Skip to main content

Save Now, Be Wealthy Later

“Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone else planted a tree a long time ago.” – Warren Buffett

When it comes to conquering the challenge of living financially free you must make saving a priority. In other words, it is essential that you create excess cash reserves to put toward paying down your debts and investing in your future. This can be accomplished through earning more income or, more immediately, by putting a plan in place to minimize expenses. Jim Rohn has a simple formula for savings that can be used effectively to start growing your reserves.

As a result, focusing on saving will train your mind to think about abundance. Focus on all the things you can do with what you have right now. Remember, the more you save the more you will be able to invest and, in turn, you will be able to exploit compounding of interest. Putting your money to work for you is a key element in your quest to acquiring wealth.

“The rich invest their money and spend what is left. The poor spend their money and invest what is left.” – Jim Rohn

Having an abundance of money is a good thing. When you have more of it or plenty of it you are better equipped to provide for yourself and your family, as well as help others and causes you support. Until you have set yourself free from the burden of debt and covered your living expenses your ability to help others with your finances will be limited.


When it comes to minimizing expenses look for areas in your life where you can eliminate discretionary spending. While it is OK to spend on certain indulgences that can save time, anything that reduces the amount of time you have to work toward accomplishing your goals should be avoided. Invest these new savings in yourself by reading books, attending a seminar, or building a side business. Over time, your skill sets will expand and you will become more valuable to your employer or clients, as well as the rest of the world.

“Don’t wish it was easier, wish you were better.” – Jim Rohn

Ignorance is an obstacle which you cannot afford to let encumber you in your journey toward financial well-being. In order to have more you, have to be more. Or, as Charlie Munger says “In order to have what you want, you have to deserve what you want.” The world will not give you anything until you can offer some value to it. Hence, becoming skilled and knowledgeable will put the odds in your favor to make you much more valuable, resulting in more income to save for your dreams.

The greatest investment we can make is one in ourselves. That may seem selfish to those of you trying to provide for a family or pursuing acts of altruism. However, if we do not take time to be “selfish” and work on improving ourselves, we will stay the same and be of the equivalent or even less value to those around us in the evolving world.

“Take care of yourself and you will be able to take care of others. You can’t fix the world with broken hands.” – Joe Polish

Set aside some time to reflect on where you can start saving more and begin investing in yourself on your path toward wealth creation. Then begin creating a strategic plan for how you can get from where you are now to where you want to be. Try using visualization exercises to create that reality. In the meantime, make an effort to eliminate excessive expenses, begin saving for a goal, and find ways to increase your value to the world.

As always, if you have questions or comments, feel free to send me a message. Thanks for reading.


JD

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Budgeting Tips from Jim Rohn

For those unfamiliar, the late Jim Rohn was one of leading minds in the business coaching and personal development field. His work covers topics such as business strategy, time management, goal attainment, and personal finance. Rohn’s book “7 Strategies for Wealth and Happiness” contains a plethora of useful, applicable tactics that can dramatically improve your lifestyle through creating paradigm shifts in mindset and actions. He spends a portion of the book discussing an outline for managing a budget.  Specifically, Rohn calls it his 70/30 Rule. The premise is simple to follow and easy to implement. First, you start with your after-tax net earnings each month and multiply that value by 70%. Expenses for the month should not exceed this number (i.e. 70% of net wages). Second, subtract this expense target from after-tax monthly income and you will have 30% remaining. Lastly, this 30% is to be divided evenly into thirds. Rohn advises that the first third (10% of after-tax earn

5 Things I Learned from Mom about Money

In light of Mother’s Day I thought it would be helpful to reflect and impart some of the financial wisdom my mother shared with me. These quick, simple nuggets of advice continue to prove useful as I navigate adulthood. 1. Create a budget Soon after graduating college I was able to secure an investment job in the region I wanted. However, this required that I move out of home and begin living on my own. Facing this new chapter in my life, my mother took time to write out a budget  with me detailing my cash inflows versus outflows and determined how much I could expect to have left over. She emphasized that the key was to have something left over each month to  save   or invest   while still living comfortably. Overall, I learned that a budget is nothing more than a road map that helps you maintain control of your finances. 2. Maintain a healthy savings reserve Growing up I did various jobs during my summer breaks from school. During this time my mother instilled in me

The Best Investments for 2018

Despite what you may think, investing is for everyone. When it comes to investing, the best thing you can do is start. I’ve been emphasizing this for years with clients and friends who ask how, when or where they should invest. As I’ve told them, the sooner you start the faster you can put your money to work for you. The worst thing you can do is become overwhelmed, freeze, and end up doing nothing.    Though getting started can be a struggle, following through on the ideas below will help you  make good investments this year. Stock market While it is common advice, the stock market can offer excellent investment return opportunities for you.  After all, most millionaires earned their wealth through building and owning a business . For most of us, the next best thing is owning stocks which represent an ownership stake in a public company. Even though stocks are at all-time highs you will benefit from putting your money to work in the market rather