There Is No Secret
“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.”
-Thomas Edison
A few weeks ago I came across an article about a couple who saved enough money to retire in their 30s and start traveling the world.
I thought this was a really cool example of just what’s possible when you decide to think and act a little differently from the norm, so I shared it with a lot of people. Most agreed that it was an awesome story and some even said that it excited them about the possibilities that existed in their own lives.
But one comment from one anonymous person on reddit stuck with me. Here’s what he said:
“Inspirational and all, but it definitely just seems like they lived below their means, made a ton of money, and saved most of it.”
Well, yeah. That’s exactly what they did.
There is no secret
That comment stuck with me because this person was clearly expecting some kind of magic bullet or secret formula for getting rich quick. And he was clearly disappointed that this article didn’t give it to him.
Well here’s the truth: the article didn’t give it to him because it doesn’t exist.
There is no magic bullet.
There is no secret formula.
There is no single action that’s going to change everything about your financial situation and give you everything you ever wanted.
There is only this:
- Spend less than you earn.
- Put the difference into savings accounts.
- Find small ways, one at a time, to do more of #1 and #2 until you are on track for all of your most important goals.
That’s all there is to it.
Simple ≠ easy
The path to a better financial future is incredibly simple. You will get there if you follow those three steps above.
But it won’t be easy.
You will have to make a lot of tough decisions. And the process of making all those little decisions, again and again, day after day, won’t always be pretty. Nobody ever makes any kind of significant change with ease.
It will be hard work. It will require sacrifice. It will take time. You will fail. You will succeed. And you will have to keep going either way.
But the payoff is the opportunity to live a life you enjoy.
Do the work
You CAN build a better financial future.
You CAN get from where you are now to where you want to be.
But it WILL take work.
Are you ready to do it?
Very true. Unless you inherit a ton of money or win the lottery, your wealth comes in bits and dribbles and adds up over time. That’s why small decisions matter. Saving $20 here and there might not seem like a big deal, but when you add up all the $20 savings opportunities over a year, ten years, a lifetime, it can end up being a pretty big number, and that’s just one example.
Exactly. It’s always a lot of little steps that add up to a big outcome.