I’d rather play chicken with my bills than save

Happy New Year, friends!

I recently had a casual conversation with a coffee shop goer, and as things progressed we got into finance and the words coming out of his mouth were so good, lol… So much so that I had to stop him in mid-sentence a few times to make sure I was getting his phrases right! 😆

Here are some of the highlights of our conversation, *in his own words* as I remember them…

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“I’d rather play chicken with my debts than save”

Instead of spending money on “what I want” first like I have done all my life, I researched more and now I SAVE first and pay bills second. Then if there is any left over, I use that to buy any “extras” I might want.

I went from not being able to save $1,000 and a 580 credit, to having over $13,000 in the bank and 730 points within one year!

There were several things that led to this, but mainly rearranging my priorities and paying myself first is what made me go in the right direction.

“I’ve gone to a more “local” plan to manage my income”

Another reason I was able to save more this year is that I changed my management plan a lot. Instead of having everything in 1-2 accounts, I went to a more “local” system.

What I mean by that is that I spread my accounts across multiple banks that work for a specific purpose:

1. I have one account for my short term savings
2. One of my long term savings accounts
3. One account for my debts
4. Then one account for my use/want.

My business bank looks the same: one savings account, one credit account, and one tax account (I pay quarterly). It’s a lot to handle, but it brings a lot of peace and savings.

“I threw away my debit cards”

The first thing I did when I started to reorganize everything was to move all my savings into a brick and mortar bank with no internet access. This way the only way I could get my money was to go there in person. I found the debit cards, but quickly cut them up and threw them away.

This really strengthened my discipline, and is partly why I was able to go from $1,000 to $13,000 so quickly. It took me over 30 years to save my first $10,000 and now the hardest part is over!

“I spend a lot of money looking for women”

Over the course of 3-4 years I spent $40,000+ looking for love, or about $1,200/mo.

Part of that goes to dating apps like eHarmony (which I was against at first because it cost me $300!), but most of it comes from doing my best to “show up.” So lots of eating and hanging out with friends, going to bars/social events/etc. You have to put yourself out there if you really want to meet people.

At first I felt bad about spending all this money without saving in the bank, but later I realized that I was prioritizing what I wanted and agreed with it. Now I could have done *as well* as I did, but I’m proud to say it worked and I’m getting married at the end of this month! Ironically, for a woman I found on eHarmony!!

(Editor’s Note: This was the most interesting part of the whole conversation, haha… As someone who met his partner years before online dating and apps came along, I am always amazed by the mix of technology and love. And really how much does dating seem to cost in general??! And I’ve certainly never met a person THAT ALL FOLLOWED, lol… That’s probably exactly what I’d do if I was ever back in that situation 😂)

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So, yes – a lot of things we’ve heard before, but in much more exciting ways 😉

1) Save first, spend later

2) Build a plan that works for you!

3) Make yourself more “visible” when you want something. Whether it’s love, business, work, you name it. If you don’t put yourself in a position to *get,* you limit yourself! Nothing good has happened sitting on your sofa – you have to put yourself out there and tell the world what you want!

(This is exactly, btw, why I choose to do my projects outside of coffee shops. I never know who I’ll meet or what kind of magic might happen! And this blog post certainly wouldn’t have been created, so who knows what you’ll be reading right now??! Lolol…)

In any case, all good things to think about as we enter the new year here 🙂 Will you put yourself in situations that allow you to move closer to your goals or further away from them? Are your management systems still serving you well, or is it time to blow them up and start over? Where will you be putting that first dollar in your next paycheck? If it’s not for you, you need to re-read this entire blog! 😉

Your FGA (Financial Guardian Angel),

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