By VALERIE CLARK
Have you ever heard that statistic in the news that claims people with college degrees earn $1 million more than people with a high school diploma? When I heard that as a kid, I always thought to myself: “Wow, regular people earn a million dollars in a lifetime? Why aren’t there more millionaires walking around wearing monocles and top hats?”
Once I grew up and started paying my own bills, the answer became clear: the money we bring home disappears nearly as fast as we can earn it. There are bills to be paid, loans to be serviced, and yeah, a little fun to be had too. Before we know it, it’s just two days after payday, and we’re broke again. Regular people might, indeed, earn a million dollars over their lifetime – but instead of filling a giant Scrooge McDuck money bin, it’s simply gone, spent on mundane and forgettable everyday grownup expenses: the water bill, a pack of socks, a box of Kleenexes. These little things add up. We all fritter away a life’s fortune without even knowing it, while all the while some dude who figured this all out long ago is sipping a mai tai on a beach somewhere, not a care in the world. That could be your mai tai!
The good news is that once you realize this, you can harness the power of your own income for yourself by spending your money with thought and intention, down to the last penny. It’s worked for me. In 2011, my husband and I coasted into a new city on fumes; he had just found a new job after being laid off, and I was just starting to search for one. We had no savings or retirement plans. Our possessions included a 7-year-old Impala (on which the transmission was about to go out, unbeknownst to us), and a house in our previous city that had been rendered upside-down by the 2008 financial meltdown. All told, our net worth was probably negative $60,000. No joke.
Six and a half years later, we are completely debt free, including our house. We own four paid-off vehicles (with varying levels of rust and probably worth $5,000 between them, but who cares), and are maxing out our retirement savings. We are as carefree as that guy on the beach, and are building toward a future of financial independence and the life we want. It’s all thanks to being intentional with our spending and budgeting. If we can do it, anyone can!
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