I don't know why more people don't think about this or understand this concept. When you go to purchase that really nice expensive dress or diamond ring you just had to have, think about how much it really costs you. Not in your hard earned money but in your time. Your time is your most precious gift. Time on this planet, time to love, time to enjoy and time to work. Why work so hard and so long to pay for something you may or may not get a few days of enjoyment out of only to sell it for half of it's worth a few years later.
When you go to buy that dress that cost $100 remember that after all the taxes are taken off of your paycheck in reality that dress could have cost you closer to $500. Not to mention the department store charges you tax on top of that $100.
For people really looking to be financially free you really need to stop and think, do I really need this item? Do I really need to spend my hard earned money and buy this only for it to give me enjoyment temporarily? My advice would be to live within your means, create a budget for yourself and your family and stick to it. In that budget you should be paying yourself into a savings account and start building up your equity. If you are still in debt, try making a budget with a debt repayment plan and only contribute a small amount into savings. Even if it's only $10 a week into savings at least it's a start. In reality that's only 2 Lattes that you could probably do without anyways.
I was never really the greatest with money. I guess I did have parents that did teach me how to save and put money into RRSP's and so I guess in a way I did have a leg up compared to a lot of people. Did I listen to a lot of their great advice though? No in the beginning and yes in the end. I had really bad credit card debt when I was 18-19 and decided I was going to travel without having any real savings. So I ended up putting all my expenses on Credit Card. Yikes! Bad idea.
So I was thousands of dollars in debt and I had a job that paid only $10 hour which I was barely able to pay my food and rent with. I ended up consolidating my debt into one payment a month which was the best thing I ever did! The bank was actually really great in working with me to achieve a debt re-payment plan. If you are so far into debt you don't know what to do the first thing you should do is talk to your financial institution for help. There is no shame in asking for help and they want you to be able to re-pay them back and not go bankrupt.
So there I was paying off my debt and I opened my first RRSP when I turned 19 (as per my parents instructions). It's wasn't much, I was only contributing $50 a month into it but that was how I was able to buy my first condo when I was only 25. I put transferred some of the money from my RRSP into a first time home owners plan and was able to do it. I am now 27 and own a house and still have my condo which I now rent out for income and to pay my mortgage down on my condo.
It's such a great way to get your foot in the door into the real estate market when you don't have a lot of money for a down payment. One way to work your way up to financial freedom is to own property and one day own it outright. There will be dips in the market over time but overall the market will go up and is a surefire way to start making money. It's a slow process but worth it. So many people can't come up with that first down payment and so they end up renting their whole lives. Their money gets eaten up by an giant black hole called rent and 20 years later they have nothing to show for it.
I don't consider myself rich by any means, however I do feel like I am very close to being financially free. I own two properties, own my car outright and have no outstanding debt. I don't live pay check to pay check and I have built up my savings and continue to do so. I look at some of my friends and how they spend their money on anything and everything and have nothing to show for it and complain they never have any money. You need to have CONTROL. You need to STOP SPENDING, and you need to START SAVING!
If you don't know where to start, start by getting rid of all the clutter in your life and selling some of it on e-bay or another known sight. Put all of the money you get for all the random stuff you had into a savings account and watch it grow! Leave it, don't touch it and keep adding to it. Add $10 a week into it. That's all it takes. You will be so amazed as to how much it can grow. Especially if you put it into an RRSP or a tax free savings account where you can earn more interest. If you are really bold you could even go as far as putting it into bigger stocks and bonds and things. If this interests you talk to you local financial institution and see about investing in some of their stocks. (If you live in the States you might not want to do this).
Whatever you do do there is no easy way to make money and all the ways to "get rich quick" are scams. How do you think these people made their money in the first place? By selling stupid books and packages to people like you for a pile of money. All the while it doesn't help you any by reading the crap they sell but put you more into debt by purchasing it. Please please please don't fall for any of these scammers books. That is one way to stay in debt.
Overtime, as long as you stay on budget and spend less then what you make and SAVE that extra money you have left over; you will be well on your way to financial freedom. For all those bog time spenders out there, you have to put into perspective what you want more..... to get enjoyment out of spending money when you know you really don't have it but spend it anyways regardless of the consequences and feel guilty afterwards, or to be financially free where you are not in debt and where you are not living pay check to paycheck all of the time.
I hope this post helps some of you find financial security and I would love to hear from you if this post helps you along the way!
Thanks for listening,
Brie
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