Start Small and Your Wealth Will Get Bigger
By: Stephanie Yeh
We’ve all heard the phrase, “You have to start somewhere.” Nothing could be truer of creating wealth and prosperity in your life. Sometimes the idea of becoming wealthy can seem so overwhelming that we don’t know where to begin. After all, if we’re up to our eyeballs in debt or barely making it, how can we possibly think about getting wealthy?
Start small. This is one of the greatest wealth creating habits. If an oak tree can spring forth from a miniscule acorn, a money tree can certainly grow from a tiny bit of seed capital. Starting small can work in two ways to generate wealth: saving small amounts and investing small amounts.
Let’s start with the savings end of the equation. If you’re spending equal or more than your income each month (and most people are), then you need to slowly decrease your spending. It’s easier than it seems—just start small. Each month, choose one way in which you will decrease your spending. For instance, if you go out to eat once a week, see if you can cut that down to just once or twice a month. Are you saving a whole lot? No. But you ARE saving, and that’s what’s important. It’s also important that you don’t spend more in another area of your life to “make up” or reward yourself for spending less in your chosen area. If you consistently spend less each month, you will eventually begin to make headway. This wealth creating habit will help you develop your wealth slowly but constantly.
The great thing about spending less each month is that the results are cumulative. Let’s say the first month you decide to eat out half as much as you usually do, saving you $20 a month. The second month, you decide to spend less on entertainment by switching from your premium cable service to the less expensive service. This switch saves you $10 a month, plus you save the $20 from going out to eat less. You saved a total of $30 the second month, and $20 the first month – that’s $50 in just 2 months. Now, let’s carry that further. If you were to reduce your expenses by $15 each month (cutting an additional $15 of expenses each month), by the end of the year you would have saved $1,170!
If you’ve got thousands in debt looming over your head, $1,170 may not seem like much, but you have to start somewhere. Starting small and being patiently methodical is better than never starting at all! Plus, every month your level of savings increases until your small start becomes a giant tidal wave of savings. This will help you get out of debt faster and begin building your wealth. When you start saving, even in small amounts, you will have implemented another great wealth creating habit!
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