Seven Cures for a Lean Purse Part 2
“The HOLE in our pocket/purse is usually larger than the money we are putting in – there is a cure for HEALING this HOLE – the medicine however, may hard to swallow and a bit bitter to the taste…” — Rick Cox
“But the result is worth the inconvenience of having to put up with the taste and taking the time to swallow…”
Rick Cox
Part 2
Like the employee of mine and his wife, most people find it hard to believe anyone can set aside TEN PERCENT of their income for savings. Many will go as far as saying it is impossible. You could ask countless people from all over the world and they will tell you the same thing. So what is the cure????
Cure #2: Control what YOU spend… The Richest Man in Babylon
Geez, why didn’t you tell me it was that simple? You mean all I have to do is CONTROL WHAT I SPEND and everything will start going better? Well dog gone it, I am in and I will start right now…NOT! This isn’t how we receive this type of suggestion, is it? NO, it isn’t. We protest against someone else putting boundaries on us. We protest against anyone telling us how we should spend of OUR money.
If I was to gather one hundred people with different income levels; different education levels; different skill sets, and even different IQ’s into a room asking how many of them were short on the monies necessary for all of their ‘NEEDS’ how many do you think would raise their hands? I can tell you every single one of them would raise their hands to acknowledge their lack of income versus the burgeoning expenses of their needs. This would apply if you asked one hundred, one thousand, or even one million people or more. It would not matter the amount of people for the answer would be the same.
Think about all of those people in this one room. There would be people from the lowest of incomes to those who were paid the highest in income. Some of these having low incomes might have six to twelve children while a number of those with very high incomes might have only two. A few might have children with special needs and others might not. Several could be supporting their parents and others might not. Those with the lowest of incomes often live in the projects or ghetto where a home or apartment is basically a shack, with little or no amenities. Even though these places of residence were not fit to live in, most would still be making a monthly payment. Then there are those with higher incomes living in nicer homes with plenty of amenities. These would also still be making a monthly payment. The difference is these payments would be higher.
What would be the difference between those with higher incomes and those in the ghetto? The answer is: NOTHING! Both, in most cases are broke. I understand on paper the higher paid person would have what could be called a personal assets list, which might look quite impressive, but after all was sold and the debts paid, more often than not what the higher paid executive would have left is less than the one in the ghetto. What I am saying is the higher income person’s house is usually owned by the mortgage company and he would be paying to live there just like the person in the ghetto. This is the stark reality of it all as to where each actually stand in the true asset column. You might look like you have more, and it might appear you are worth more, when in fact the two of you are, for all intents and purposes, on equal ground. Neither one of you really own very much of what you are living in or driving. I hope you take the time to what you just read, sink in.
When this hit me it was as if someone smacked me upside the head with a baseball bat and it happened when I was reading, Richest Man in Babylon, for the umpteenth time. That is when I saw what, Control You Spend, was actually saying. “I” was no different than anyone else at any level unless I owned what I had and was not mired in debt. If everything I had was mortgaged or leveraged to the hilt then the only difference between me and the person living in the ghetto was how I look to those around me with my fancy clothes, house, and car, all owned by the bank.
Even if I had the greatest of education this would have no weight, IF what I was doing with what I knew, was to live in the same debt pit, those without an education were living. May I say here, education does not necessarily mean a formal or fancy high dollar education; Jim Rohn says: “A formal education can make you a living, but self-education can make you a fortune. Anyone can be self-educated.”
Bottom line, this is what people do when they make money: they live to or above their income levels regardless of what those levels may be; and while living to their level of income their desires become mistaken as needs. Needs are like weeds if they are left unchecked; they will grow and choke out the good plants. Remember in the seed sowing principle how the seed took root and grew up and bore fruit, but if you left the weeds growing around your good plants you may not be able to get to the fruit due to the weeds and thorns. Your so called needs will grow in the same manner as weeds if left unchecked. In order to overcome this you must object and disprove of whatever it is that allows these needs/weeds to grow. You must come to the realization there are limitations to what you can do with what you have or what you are given. You will never be able to satisfy all of your desires for lack of time, energy, money, etc. Pull up these need/weeds as quickly as you recognize them and you will find yourself beginning to control your expenditures.
I talked about a budget sheet in part one. If you were to put a budget sheet together through which you could analyze your spending habits you will find where and what you can cut from your supposed ‘needs/weeds.’ This will help you learn what your habits are as well as what you can do to change or adapt those habits to save money. What you will see is many of ‘your needs’ are really only desires. You will find the majority of your money is being spent on things that depreciate rather
than appreciate. Protest to the contrary to make sure each dollar is purchasing something that appreciates in value. Learn to use the budget sheet to help you keep the need/weeds from growing. This budget sheet will shine the light on what is and isn’t necessary.
In closing I am reminded of a story of a friend who was invited to have lunch with a very wealthy person at this person’s country club. Although both were handed menus, only my friend took the time to look. The waiter asked my friend what he wanted; as if looking for approval he looked at this wealthy person who told him to order anything he wanted. My friend ordered a whole slew of expensive food. When the waiter looked at the man of wealth he asked if it was going to be his usual half sandwich and soup of the day. The wealthy man answered yes.
My friend was stunned. He felt very uncomfortable so, gathering up the nerve he finally asked the wealthy man why he didn’t order more. The wealthy man’s answer was simple; he didn’t need any more than he had ordered. My friend learned something profound that day and it was this: just because you have the ability to order whatever you want it doesn’t mean you need it. The wealthy person could have ordered anything or everything on the menu, but he couldn’t have eaten it and he knew it. It would have been a waste of food and energy on many levels. This is called living a fasted life. This fasted life is what will help build your savings quicker than most anything you will ever do.
Best of LUCK as you
Labor Under Correct Knowledge…
Respectfully,
Rick Cox