Lord knows we work hard enough for it. Money, that is.
There’s other things we work hard for too that might actually tie into money too,but for the sake of this article, let’s just concentrate on the money.
I once read somewhere of an interview of a money mogul…it was a long time ago, and I can’t recall the person or the publication but the interview stated that this gentleman got up at 4am, read the paper (wall street journal, I think) so that he would be ready for the work day when the markets opened. The interviewer reacted that wow, that must be hard to do and I remember the gentleman’s reply: “If everbody spent as much time managing their money as they do spending it, they would have no money worries”.
And that really stuck with me. It rattled around in my noodle for far too many years, but when you think about it he has a very good point. How many hours did you research your latest house purchase, or even the last piece of furniture you bought. Probably more time was spent researching the purchase than making sure you can maximize the dollars you earn in the first place.
It dawned on me that I’ve been working in some fashion for over 25 years and due to some very very crappy money management I’m pretty much where I was the day I made $62 my first week of work back in 1982. In fact, some weeks my 1982 income exceeds my 2010 income.
And that is about to change. I have got the plan, the will power, the gumption, the mojo – whatever you want to call it. I AM managing my money. I’m looking for opportunities to save more, spend less and just as important: make more. I’m making lists and plans and goals. I’m comparing interest rates and loans and financing and anything and everything I can so I maximize my earnings.
A man (or woman) who has no debt is a rich man indeed. I’ve tasted the sweet nectar of debt freedom and I plan to again. I fell of the wagon for a while with the spending and frankly some poor decisions overall when it came to my spending. But that was yesterday. Now i clip coupons, or shop only when it’s on sale. Now I also make every effort to make more money, as that’s the other half of the equation too.
So if I have to get up at 4am to do so, then that’s what it takes. I’ve always been of the school that life should be little bursts of mini retirements along the way, but now’s the time to get rockin’ and get some work done and some debt erased. And part of that is just paying attention to where you spend your money. I’ve been doing it for July just for groceries and it’s a real eye opener. Goodbye potato chips and lattes and hello fruit that’s in season and on sale and black coffee at home. Not only has my waistline shrunk (not many calories in a banana) so has my spending on unneccesary and unhealthy food. Not only am I saving money but I am healthier for it.
I’m paying attention to my debt. It’s no longer just some number back there that I wish would just disappear. I’m working on repayment . I have what is starting to look like a bit of an emergency fund. I am going to to do this. And it all started with paying attention to my money both input and output as they are both important factors in financial management.
I’m working on getting out of debt one day at a time. I can’t manage it any better than that.
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