Friday Final Reflection: June 30, 2017
Savings Week Wrap Up
Welcome back to my final reflection on the week here at Budget Boss. This week we spoke all about savings and how important they are for each of us. On Monday we spoke about the benefits of saving your money, some of which had nothing to do with having more money. Better health, better relationships, and better employment have all been attributed to having healthy finances. Having savings also helps you take advantage of opportunities such as going back to school if needed, buying a house or even a lucrative investment. Saving money even sets a good example for your children. Ever watch those TV shows where whiney kids reign supreme over their hapless parents? Self-control in the form of saving money instills discipline to all those involved including children. It is a sure-fire way to not raise a couple brats that demand everything from the ATM of mom and dad. To wrap up savings week I have my final 3 reasons to start or ramp up your current savings program.
1) Saving begets Saving
Also, debt begets debt. I know when I owed 10K in Credit Card debt it was far too easy to add another 5K just because. When I started saving my money it became natural and easy to save more. I’ve told a client of mine that being 25K in debt is closer to 50K in debt than being debt free. You might ask: well how is one closer than the other? They are both 25K away right? Wrong! Accumulating more debt is far easier than being debt-free. That is because of the mentality you are in and the ever present factor of nasty interest. You have to remember that compound interest is a beautiful thing. It can make you money in your sleep and allow you to get to your goals faster. It also makes the bank happy as debt interest compounds too. As your balance gets bigger that debt interest also compounds. Who do you want to be happy: You or the Bank? The answer is easy. Saving allows for more saving and that is why it is so important to get started. Start that snowball rolling, you will be amazed at what happens.
2) Life is a Bitch
What do I mean by this? Anything that can go wrong will go wrong. I see people who get sick having to come back to work too early only to get sicker. I see people hurt themselves and then make it worse by not taking the proper amount of time off. I see people ruined by job loss. A simple cut back in hours at work can send some people into a tailspin. Why is this? It is because they don’t have a sufficient safety net. Ever wonder why the workplaces where people make the least amount of money always have the most drama? The reason is that the majority of people there are teetering on the edge. If you can be broken at any time then every day, every shift is a battle for survival. Having that safety net allows you to work freely. It allows you to focus on bettering yourself at work and at home. It allows you to work on self-improvement including the most important thing, your health. There is nothing that can ruin your life easier than not having your ducks in a row including savings. Life will throw you curveballs, wait for your pitch, don’t swing at the junk.
3) Savings will make money, make sense
Money can be confusing to most people. The problem is that they equate money to things and not to dreams. Using money solely to buy things gives a false sense of what money actually is. The reason is that buying things is easy, accomplishing goals is not. You can work 2 hard weeks to buy a flat-screen TV and then another 2 weeks to go on a shopping spree. At the end of that hard month’s work, you have nothing. Yes, you have a TV and some clothes but you are still broke. You can’t eat your clothes and you will get pennies on the dollar for that TV if you have to sell it to pay bills. Saving for goals like an emergency fund, paying off debt, a down payment on a house and other larger goals give meaning to each shift. They show you the value of a day’s work. Your progress is tracked each month and ultimately at the end of the year. Every 2 week’s nothing changes, you just add more to the pile. This is a healthy relationship with money. Use it as a tool to accomplish goals, not acquire things. The ones who use it to acquire things will often say, “Money isn’t important.” They say it is not important because all they have is things and have not accomplished any goals. The ones who are goal-setters know the importance of money because they have more to accomplish. In turn, they are better workers, better parents, and better people. The world needs more of them.
I help people create savings plans to accomplish goals. I often get asked, “What’s the hot new stock?” I answer that question with, “I have no clue.” There is no formula to get rich quick. Some people get lucky, some hit it rich. I don’t know the next Bitcoin or Facebook. I don’t know if marijuana stocks are going to double this year. What I do know is that if you save money, you will have more money. I’m pretty smart, aren’t I? It took me a few years of debt-racking, money burning stupidity to figure that one out. Some people spend their whole lives and never figure it out. It will ultimately define you. Either you will be defined by a life of struggles with money, or you will be defined by having a life of experiences and security. I don’t think I have to tell you which one is better.
Thanks for reading my post today and I hope you got a lot out of saving week here at Budget Boss. To start your own savings plan or ramp yours up please feel free to message me at joe@budgetboss.ca. Have a great weekend friends!
“The habit of saving is itself an education; it fosters every virtue, teaches self-denial, cultivates the sense of order, trains to forethought, and so broadens the mind.” — T.T. Munger
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Joseph James Francis is a Financial Advisor. You can find him on various social media platforms and at budgetboss.ca.
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