Before the Bills: The 60 Seconds That Shape Your Budget

That is a great way to have gone about it. So many peopleget to relying on all that unpromised (to be perpetual) overtime, then end up in a world of hurt. I know my brother has filed for bankrupcy at least three times these past 35 years. I haven't filed once in 40.

@Chellezhere This is a systemic problem in society. Most people live for the day and don't think about tomorrow, and they allow themselves to be too reliant on the "knowns" without considering the "unknowns." Take paychecks. I have long said they are one the greatest things that hold us back from really getting ahead, because too many people expect them to always be there. "Hey, if I run out money this week, I have a new paycheck coming next week." Did you know that 52% of six figure households live paycheck to paycheck? It's true. Part of what that tells us is that money is not the issue and never really has been. A person with a low income can do much better financially than someone with a high income. It just depends on how they deal with and manage their money. It's not guaranteed that a bigger paycheck means a better life or lifestyle, nor does it mean "safety." "Safety" is achieved through understanding how money actually works and then using that knowledge to make any amount work for you. Take how many people make the claim they can't afford to save. It's just not true. And a lot of times they will tell that to you with a straight face sipping from a hot Starbuck's latte, or stopping off and getting a Coke at the gas station when they go out to run errands. If one treats their money like tomorrow they would be guaranteed to be broke, they'd do much better, because it would force them to build a nest egg and work toward making their money work for them instead of the other way around. Earn as much as you can. Earn it once. Spend as little as you have to. Save and invest what you don't need. Eventually you won't need a paycheck, a safety net or anything else. Your money will be doing the heavy lifting for you.

@Chellezhere Many people who flaunt what they have are the ones who don't actually have anything to flaunt. Take my sister and brother-in-law as a good example of this. They live in a 6,000 square foot house. Their total household income is well into the six figures. What they don't have is money. They only have a high income. And at the end of the day, that means they really have nothing. Granted, my brother-in-law has been prone to begin more and more to listen to me, and from what I can tell, he's got better ideas now than he did not that long ago. But the idea that a big house and fancy stuff makes one rich, or better off is just... Patently false. Most of the time, when it comes to rich people, the real rich people... You can't tell and you wouldn't know they are probably filthy rich. Because real rich people don't have their wealth to show you they have it. They have it to enjoy their freedom and not have to worry about where their next dollar is coming from. People who look rich, 9 times out of 10 are pretending.

Amen to that. It is always good to have built a nest egg.

My life, exactly.