Paying Ourselves First, The First Principle Of Creating Financial Freedom
Discipline is Key To Transformation - Always And Forever
Playing The Money Game
In my study of this intriguing game of money, I have come to realize how much of an art this game truly is.
Creating financial freedom and independence is truly a game, and like any game, we need to know the rules in order to play it well.
And abide by them, regardless of how we feel about them.
When I first set out on this journey, I felt embarrassed at how oblivious I was to the rules of this game and astonished at how simple the rules were.
I am no longer embarrassed as I realized that my unawareness was simply a product of my upbringing and the fact that there was no one there to tell me, at home or in school, that this is a game.
And a game that anyone can win at that.
So, now I am finding myself more in the space of wanting to soak up the vast amount of knowledge there is about the simple rules of the game, and as I move forward, I will do my best to share what I learn and realize here.
I Am Not Offering Advice
But I want to be very clear. Nothing I share here is advice or recommendations.
These are my own personal realizations and insights. As well as the choices I make for myself. Nothing else.
I am not an expert, nor a professional. I am simply being pulled by a vision and learning as I go.
Also, before I go into the first principle of creating financial freedom and independence, I want to just share the two books that I am listening to help me learn the rules of this game.
I believe I have mentioned them before, but just to put them in writing.
They are; Rich Dad Poor Dad, by Robert Kiyosaki (which to me is more about cultivating an entrepreneurial mindset when it comes to creating wealth.
The other book is Money—Master the Game by Tony Robbins. Having interviewed about 50 of the world’s most successful investors, this is more of a practical and hands-on guide to investing primarily in the stock market, including how to think and which pitfalls to avoid.
These two books are quite different from one another, and I cannot stop listening to them. These last few weeks I have listened to them over and over and over again, sometimes for up to 5,6,7 hours a day.
Repetition is the key, right?
So if you want to transform your financial life, these are both great books to get started.
Paying Ourselves First
Anyway, let me get into the first principle, or rule of the game of money and wealth, which is to be disciplined enough to Pay Ourselves first.
As I look back at my own life, I can easily see how I have always failed to heed this principle.
Saving has always been sort of on and off for me.
I have always been sort of uninterested in money, thinking that the future will take care of itself.
But whenever I have been in the space of wanting to save or invest, how it always went was that I made the money, I would pay my bills, I’d live (buy or do whatever I wanted to buy or do) and, at the end, if there was any money left, maybe I’d put it in a savings account or invest it in some random stock or something.
But what I am learning now, from these two books is that the first step toward building financial freedom is to not wait and see if there is any money left at the end of the month, but actually set aside a portion of all the money that comes in - even before paying bills and stuff.
So that every month, a predetermined amount of money is allocated to investing for compounding interest.
And also what these books are also very adamant about is that this money is not a reserve to dip into whenever our consumer lives demand it.
If we want our money to work for us, we need to give it time to work for us. In other words, the money that goes into investments stays there.
Yes, it may be moved from one investment to another, thus reinvested, but it doesn’t leave the space of investment.
I mean, this is such a simple principle, but yet such a powerful principle, that I am sort of blown away by it.
So what I am doing, starting this month as I am just setting out, is that 22,5% of all the money that comes into my business will go into investing.
Now, I am fortunate enough to have a business of my own, which means that I can allocate this money before taxes are paid. In effect, I am able to put away a lot more money than had it been after tax, so I am grateful for that.
So what this does is that rather than before, where if I was lucky, I had some money left at the end of the month to invest, now, each month, before anything else is paid, I ensure that money is put away that I will buy assets with.
Assets Vs. Liabilities
I love how Robert Kiyosaki, in his books, makes the very simple distinction between an asset and a liability.
An asset puts money in our pockets, while liabilities take money out of our pockets.
He goes on to say that many of us, myself included, spend all or at least most of our money buying liabilities, while the wealthy allocate as much money as possible to buy assets.
Investments that passively generate more money.
This is how the wealthy get wealthier - they have more and more money that is passively working for them to generate even more money.
So once again, we need to find the discipline to do what serves us, rather than doing what we perhaps feel like doing.
Tony Robbins recommends deciding on a certain amount to invest each month and setting it up so that this amount is automatically allocated into investments of some kind.
In his book, he shares how this can easily be done, especially if you live in the US - using a registered fiduciary advisor.
For me, what comes into my business each month varies depending on how much I am working, so I have decided to allocate 20% directly into investing in various index funds (stocks, bonds, and real estate).
The remaining 2,5% will go into a savings account for when opportunities arise.
Both books talk about the necessity of being prepared for opportunities. Times when the market goes down and people begin to sell what they have, and how that is a golden opportunity to buy.
But to be prepared for that, I need to have money readily and speedily available.
Which is why I will put away 2,5% of all the money I make each month.
We Become What We Study
I don’t know if this is making sense to you.
Honestly, while it is making a lot of sense in my mind, reading what my fingers are typing is not even close to being as clear.
It’s like I am studying a completely new language, and I don’t know which words to use or how to use them.
But I do love how Spirit so beautifully moves us forward. And as I said before, about being embarrassed that I didn’t know this stuff - honestly, I wasn’t ready to learn any of this until now.
A few years ago, let alone 10-15 years ago, I wouldn’t have been receptive to this. I wouldn’t have had the discipline to make the decisions I am making now.
It’s like that statement that goes “Pain pushes us until a vision begins to pull us”.
All the experiences I have had these last number of years, with working so much, with trading my time for money, as well as this last year of hardly working at all - has led me to be very clear on what it is that I don’t wish to experience, and what it is that I do wish to experience.
And what I love about this is that, as I am listening to these two books day in and day out, how my mind begins to re-configure itself in alignment with this new study.
From time to time, I am becoming aware of thinking about money, wealth, and investments in a way that is completely new to me.
Like yesterday, for instance, as I was riding my bike through this beautiful little town we live in, I noticed several for-sale signs on houses, buildings, and lots.
And I became aware of my mind trying to assess them as good or bad investments. Now I know that those signs aren’t new because I recognized them, but I saw them in a completely new light.
Obviously, I don’t know nearly enough about real estate to act on it, nor do I have the money for it right now, but it is very interesting and comforting to witness that I am becoming what I study.
The more I study this game of money, the more I think about how to win it.
Willingness Is All That Is Needed
And as it says in both these books, that is really all that is needed: a willingness to learn. Obviously, we need to take action, but we don’t need to know anything in advance.
Once we say Yes, Spirit will beautifully guide, lead, and move us in the direction of whatever it is we said Yes to (or whatever it is we turn our attention toward).
We will be perfectly prepared and positioned, and the world will arrange itself for the perfect unfolding to happen.
But we need to be willing.
Willing to venture out of the known and familiar, into the unknown.
Willing to release and let go of who we used to be, to allow for a new iteration to emerge.
And on a regular basis, make new choices that are in alignment with what we are moving toward.
Setting aside a fixed amount each month, to be disciplined enough to pay ourselves first, goes a long way toward creating financial freedom and independence.
It doesn’t require a Phd or even a college degree.
All that is required is for us to be willing to be transformed and the discipline to make new choices.
Every journey begins with small steps. Not massive action, but small steps arising out of making new choices. Out of saying Yes to something new.
Invitation and Questions
So that is our invitation for now, decide for ourselves what amount we want to set aside each month to invest toward financial freedom.
And as with everything else on this beautiful path to freedom and awakening, it is not so much about the actual amount we decide on.
God doesn’t know about quantity, only quality.
So as long as we make the decision to begin to pay ourselves first every month, and we stay true to that, we have taken a huge step forward.
Also, we don’t need to know how or what to invest yet, for now, we are just invited to say Yes to financial freedom and begin to move toward it.
The questions we are invited to ask ourselves are:
How do I feel about money?
Do I feel myself worthy of being financially free?
Do I believe it is possible for me to be financially free
Why do I want to be financially free?
As always, until the next time, much love and many blessings to us all
daniel ✨💜✨💜