follow the white rabbit to financial freedom

Trinity: Please just listen. I know why you’re here. I know what you’ve been doing… why you hardly sleep, why you live alone, and why night after night, you sit by your computer. You’re looking for him. I know because I was once looking for the same thing. And when I found him, he told me I wasn’t really looking for him. I was looking for an answer. It’s the question that drives us. It’s the question that brought you here. You know the question, reader, just as I did.

What is the secret to financial freedom?

If you are deeply in debt, or spending more than you earn to acquire stuff, you are living in a world that is less than what it could be. Corporations and consumer society have constructed an elaborate world that is filled with shiny things and toys and useless items. In this false world, you are told that true happiness comes with the acquisition of things, that your attention should be focused on today, that tomorrow will take care of itself. In this Matrix, it’s always Black Friday and it’s always the Presidents’ Day Sale.

Morpheus: What you know you can’t explain, but you feel it. You’ve felt it your entire life, that there’s something wrong with the world. You don’t know what it is, but it’s there, like a splinter in your mind, driving you mad.

But just maybe, while making a call on your iPhone, driving your leased car wearing your latest fall fashions on your way to the mall on your one day off from your crushing commute and your boring job, you had a sudden thought. Maybe the world isn’t supposed to be like this. Maybe we weren’t all meant to be shopping units in the corporate world’s vast consumer Matrix. Maybe our happiness doesn’t come from owning CDs, or watching American Idol, or buying a Wii. Maybe there is another world – the real world – where your work and your life are one and the same because you love them both, where you can do what you want, when you want, where you have time to give to people and experiences, not just to commuting and working for a faceless employer. No, it’s not possible. Your neighbors look like they are doing fine, and they have lots of stuff, right? This is how it has to be. This is how it has always been.

Morpheus: I’m trying to free your mind. But I can only show you the door. You’re the one that has to walk through it. There is a difference between knowing the path and walking the path.

Maybe you’ve started reading Rich Dad, Poor Dad or Dave Ramsey or Your Money or Your Life. Other people are trying to show you the way out. The trouble is, you set down the book and remember “I need a new belt! I want to rent “Wild Hogs”!” Only you will start the journey out of the Matrix, and it will be difficult – there will be roadblocks everywhere: pricey restaurants, bigger homes, newer cars, fancier cell phones. The Matrix will do everything it can to keep you, because its existence depends on your continued function as a shopping unit. Without shopping units to generate power, the consumer Matrix will weaken. You have to stop, today. Put down your credit card. Stay away from the store. Cook a meal at home. Turn off the TV.

Neo: Why do my eyes hurt?
Morpheus: You’ve never used them before.

When you finally leave the consumer world, you’ll notice that your old behavior is now awful to consider. You’ll see credit card debt, still-functioning cell phones gathering dust in cabinet drawers, barely-worn clothes in the back of the closet, half-empty rooms never used in your house. Your eyes will hurt looking at all of this STUFF that you valued so much, because you never really SAW before.

Morpheus: Have you ever had a dream, Neo, that you were so sure was real? What if you were unable to wake from that dream? How would you know the difference between the dream world and the real world?

The dream is the 9-to-5 world. The dream is a 3000 square foot home for a family of 4. The dream is a $400 per month car lease. The dream is an iPhone, a Wii, digital cable, the latest fashions. And the dream is a nightmare. You have to wake from that dream and realize that in the real world there is VERY little you need other than shelter, food, friends, family and basic clothing and entertainment. In the dream you have no time – but you can have all the time in the (real) world if you just wake up.

Neo: I know you’re out there. I can feel you now. I know that you’re afraid… afraid of us. You’re afraid of change. I don’t know the future. I didn’t come here to tell you how this is going to end. I came here to tell how it’s going to begin. I’m going to hang up this phone, and then show these people what you don’t want them to see. I’m going to show them a world without you. A world without rules or controls, borders or boundaries. A world where anything is possible. Where we go from there is a choice I leave to you.

(with many thanks to The Matrix)

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Transitioning From Spender To Saver - You Can Do It!

Saving money is downright BORING. Where’s the glitz and glamor in transferring an automatic, $25 deposit each week into a high-yield savings account? I bet nothing gets your adrenaline pumping more than dumping a pocket full of change into an old coffee container every night, right?

Sure you may be rolling your eyes now,  but if you’re actually serious about curtailing your spendthrift tendencies, you’ll find a new appreciation for the small stuff…not to mention more money in your pockets and bank account.

What’s Your Motivation?

Maybe you’re saddled with thousands of dollars in high-interest credit card debt or perhaps you’re just fed up with those ever-nagging loans (cars, clothes, personal and what-not). Whatever the reason, if you don’t already know, I encourage you to find the motivating factor(s) behind your desire for change. Spend some time with a pen and a pad of paper and write down five reasons why you want to stop spending and start saving. Afterward, under each item, write one sentence explaining why it’s important to you. Trust me - writing this stuff down works! If you think you’ll just do it in your head as soon as you have time, you’ll never get around to it. The key here is to identify how and why your priorities have changed and what you can do to stay focused on your new goals.

Following Through

Take that list you created and make a few copies of it. Stick  copies around the bedroom, bathroom… Fold another and put it in your wallet, preferably next to your cash. In order to follow through effectively, you’re going to need to constantly remind yourself of your new financial goals so you can keep unnecessary spending in check.

Whenever you feel the urge to make a purchase, ask yourself these questions to determine whether or not it’s worthwhile:

• Is this purchase something I need or something I want?
• How will this purchase impact my financial goals?
• Will I regret this purchase next week or next month?
• Is it possible to make this purchase elsewhere for less money?

Let’s Get Real

Granted, carrying around a piece of paper with your financial goals scribbled on it isn’t going to transform you into a wealth-building machine overnight. You’re going to have weak moments and probably succumb to temptation more than once which is completely normal. However, you need to realize that your spending habits are just like any other habit - they’re going to take considerable effort on your part to change for the better.

Tips To Save By

• Make a budget. Spend some time developing a written budget so you can see exactly how you’re spending your money and how much you have left over to save.
• Cut back on frivolous spending. Do you really need to drop $250 on an ensemble? I have dropped close to that on a shirt, kicks…but right now?Maybe not.  Wouldn’t your time be better spent reading up on IRAs and 401Ks, really educating yourself about investments?
• Avoid the temptation. Not long ago, I’d find any excuse I could conjure up to head to that store I have been window shopping for awhile. I just had to get a new pair of socks or two or something else!! you get the idea. If you tend to reach for your wallet when you’re bored, try doing something productive instead, such as vigorous exercise.
• Embrace regular savings. My favorite tip of all! Open up a high-yield savings account with HSBC or ING Direct and set up a weekly contribution that you can afford. If you transfer just $25 each week, you’ll have accumulated over $1,300 in only one year.

Again, it’s not going to be easy to break the spending habits you’ve grown accustomed to, but like anything else in life, you get out of it what you put in it.

Image courtesy of: dmuth