RULE 6
Get a reality check
It’s amazing how many people just ignore the obvious. Especially poor people. No I’m not being prejudiced, I’m saying that this is part of the reason they’re poor.* Some people moan a lot about not having enough, they make loads of excuses, they may work, but not hard enough or not in the right ways, and they hope that their problems will simply go away.
Well guess what? They won’t go away. They’re more likely to get worse. If you’re struggling financially and wondering how to make more money – a lot or just a little – for those things that matter to you, you need to take positive action. Because I promise you that short of winning the lottery, nothing’s going to change unless you do.**
So sit down and think constructively about what you can do to increase your wealth. And then do it. Nothing else will dig you out of the financial morass. Be realistic – about where you’re going, what you’re spending, what you’re saving, and what you can do to set yourself on a new and more prosperous path.
NOTHING’S GOING TO
CHANGE UNLESS YOU DO
This applies to saving money as well. If you want £20,000 in five years’ time, it’s no good putting away a fiver a month. You’ll be lucky to save £1000 at that rate. If you want to save a specific amount of money, you need to work out exactly how much you need to save per week or month to do it. If it’s not going to add up, don’t bury your head in the sand. Work out how to save more, or extend your deadline.
If you know you have money vices, then face them. If you always spend £100 a month on beer, gadgets, shoes, whatever, then it’s no good pretending that you don’t when you make those financial plans. And if you know you struggle to save anything, there’s no point pretending that you can suddenly put away £100 a month, every month.
I know it’s very tempting to avoid looking at problems and disappointments, but if you do that you’ll never get wealthy. If you’re serious about making money, you have to start by finding the courage to confront the financial nasties in your life and do something about them.
* I’m not talking about people starving in third world countries here – I’m talking about people with friends and neighbours who have more than them.
** And you can start by saving the cost of that lottery ticket every week. How much have you spent in your life on lottery tickets? Go on – work it out. And what have you won? That balance isn’t going to change, you know – you’re just throwing money down the drain. Take it from me, you won’t win the jackpot.