Boss Blog: January 18, 2017
Be a Saver, not a Spender! No really, DO IT!
We have all heard it before. You have to be a saver and not a spender. It is a fairly simple concept, right? Well, then why is it so damn hard to do? In this article, I am going to show three main reasons why this simple concept eludes so many. Even more important I am going to give solutions to overcome these problems. Buckle up folk’s because this might sting a bit.
1) People are lazy
Ouch!! What kind of jerk says this? Me! That’s who. Okay, let me explain. I’ve spent the good part of the last seven years working like a dog. I’m talking 55, 60, 70 hours a week. I didn’t do this because I love to work. I personally would rather be on a beach somewhere sipping daiquiris. I did it because I wanted desperately to be debt free. I also wanted to make sure I never got into that kind of mess again. So when I became debt free I didn’t stop busting my butt. Now that I’ve built up my savings I can relax a bit (Speaking of which I probably should relax a bit). It took a lot of 15 hour days and missed parties to accomplish those goals. Who really wants to do that? No one really wants to do it. I know I didn’t. There are some people though who own a home, go on vacations and retire early. They do this with ease and comfort because they have achieved true financial freedom. Bills don’t worry these people. Savings don’t worry these people. They do what they want to do when they want to do it. They have all their bases covered. It didn’t happen overnight and it wasn’t given to them (unless their last name is Hilton). So what do you do?
Solution:
Take those extras shifts. Get that part time job. Take it to the next level to get ahead. Sounds cheesy but hard work does pay off. What’s the worst that can happen? You have a little extra money? You lose some friends? Chances are if you lose them then they weren’t that great of a friend, to begin with. Remember that nothing worthwhile is easy and nothing easy is worthwhile.
2) People are Selfish
Told you this might sting. People are inherently selfish. The problem is not so much that they are selfish, but that they are misguided in their selfishness. You might be saying: “What is this guy talking about because that statement made no sense?” Let me explain. I won’t go as far as saying we should all subscribe to Gordon Gekko’s Theory (Evil stock guru from the movie Wall Street). Gordon said, “Greed is good.” Well, what I mean is a little selfishness is good if it is directed towards your goals and dreams. I spoke in the last part about my borderline psychotic work schedule over the past several years. Well during that time co-workers would often ask me “what am I saving for?” Some even went as far as saying I was greedy for taking any extra shift or working many extra hours. My response to them was always the same, “You do your thing and I’ll do mine.” Was I selfish and greedy for hoarding overtime hours? Personally, I don’t care. No one cares about my future self as much as I do. I traded immediate selfishness for future selfishness. Did I miss out on some fun times? Yes. Did I probably lose some friends? Yes. Do I care? Hell no! Would I do it again? The answer to that one is simple, I had no choice. It took 5 years of very hard work to erase 3 years of very bad choices and now I have a lifetime to play with. That is totally worth it in my eyes.
Solution:
This one is simple. Trade away the immediate selfishness of nice clothes, expensive nights out and fancy vacations. Trade them for a paid off home, family vacations and an early retirement. Some people can’t live without their spa days and big screen TVs. Don’t be one of them. Be lean and mean. Be greedy right now for your future.
So people are lazy and selfish. What else are we you might be asking? Well, we aren’t all that bad. In fact, most of us are pretty good people. My last reason people spend and don’t save:
3) People are Unlucky
How are we unlucky? We are unlucky because we are being fed bad information. We are unlucky because we are being set up to fail. Most of all we are unlucky because we are underpaid. We are told the government will help us. We are told the banks have our backs. We are also told we make livable wages. When things go wrong we need to realize that the government, the banks and most importantly our bosses will not take care of us. Sadly we are made to care about things that aren’t important at all, (Selfies, TV shows, nights out, etc.) We are also made to not care enough about what is really important. Chief among those would be job security, savings and protecting our families. With all this doom and gloom what do we do?
Solution:
Create your own luck. Be informed. Do your own research and seek out advice. Remember if it seems a little fishy it probably is. If it feels right, it probably is. Find someone you trust and work with them. Be aggressive with what you care about. This includes your job. If the boss won’t give you a raise, find one that will. Be strong when it comes to your family and your future. Everything around you is out to get you and your money. Don’t let them. Take control of your situation.
These are just three examples of why people don’t take control and start saving. We have to understand that saving money is not supposed to be fun. It’s not supposed to feel natural. Spending the money when you get it is fun. Saving isn’t as easy as blowing everything you have but it will make your life substantially easier in the long run. It is like working out so feel the burn. Don’t be lazy. Be selectively selfish. Don’t let luck dictate your life. Be smart. Be different than the rest.
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Joseph James Francis is a Financial Advisor. You can find him on various social media platforms and at www.budgetboss.ca.