Did you know that over 70% of the population will be dead broke by the time they are 65 years old? Every dollar you don't save will be the dollar you wish you had when retirement comes around, because most of you will not have enough money to retire on. We spend and spend thinking that money will always flow into our lives and never bother to think of what the future will bring or where we will end up. So why do we spend ourselves into poverty? Well there are several reason why we spend all that we make. In this Blog we will look at a few of them and hopefully you will gain some insight into your spending habits and make adjustments to start saving for the future.
Let's begin by looking at how we are being conditioned to spend money. Yes I said conditioned, believe it or not you are being conditioned or programed to spend money by one of the most powerful form of media that exist, your TV. Every time we turn on the TV we are bombarded with advertising that tells us we can save money by spending it. I know your thinking what is this guy talking about. Well think about this, how many times have you heard an advertisement for a car that promises you cash back for buying a new car. You can get up to 6 thousand dollars cash back just for spending 35 Thousand dollars or more on a vehicle that in two years will be worth half of what you paid. What a deal. Or how about getting a credit card that will put money into a savings account for you every time you use it. The more you spend the more you save right. After all there has never been a better time to buy right? Well the truth is there has never been a better time to save. You can save thousands of dollars by taking care of the vehicle you have right now or investing in a quality used vehicle that someone else has already lost money on. Buying something you don't really need just because your getting money back is not putting money into your pocket it's costing you money. You are alway better off putting that car payment into a savings account or other finacial vehicle that will pay you back over time.
How many times have you spent money on things that you really don't need. Here is an example of how controlling needless spending can put money in the bank. I had a client who could not find any extra money to put into the bank for her retirement. Every month she would struggle to find a way to save and every month she would come up empty. So we started with looking at her daily spending habits and discovered that everyday she would spend 10 dollars that could have gone into the bank. So what was she spending the money on let's take a look. Every morning she would stop off a buy a cup of coffee from a local coffee shop. This one activity alone was costing her almost 5 dollars a day. Over a period of one month she was spending over 100 dollars. So think about it how many times have you spent money on something small and said it's only 2 dollars or 5 dollars. Over time that small amount of money adds up to big savings for the future.
Now let's look at some other examples of needless spending. This section will probably upset some of you out there and create a fire storm of comments, but it must be said. I understand that many people have found a feeling of belonging and a sense of comunity in the world of organized religion. There is nothing wrong with having a relationship with God and finding a church that you like to go to. But it is another thing to give more than you can afford just because the church or minister says they need it. Understand that many churches have become big business and many miniters standard of living is far above the average church member. I have seen ministers go from selling people on the word of God to selling people on the idea that if they give 1 thousand dollars to the ministry God will repay them 10 fold or 10 thousand dollars. Understand this God will not pay you money for your faithfulness and devotion to him. He will only give you his love and mercy. If you want to give a gift of money to your church give them 5 or 10 dollars if that's not good enough for the church then find another church. Remember that Christ has already given up his life for you and he asks only for your love and belief in him in return. God wants you to keep what you have earned and live the life you have built and saved for. Never let anyone tell you differently, you don't have to buy your way into heaven for Jesus said the only way to the Father is through me. If your minister needs the money let him work outside the church to get it, Christ never took money from the people to live in a palace and enjoy fine living. God would have never given you the ability to earn money if he did not think you deserved it. Repay him with your love and by living a good life.
Get control of your spending and start saving for the future. Understand that it's not how much you make, what matters is how much you keep.
