Welcome to Money Monday!!! Queue For the Love of Money song by The O’Jays. I can’t talk about money without thinking of the infamous, “money, money, money, money……money” line from the song. You hear about money all the time and think about it most of the time. How about some quotes to refresh your memory:
“Money makes the world go round.”
“If I had a dollar for every time…”
“The love of money is the root of all evil.”
“Money can’t buy happiness, but it can buy the kind of misery you prefer.”
Money is everywhere. We face challenges with it everyday. I’ve found that no matter how much money you make, most people tend to spend right up to the amount they have. I can remember, during my college years, living in a mobile home that I bought for $1700. I set it up in a trailer park where I paid $110.00 a month for ground rent. That was cheap living, but at that time, I struggled to afford it. Fast forward 25 years. I’m making way more money, and I am still struggling. If only my bills were as cheap as they were in my college days. It wasn’t until like two years ago that I changed my approach to money. Now things are way different.
I use to never have more than $1000 in savings, if I was lucky. I had over $20,000 of credit card debt, and had to work paycheck to paycheck to keep my head above water. I always thought that when I made more money, things would be easier. But it wasn’t. Instead of being responsible, I bought bigger and better things. I didn’t see money as a problem. My thought was, “if I need more money, I will just work more hours.” Well, this doesn’t really work over the long haul, so something had to change. I could not keep living my life, hoping nothing major happens, pushing me deeper in debt. I had to make some changes.
And changes I made!!! Today, I have no credit card debt. I have automatic savings and investments that provide me security. I also have an Emergency Fund. I never had one of those before, but now I have one. Things are a lot better now than before. My mindset around money has changed along with my financial status. This change was not based on me making more money, but on being smart with the money I made. I would then work smarter to make even more money. I have transformed my financial life and I want to share with you the things that helped this happen.
Money Monday is the place where I will share my experiences with money. I will share what I have learned, and what works for me and could work for you. I have read many financial books about how to save money, invest money, and grow money. Not only have I read books, but I have also reviewed them and put things in action. I have a good idea of what works and what doesn’t. I will share with you the things I do, things I have read, and my journey towards financial independence.
You don’t have to make a six figure salary to benefit from what I am sharing here. I have found that whether you make lots of money, or a little bit of money, people generally face the same problems. Think about famous people like MC Hammer, Mike Tyson, and Willie Nelson. All who made millions and ended up bankrupt. Could they have benefited from this blog? Absolutely!!! You may be thinking, “I don’t make enough money to save or invest.” Sure you do. As one of my mentors said, “it’s not about the amount…it’s about the plan.” You want to have a good plan for where your money goes. Then, when you start making more money, you change the amounts. Easy peasy.
Every Monday I will share a post about money. Everything money related that has crossed my path, I will share with you. I will do my best to respond to any comments you leave. If you have an idea for a topic, let me know and I will try to research it and write a post about it. I am not a Money Guru, so always consider what is being shared and its potential effect on your life. I want to share my experiences, what works for me, and ideas from my journey. It is my hope that this sharing will give you a shortcut to financial stability and independence.
One thing I noticed about money is that it is a mindset. Once I changed my approach to money, my whole mindset around money began to change. Up to two years ago, I was always eager to spend my money. I had to have the latest iPhone, MacBook, or technical gadget on the market. I had to have the most expensive TV and take the best vacations. I had to have every channel available on TV, even though I only watched like 10 hours of TV a week. So much money went to waste. Now, I am more frugal, though that was never my plan. It was a byproduct of making good choices. Now I get more excited when I see my money growing than when I see it going. Speaking of going…I still like my vacations and take them regularly. Now I can actually pay for them up front rather than putting them on the credit card and having to pay interest.
As a kid, I never really learned any positive lessons about money. My family didn’t regularly discuss money. When they did, it was more a discussion about how much you make or how much something cost. It was never discussed from the perspective of saving, investing, or growing. I had to learn most of my money knowledge on my own, through reading, YouTube videos, and experience. This approach to learning has increased my financial IQ and has changed my life. If you follow Money Monday on 5and2guy.com, I am confident you will have a very similar experience.
Check out Money Monday every Monday for a new post that could change your life…