Today's blog post is written for you but is just as much a reminder to me, I struggle greatly with budgeting and moving the financial needle forward in my personal life.
Money- is it a hot topic in your life and marriage? Money has the power to destroy relationships quickly if not used in a way that can keep your life on track and bills paid. I am not about to give financial advice but if you’re struggling financially there are two quick ways to make your dollar go further. You either need to make more money or you need to spend less money.
It’s not a get-rich-quick scheme. If you’re already at the ceiling or nearing the ceiling of what you can make with your current skill set and struggling with money- maybe it's time to start looking at where your money is going and what might be able to be eliminated.
I’d say the silent killer is those 80$ bills that happen often. Think about it- 80$ phone bill, 80$ to go to a nice restaurant for an evening, 80$ to go to a sports game, 80$ to go to the fair, 80$ for a quick hardware store run. This 80$ can take you 3-6 hours of your working life to make that 80$ back but most of us don’t bat an eye when the register says 80$.
In The Compound Effect, author Darren Hardy explains how this dynamic touches every area of our lives. "Every dollar you spend today is worth at least $5 in 20 years and $10 in 30 years (assuming only 8% growth rate)." So that $5-a-day breakfast sandwich is taking $25 out of your future pocket.
Another silent hole in your wallet is the subscription service industry. I've got a few myself, I enjoy Spotify, Paramount Plus etc but if my wife and I aren't diligent in keeping tabs on our subscription services it's easy to lose track. The 9.99 per month plus tax (depending on where you live) is 135$ per year and if you have 4 of those you're at 541$!!! That would be awesome to throw against the mortgage at the end of the year a put it towards gifts at Christmas.
How we spend today directly impacts our future buying power.
One final thought: it's awfully expensive to look cool. Kids driving brand new jacked-up trucks with no money in the bank. Look, I was there back when I was 18 and if I continued that lifestyle, I wouldn’t have been where I am today. Finances take tremendous discipline because we always have to think about the long game, not the short one.
Challenge for the week. Take the 80$ event you are heading to this week and put it against your debt. Throw that 80$ on your credit card, mortgage or car loan. If you do that more and more often you’ll realize how quickly 80$ purchases can sink you or how fast it can pay down debt.
What’s your favourite 80$ purchase? Mine is dinner with my wife and 3 kids, does that count?
See you in the pit!
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