Pay Yourself First

Why is this at the top of the list?

Well, it is obvious, if you don’t pay yourself first, and your priorities are paying others, then you really don’t have a financial plan for the future. Most people who are not saving, who are living paycheck to paycheck, are paying everyone but themselves, and have accepted it.

Begin today. Start thinking differently. Have the discipline to pay yourself first and build your wealth.

Close the Gap

Easier than said, right? If every month you struggle to make ends meet, where is the extra money going to come from?

First. Are you passionate about building your savings?

Is your WHY big enough?

Do you dream of a healthy retirement? Maybe retire early.

A little discipline will get you there.

Let’s look at two sites of the financial equation; Income and Expenses. It is simple…at the end of the month, what is left is INCOME MINUS EXPENSES. We want the INCOME side heavier than the expense side.

EXPENSES

Let’s tackle the expense side. How can you reduce your monthly expenses to make up the difference in saving?

Look at all the places you spend money. For one month save all your receipts and analyze them. Here are a couple examples of someone I met having the same problem:

Two cans of soda a day…………..$45 a month Pack a cigarettes a day…………...$75 a month Eating out once per week ……..$80 a month

Did this person find a few places to reduce costs and put into a financial plan to invest for the future? You bet!

There are other areas to save money as well, the include;

Stopping the daily newspaper and read it online. Using coupons at the grocery store. Eat leftovers. Get paid for your recyclable cans and glass.

Most people can cut an easy $50 - $100 a month through a little discipline.

How much does $100 a month add up to in 20 years?

Using "THE RULE OF 72" , $100 at 12% would be approximately $100,000 in 20 years. If you continued that investment from age 20 to age 60, forty full years and were able to get 12%, you would accumulate over $1,000,000.

Impossible. Nope! That is how wealth is created and passed down through generations.

Go to "The Savings Calculator" and plug in the amount of money you currently are saving, the interest rate you expect to get and the amount of years. Play with this and you can easily figure out what you need to save each month to reach you financial goals.

Remember, we are talking about DISCIPLINING YOURSELF to PAY YOURSELF FIRST and build wealth.

YOU MUST START TODAY and get passionate about saving and financial security.

INCOME

The other option to make money available to invest to build wealth and financial security is to increase the INCOME side of the equation.

How do you increase your income?

Do you really want to increase your income? Is your WHY big enough?

Ask for a raise. It is amazing how many people do not have the confidence to ask for a raise. If you are a good job, work hard, attendance is good, and feel you need a raise, ask for one.

Get promoted. The best way to get a raise is to get promoted. Let people know who you are and what you do. Make yourself noticeable in your organization. Movie stars must get discovered, you must as well. You are your agent.

Seek employment elsewhere. Sometimes you just may be in the wrong business. Wages are held down, promotions are minimal and wages become stagnant. It is okay to change jobs. Most people feel secure with the company they have been with for a few years, but many of those companies don’t care about their employee’s retirement, quite frankly nowadays many companies don’t have a retirement plan. Be smart. Look around. Know your options.

Take on a second job. Second jobs are good for short periods of time, but long-term it can be tough on families, health, etc. Use the second job to build up an initial pile of money so you can have the compounding effect of interest work and "THE RULE OF 72" grow it, or use the income from the second job to pay off bills to free up monthly cash to invest.

Go to school part-time to learn new skills. Education pays. Research government grants and loans. There is money out there for you to go to school. GRANTS are GRANTS….you do not pay them back. Check you eligibilty. For a quick look at several government programs, you can find some excellent information at GOVERNMENT GRANTS AND LOANS. Start a home business and grow it. Would you like to fire your boss one day?

Start a home business where you slowly build an income to invest and then one day walk away from WORK making more money than you are today.

Could you see yourself not in traffic with the mass of people every morning in a hurry to go to a job they may not care about?

Could you see yourself waking up in the morning, relaxed, knowing you have an income coming in whether you play golf, go to the beach, or spend some time with your family?

People are doing it everyday.

Reduce your expenses, increase your income and discipline yourself to PAY YOURSELF FIRST.

Ten, twenty, or forty years from now the government is going to be in less of a position to help than they are today. Companies are not providing pension plans like they use to. IT IS UP TO YOU.