some recommendations to enable you to build your road to financial education and freedom.
Reading recommendations:
The Wealthy Barber by David Chilton
The Science of Getting Rich by Wallace D. Wattles
The Automatic Millionaire by David Bach
Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness by Dave Ramsey
6. Do what you love to do, and make money at it!
What if you could turn your hobby or favorite pastime into a real career? Imagine doing what you love and making money at it. How would you feel if you were making a million dollars a year doing something that you love, such as painting, writing, playing sports, or establishing a business? The people who experience an overall abundance of satisfaction are living the life they’ve always dreamed of because their passion is their livelihood.
If you want to experience complete fulfillment, make this your primary goal: Take what you love doing the most and make it your career. Whether you are an aspiring artist, writer, computer programmer, world-class adventurer, homemaker, public speaker, or just love to spend your free time creatively, you can live your dreams every day once you work out how to integrate your fun with your life’s work.
The world is full of people living their dreams because they figured out how to turn their passions into a living. You can do what you love the most and get paid for it! Why should you have to wait until retirement to do what you want to do? Start your life right now so that your dreams can become your reality.
If you cannot integrate your deepest interests with your career path right now, make it your greatest passion to master your craft when you’re not working nine to five. You will experience a freedom unlike any other when your passions become your source of wealth and fulfillment.
Wealth is Ninety Percent Attitude
“If you see yourself as prosperous, you will be. If you see yourself as continually hard up, that is exactly what you will be.”
— Robert Collier
Many people struggle to gain control of their financial freedom for several reasons. For one, they believe becoming wealthy is something beyond their means or ability. They feel they’re not worthy of achieving any financial success. True wealth begins with our attitude toward money and the possibility of becoming financially successful.
In many cases, it is your beliefs about money that define your limitations. If you sincerely desire to become financially independent, you are going to have to realize that true wealth lies in the power of thought and attitude. Your beliefs about money and the thoughts and actions that follow are what attract wealth to you. If you believe you’re rich, you are; if you believe you are poor, then you will be.
Bringing wealth your way doesn’t require any special skills or abilities; you just need the proper attitude. By creating a wealthy attitude or mindset, you attract wealth. Just as a positive mind attracts wealth, a focus on limitations and beliefs that you’ll always be “poor” repels the opportunity for building financial growth and gaining abundance.
One of the most common destructive beliefs is that we live in a world of limitations—limited resources, limited ideas, limited choices, and limited wealth. Too many people believe there simply isn’t enough to go around and so we have to grab what we can, hold on to it as tightly as possible, and defend our limited abundance at all costs.
This attitude creates a life of scarcity and builds fear. Nothing could be further from the truth. We live in a world of abundance, yet many people choose to live like paupers. They clutch the scraps they’ve fought for, so nobody else can take them.
In the news, we are constantly bombarded with articles that support this fear of limited wealth and scarcity. According to recent news sources, the economy is bad, people are shopping less, jobs are being cut, and experts have predicted the next twenty years will be financially scarce. This causes many people to believe we don’t have enough and never will.
When was the last time you read a positive article on the abundance available in the world? We are being fed the very beliefs that are keeping the world poor. We live in a limited world of insufficient resources, despite the colossal amount of wealth observed in our cities, towns, and even most of the average homes in first-rate countries.
Create Your Own Worth
Building wealth is a global effort. Imagine where we would be if everyone shared a similar positive attitude that they’re as wealthy as they want to be. Don’t ever let another person or a nation decide how much money you’re worthy of having or making.
As we discussed earlier, you have the power of choice to create your own opportunity. You can live in scarcity for fear of never having enough or you can expand your creative and imaginative powers to build wealth beyond your wildest dreams. Build it first in your mind and you will attract all that you have ever desired into your life.
Instead of craving what you don’t have, live each day as though you are already living in abundance. Those who hope and wish gather nothing, but the people who push their desires into the world attract all that they’ve ever wanted.
Do not permit thoughts of poverty or the media’s negative predictions to destroy your abundant nature. Your new attitude of wealth is focused on creating abundance in all areas of life.
You already have everything you need to become rich and break free from the financial burdens of life through debt elimination. Now, educate yourself about your money and start putting it to good use. Believe that you are already wealthy, because you truly are!
SECTION VI:
The Pinnacle of Health
“To enjoy good health, to bring true happiness to one's family, to bring peace to all, one must first discipline and control one's own mind. If a man can control his mind he can find the way to Enlightenment, and all wisdom and virtue will naturally come to him.”
— Buddha
Building Health and Maximizing Energy: Eating the Right Foods
“The way you think, the way you behave, the way you eat, can influence your life by 30 to 50 years.”
— Deepak Chopra
You can follow all the great plans and do everything right, but if you fail to take care of your health, you won’t be around to see the results of your planning. The last part of this book is about taking care of your health, and while it
deserves a book of its own, there is enough material in this chapter to help you get started on staying in shape.
If you need to lose weight, improve your cardio, or recover from an illness, there are other books and courses you can utilize. Visit your local physician for advice, or speak to a health and fitness expert before trying a new exercise or diet regimen.
Eating Well
Exercising on a regular basis is a great way to keep the weight off while boosting self-confidence. After a good workout, you’ll feel great. To take it a step further, exercise in combination with a healthy diet not only boosts the quality of your life but also reduces the risk of disease. People who focus on their physical activity and back it up by eating the right foods can outperform anyone regardless of age and function at their best performance levels every day.
Healthy people spend less time at the hospital, less money on medicine and health care, less time in bed, and miss less work. They tend to save more because they don’t spend money on junk food or have unhealthy habits, such as excessive drinking, taking drugs, or smoking cigarettes. It’s not my purpose to lecture about the dangers of these things; you are well aware of the risks involved. However, what I will do is cover some basics of nutritional eating.
In today’s increasingly fast paced world, we may forget to take care of ourselves. Overeating—in addition to eating the wrong foods in the wrong combinations—can lead to the decimation of cells while poisoning the blood stream. As a result, we feel groggy and fatigued even after eight hours sleep and that feeling is accompanied by a loss of positive energy and enthusiasm.
Just as the mind and spirit require mental nourishment to operate at peak effectiveness, the body requires a source of energy to function at its fullest capacity. Your mind requires positive thinking to stay healthy. When your body and mind are well-nourished, this contributes to the overall value and happiness found in each day.