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Hello, and welcome to Your Money 2.0. I’m Thomas Fox, Community Outreach Director of
Cambridge Credit Counseling. Although you can find a wide variety of personal finance
guides and other self-help books at Amazon.com, the key to financial success is already inside
you: You not only have to want to succeed; you have to be willing to sacrifice to achieve
your goals. When I was a boy, my grandpa told me much the same thing, though it took me
a while to appreciate the soundness of his advice. At the time, I was dissatisfied with
some of the personal choices I had made, and, as was often the case, my grandpa was the
one who lent a sympathetic ear. He told me simply, “If you don’t like your life,
change it.” It’s a simple concept, but I’ve been able to apply it to my personal
and professional life with some success. And I’m not the only one.
Over the weekend, a friend shared a story with me that I think epitomizes the value
of sacrifice. Some time ago my friend befriended his local 7-11 cashier, who was desperate
to escape the drudgery of the store and live life on his own terms. The financial challenge
seemed enormous. How could he retire early and get out from behind the counter? As it
turns out, he didn’t need a financial planner; he simply needed to look at his own resources
and capabilities to find the answer. The first part of the solution required a drastic attitude
change. The cashier didn’t feel he had the time or ability to learn a new skill set so
he could find a different job, so he decided to work harder at the job he already had.
But that didn’t seem to make his goal any more obtainable. Here’s where the sacrifice
came in. Rather than continue to feel sorry for himself, he worked seven days a week for
nine years straight, applying his well-developed work ethic and principles to build the financial
cushion he dreamed of. Not only did he work hard, he also started living far beneath his
means. He rented a smaller apartment and saved just about all of his disposable income. Sure
enough, at the end of the nine-year period he was able to retire on his own terms. While
this is a story of extremes, it still teaches a powerful lesson. In order to bring about
change, the cashier needed to examine his situation objectively and make the most of
his resources - in this case, his capacity for hard work - even if it meant making significant
personal sacrifices to achieve his goals. By doing so, he set the stage for financial
success.
Flexo, the owner and creator of ConsumerismCommentary.com, recently wrote a compelling post about breaking
out of one's comfort zone for the Get Rich Slowly blog. In it, Flexo attributes financial
success to challenging one’s boundaries of comfort. His logic is that if you keep
doing what's ordinary, your results will be just that -- ordinary. So how can you do something
extraordinary? Here are a couple of tips.
First of all, educate yourself. Naturally, as a personal finance educator, I agree with
this 100%. Before setting out to achieve a goal, look how others have achieved something
similar and research how they did it. You have to become familiar with the goals that
you want to achieve. If you want own home, study the housing market. If you want to invest,
study the stock market.
Second: Team up. Find someone who's on the path you want to pursue and have a conversation
with them. In the era of social media, this is easier than ever. In my time online, I've
met a number of people via social media whose insights I find to be both valuable and necessary
for growth.
Third, as we've said in the past, it's important to create a plan. In his article, Flexo agrees
that you need a defined path to bring about change. In doing so, you create accountability.
The benefit here is that this sense of accountability will help motivate you to reach your goals.
Finally, you need to be able to walk before you can run; therefore, it's important to
take small steps if you’re contemplating significant changes. Even though a task may
seem difficult, breaking it down into smaller steps usually makes it easier to achieve.
Eventually, all your small steps will culminate in the achievement of your goal.
At some point after you’ve watched this video, take a moment to ask yourself what
your financial goals are, and how you might go about reaching them. Working seven days
a week for nine years probably won’t be on your list, but what can you do today to
change tomorrow? The answers may surprise you, and don’t be afraid of a little self-sacrifice.
Well, that’s it for this edition. We welcome your feedback and ask for your thoughts and
suggestions by e-mailing us at yourmoney2@cambridgecredit.org. Thank you for watching. Until next time, I’m
Thomas Fox for Cambridge Credit Counseling.