When little things can make a massive difference, including your bottom line

When little things can make a massive difference - so who wants to be a millionaire?

The key to financial freedom is simple, just like most things are when you boil them down.  

How do you lose weight?

Expend more energy than you consume every day and over time you will lose weight, often considerable poundage if that is what you have to lose.

How do you get fit?

Start small, it's no good trying to lift 300lbs if you have never lifted anything heavier than a glass of beer before.

If you can't walk a mile, try walking for 5 minutes. It doesn't matter how slowly you go, you are still moving faster than anyone who is sitting on the couch. As for weight training - start by investing in a couple of Personal Training sessions so you can learn the correct techniques.

As you know I upped my exercise regimen at the beginning of the year and wow the changes one day at a time makes. Oh and the amount of people doing thing incorrectly at the gym because they didn't, let me just say I hope their health insurance is good enough to pay for the mistakes they are making over time.

So what has this got to do with becoming a millionaire?

Well it's the same discipline. Small things repeated every day for years - and you will get there.

I once heard the Brian Tracy talk on Financial Freedom and he said that if you had saved $100 a month from when you started work at 18, until you reach retirement age of 65 – you will become a millionaire.

I wish I had known that at age 18.

He said, save $100 a month, that's $25 a week, or less than $4 a day for 40 odd years and you will get there. Of course you can add it up and you can say – but that’s not going to make me a millionaire. There is another point to remember. You can’t stick the money under a mattress – that’s not going to grow anything except dust mites. You, just like all the other millionaires out there need to make money work – and that’s where compound interest plays a big part. Stick it in the bank, don't touch it and let compound interest do the hard work for you.

So, what else can you do – assuming you are like me and no longer 18.

Ok there are some other simple things:

Spend less than you earn and save or invest the difference.

And by invest

Don’t buy lottery tickets regularly

If your entire financial plan relies on you winning the lottery – do the math.

How much do you spend each week? Multiply that by the number of weeks, months or years you’ve been playing – then subtract the amount you’ve won and you’ll have a good idea of how much you could have put away in your savings account. That in itself is like winning the lottery. 

 

Splurge occasionally sure, but don’t stake your entire future on the roll of the dice or the drop of a ball. It’s less stressful to save.

Oh and pay down your debts.

Do this as fast as you can so you can stop paying the banks / lenders for the privilege of using their money. With this category of spending I am talking about credit and store cards as opposed to assets such as your home, which is an investment.

One final thought for today.

Things will not change for you, unless you start doing something different.

So a little task -

Go into your file storage location - be it Pinterest, Google, Instagram or Facebook and scroll through the images.

What recurring patterns do you see?

For me it is my twice weekly walk, my Saturday morning walks and way too many images of the same things. I must walk different routes. But in amongst the same are pockets of new things. New places, new foods, new and different things that make my eyes open and my brain explode with sensory delight.

What about you?

If you are still doing the same things as you did a year ago, 3 years ago or 5 years ago and you're whingeing about how bad your life is - you need to change something. If it's great, then awesome. But - change something anyway - there may be something better around the corner.