A person posted a heartbreaking story and asked for money advice in a local community group. They said they are trying everything, work a good paying job, published multiple books, try to save, but they still cry daily over unexpected bills. They asked the community for money advice.
First I gave the standard BS response.
“Advice is always worth less than you pay for it, so this is probably useless. But my advice is, it’s not what you make, it’s what you spend. I love this quote: “you’ve already reached the goals that you promised would make you happy”. Don’t keep up with the joneses.”
But that was crap. It was fortune cookie wisdom that wasn’t helpful at all. I wanted to try to do better by them and give them a practical roadmap. So here it is:
“Actually I thought about this more. I didn’t give you tangible advice. Now I’m going to. This is what you do TODAY.
Pick the person in your life that you love and respect that you consider “rich”. Approach them and say: “I’ve always admired how you handle money and I’ve been struggling. Would you take me under your wing and teach me how to be rich?”
I have never met anyone that would turn down that request.
Next: give them EVERYTHING. Your credit card bills statements, your dark secrets, your mortgage, your W2 statements, your last 3 year tax returns.
Then commit to them that you’ll do whatever they say for 5 years.
Have them put you on a budget. Have them look at your skills and your work opportunities.
Have them coach you on interviewing for jobs.
Ask them to introduce you to other successful people.
I am confident this will get you to where you want to be in 5 years.
With one caveat: you must follow their advice and pick the right person to emulate.
I wish you nothing but success!
Bonus tip: never take money advice from people that don’t have it. And from my experience, often times the person driving a beat down F150 has $500k in the bank while the dude in a suit driving the BMW has $500k in debt.
Money SHOUTS.
Wealth whispers.”
That’s it. It’s simple. But it’s not easy. But anyone can do it.
I’m curious: What advice would you give them?
I like your advice, Travis. Being able to look at your money objectively and without judgement is the only way to start.
This applies to much more than money, and I haven't yet figured out how to give this as advice to others. I also don't really feel that I have earned the right to give it, so anyone reading, take it with a grain of salt or more. What has helped and humbled me the most is being intentional around 3 things more than anything else. Life boils down to being intentional with what we really and truly can control, which is very finite, and I believe starts with these three things:
1. What comes out of our mouth (what we say matters, we should say less, do more, and above all be intentional with what we say. This is a daily struggle for me to do better, and maybe I'm failing at posting this, but I think it's important because it has helped me.)
2. What you put into your mouth (what we eat and drink and the choices we make regarding how we treat our bodies starts with hydration and nutrition. Yes, I fail at this every day too, and am working on it the same as everyone else. We can all be more intentional here.)
3. What we take out of our wallet/pocket/bank, i.e., what we spend. To some degree, what we earn/have is abstract or out of our immediate control. Debate is open here, of course, and this is more about the fact that what we spend is absolutely a choice. Wealth is not about what you earn, but about what you keep. Building action items around that is abstract and certainly simple, while being incredibly difficult. We seldom like the choices we have, and that doesn't make them any less of a choice. This is easier for me to say, and I want to recognize that I have failed at this at times in my life, and I am growing in this area as well. I have certainly had privileges, help/assistance from others, been through tough times, made lots of mistakes, and I am still out here doing my best to make the best choices I can on a daily basis. I can't in good conscience lead by example; I can share my practice.