Put It Away!

I have, I think, the same level of incredulity that most others I know have toward the story of the ex hospital porter who blew away his £10m lottery win and is back to sleeping on his mother's floor. Now wait a minute! You know and I know that we'd never make the same damm fool mistakes this poor chap did, don't you? Well, roll on another lottery  euro million winner last week and what's about the first thing he goes out and does? Yep. There he goes driving down the road in his spanking new farrari. Now where have I seen this before? Boy do we ever learn? Right? How do we get a poor boy, load him up with as much booty as his little arms can carry and watch him grow from rags to ...well, rags. The mind boggles.

What's one of the fundamental differences between how the rich and the poor handle their money? The thing is the rich by and large save and invest their money and spend what's left. The poor spend their money and save what's left.

Reminds me of the saying - Jesus Saves......only he can afford to! Lets face it, most people live a fairly hand to mouth existence. If they're lucky and push comes to shove, they can survive independently achieving personal independence and financial security for a couple of months if that.

If you've got something saved up, you've got a Plan B for when life throws a wobbly at you. Then we can protect and provide for ourselves with a certain level of confidence. We've got a safety net. I know I run the risk of sounding like an old codger who remembers only how good things used to be, but boy I can't help feeling that its harder for us today to exercise the discipline required of us to put a bit aside consistently than it used to be. My mother regularly used to put aside an amount with a company for her funeral expenses! Wow, those days are gone.

Most people will say how hard it is to save. (Only Jesus can - geddit?) Our £10m man would probably have said the same. The things is, its not the level of income we have.  It's what we do with it. How many super athletes and entertainers out there formerly with fat cheques coming in now stare bankruptcy in the face? How did it get to be like that? Its not the money. It's the discipline.

Put it away! Little by little. And regularly. Why? Try self reliance,  to further your dreams and goals, security, peace of mind, safety and stability, contingency plan, safety net, as a discipline in your life. And so on.

This idea of self reliance seems eroded in our culture. How else can we explain the trillions we have out on credit. It's a way of life for a lot of us now. But you know, borrowing in itself is not the problem. In fact it can even be a wise thing to do if you can find a way to make that money work for you. No , I don't mean put it on dog racing!

What if you invested your borrowings say in property that will increase in value and ultimately earn you much more than you could just keeping it in the bank? It's the financial sense that alas most of us were never taught or acquired along the way. We just don't know what to do.

So the picture in my mind is - Save. Put it away. Do it regularly. Aim for 10% of your income. Don't touch it except in extreme circumstances. Maintain a discipline. Aim to have at least 6 months of living expenses set aside. Learn how to make that saving work for you through compound interest(that's a whole other issue).

Blessings for today

1. Although it was bitterly cold and below freezing today, the sunshine was brilliant. And inside I am fortunate enough to have a heated house. I am one of the lucky ones. I cannot begin to imagine the trauma and suffering of those Afghan people who are dying or losing limbs to frostbite and the immense cold that they now face. The divine universe manifest the best possible outcome for them.

2.  My son went out paintballing with a friend on occasion of the friend's birthday. He was a little troubled at shooting and being shot at and I am glad to have him consider that there are implications for firing guns at people. We know the difference between paintballs and bullets. Its just horrifying to think of children the world over who would not be able to blink at the thought of using a gun to kill or to maim. My heart goes out to them and those who suffer as a result of their actions.

3.  My friend was playing some Indian Classical Music while I massaged her today and it was simply exquisite to listen to. I really appreciated that.

Personal Development and Success