The Unknown Secrets of Millionaires
While we all fantasize about having money, I'm more or less like a dog chasing a car... I don't think I'd know what to do with it if I had it. I'm pretty prone to impulse purchasing. The worst thing to ever happen to my wallet was Amazon. It's just too easy to instantly have whatever I want, but those habits can be curbed. Like when I wanted to buy a house, I made my own to-go lunch everyday for a year. I never ate out. No movies, entertainment, tool purchasing, etc... And you know what, I saved a pile of money in the process.
Now that I have the house, I'm back to my old ways. I eat lunch out almost every day. I impulse buy little stuff a lot. I convince myself that a little $10 something isn't anything to concern myself with, and after a dozen or so each month, that savings account money is now wrapped up in yet another set of vintage dominoes that look nice, but ultimately I didn't need. So, where do you start when it comes to saving money? Take these three rules and live by them.
1 - Live below your means. Get into a home that costs you at or less than 1/4 of your take home pay. Make meals in that home. Take lunch with you to work. For instance, Warren Buffet lives in the same home he and his wife bought back in 1958, and rarely eats out.
2 - Don't spend money... Invest it. While it's nice to have the German car, that money will pay you in an investment account or a piece of real estate (like buying a home) instead of costing you money, still staying within your means.
3 - Budget. Get yourself on a budget and stick to it. You can't wait until you make more money to save more money. Start now, and when more money comes, save more.
You don't want to be rich. Rich people are neck-deep in debt driving their fancy cars. You want to be wealthy. Start small with the making your own lunch thing. Then pinch pennies til you get a thousand dollars in your savings. Don't touch that savings. By the time you get that thousand, saving will become easier for you as you'll get used to the new fiscal you. Believe me, you see four digits in your savings account, you won't want to lose it. The budget is the hardest part. It'll take some time to get used to. Don't give up the first or fifth time you break it. Keep trying until you get it hammered.