What Would It Take For You To Feel Rich?

What would it take for you to feel rich?

What if you finally earned that paycheck that you’ve been dreaming of? What if you’d chosen to be a doctor, lawyer, or any other number of the professions that we think of as high paid. What if you finally struck it big? 

The thing I can’t help but imagine is winning the lottery every time I pass those billboards. What it would be like to suddenly have all that money?

While having the magic to snap your fingers and have your dreams bend to your every whim or to win the lottery would certainly be nice, sometimes we miss the opportunities for real wealth in our lives. 

While furthering your career and working to earn more is one of my cornerstone beliefs, what are the very real factors that are going to give you peace, security, and happiness with your money, no matter your income? 

First, you have to have cash on hand, where you’re building margin away from the financial edge. This means that every month, you’re taking in more than you spend. The system feels balanced. You’re in control and you don’t feel on the edge. To achieve this, you need to have a plan for your money. I recommend YNAB as my favorite budget tool of choice. 

Next, you want to know that your financial future is secure. You want to create a retirement that’s going to allow you to live the same way you do today. Investing for your retirement doesn’t have to be complicated, but the hard part is prioritizing retirement saving over current spending. Although it may feel a long way away, making sure that your future is secure is an action you need to take as soon as you start working. 

Lastly, you also need to be spending money in ways that really matter to you. Focus on trips that you want to take, fixing up your house to be your own happy place, and reaching goals that matter to you. 

While we have to spend less than we make, and save for our future, spending money in ways that matter to us has to be a part of the equation.

So if the most important things that matter to your financial standing are creating margin in your monthly budget, saving for the future, and spending in ways that matter to us, where does debt fit into all this?

Debt is going to matter a lot less once those previous conditions are met. If you’ve saved along the way, ultimately, it won’t matter once you reach retirement how much debt you carried along the way. 

However, debt carries a real drag on your dollars and makes reaching those financial goals much harder. So instead of allowing debt to continue to be an anchor weighing us down, we want to work to extinguish the debt cycle we’re in. 

Eliminate high interest rate credit card debt immediately, and then work to stay out of debt once you end the life of your other loans. Keep cars longer, and save to pay cash the next time you need to replace one. 

Without debt, more of your cash stays in your pocket and allows you more margin to save and spend where it counts. 

Hitting these goals will provide you with real financial security, and allow you to enjoy the happiness that money can buy. Remember, money is just a tool. The ultimate goal is to have money on hand and spend it in meaningful ways that matter to you.