Life

What are you willing to give up to win financially? By Damon CarrSacrifice is the act of giving up something you value for the sake of something that’s more important to you. Earl Nightingale, the great success motivator said, “Virtually any goal can be accomplished, but the desire for the goal is not nearly as important as what you are willing to give up to achieve the goal.” Jesus, talking to his disciples, said that if anyone wants to come after him, he must deny himself. Everyone is looking for that one thing that’s going to make him or her wealthy fast. That’s why so many people fall prey to “get rich quick” ideas. There are no shortcuts to financial prosperity! There’s a price to be paid for financial prosperity. The price is hard work, determination, perseverance, discipline and sacrifice. If you succeed at anything in life without any of these required characteristics, your success will be short-lived because you have not developed the character necessary to maintain success. In order to attain any worthwhile financial goal, you’re going to have to sacrifice something. Knowing this, I include this statement in the various financial plans I prepare. “I know these recommendations are easier said than done. The reality is, something has to give. If you decide to maintain your current lifestyle and not implement any of the recommendation, just accept the fact that it will take you longer to reach your financial goals!”It’s been my observation that people are very reluctant to sacrifice in order to get ahead financially. Oftentimes, we know what’s holding us back from reaching our goal, but we refuse to let it go.I recently worked with a couple that was struggling to make ends meet. They tried several things, but still simply could not get ahead. I was able to isolate several non-sacrificial ideas to create some wiggle room in the budget. Nevertheless, they still had more money going out than they had coming in month to month. Realizing this, I suggested that they sell the car. This is the husband’s dream car. He refers to it as his baby. He only drives the car during the summer. I told him that unfortunately I think you’re going to have to sell the car because you, your wife and baby (son) are struggling to keep the house note current, the lights on and food on the table. I told them that if they want to keep the car they would have follow my other recommendations and create an additional monthly income of $625, so that they can net enough after taxes to pay the car note. To date, they have not sold the car nor have they worked the extra hours necessary to create the additional income. As a result, they’re still struggling to make ends meet. Another client of mine went through some changes that resulted in the household income going from over $200,000 per year to $35,000 per year. The likelihood of them earning anywhere near the six-figure household income is slim to none. Current spending and lifestyle never downsized to the level of the new income. As a result, they had accrued a lot of credit card debt. The good thing is they owned a $400,000 free and clear property and a healthy retirement savings. I told them that the money inside their retirement account would grow to well over $5 million by retirement age if they don’t borrow or make early withdrawals from it. I made several suggestions in order to get their lifestyle to coincide with their new income, which included selling the house and purchasing a house in the $200,000 price range with cash, paying off the credit card debt and setting aside money for emergencies and other future goals. To date, they have cut their lifestyle, stop using credit cards, put their home on the market and are actively looking for a home in the $200,000 price range. They are at peace and feel empowered and in control working their plan. They were willing to give up the big house, fancy cars and other extravagances because there was something in life they felt was more important.