July 2022 Net Worth Update
July has come to an end, which also means that more than half of the year is over. Time being the dictator that it is, it just continues to move on whether we diligently worked toward our dreams and goals or decided to put them off until tomorrow (indefinitely). There is no time like the present to start putting yourself in a position, to make your tomorrow a little better than today.
Time is Potential
If you want to earn more money, be debt-free and stop living paycheck-to-paycheck, it takes time. But if you only sit around and dream about achieving any or all those things then it will never happen. Most people fear their own dreams and goals. More specifically, they fear failing to achieve their dreams and goals. So time passes as those individuals make excuses for not making a single move toward their goals and dreams. And their biggest fear is almost guaranteed.
Imagine with me for a moment that you’re employed but you have no money, or you have very little money. Isn’t that how we all start out? So, the question is why do some of us stay that way throughout our working careers while others go on to build more and more wealth and live out their dreams? The answer is time.
This past week I got to be with two people that have chosen to use their time differently.
Wasted Potential
A friend of mine complained about feeling discouraged by the lack of options that he has in his job. He’s very skilled at his job and has great ideas so I assumed he was paid well and highly valued. Turns out he is not highly valued, and despite being miserable he has failed to implement any of the side hustles that he has discussed with me over the last few years. With his skills, those side hustles could have been the path for him to leave that job. Or at least be happy there knowing he is good outside of it. Instead, in eight years he made no moves. And he used his credit card as a cathartic escape. More debt.
Meanwhile, eight years have casually passed, and never once has he directed any time toward improving his situation. There is no telling where my friend would be if he dedicated just one hour a week, his lunch hour, to freelancing. And he could have put that money in a high-interest savings account, put it on automatic and watch what happens.
I didn’t pass up the opportunity to tell him this. Money from a second stream of income from a small side hustle or a second job, placed in a high-yield savings account or investment account over eight years could have bought him his freedom.
I shared with him everything I learned on my journey to slowly (very slowly) build multiple streams of income. Wealth and multiple streams of income in real life, never happens as quickly as it does for the folk on YouTube and Tik Tok. Only time will tell if he takes any of my advice. But whatever he decides I just hope he doesn’t let another eight years pass.
Time Well Spent
I know another millionaire! It seems I’m subconsciously surrounding myself with millionaires. This millionaire (who I will call M) is someone that I worked with in the past and has decided to retire. She was responsible for most of the freelance work that I received early on. Not the earliest of retirements but not late by any stretch at 58 years old. M’s advice to me was to not go crazy spending everything I earn. Duly, noted.
She said she started saving early at her very first job when she was 22. In the beginning, she admitted, she wasn’t consistent. M was only saving $25 and a little more when she could afford to do so, but it was sporadic (she had to send a check to the brokerage). She was quick to point out, that as soon as she started earning more, she saved more. Her only regret was that she didn’t put her saving and investments on automatic until she was around 40 years old. She said if she had put it on automatic as soon as it was available, she would probably have more than $2 million. her retirement plans: Travel and really enjoy her home since it’s all paid for. Congratulations, M!
Isn’t it great to learn that we don’t have to be great all the time when it comes to our savings and investing? Just being, good, consistently, will get most of us to our goals. I found a great quote on time that I thought you might appreciate.
“The bad news is time flies. The good news is you’re the pilot.” – Michael Altshuler
Okay, time for the net worth update:
If you’ve been reading this blog with any consistency, you know I’ve been trying to cross the big net worth milestone of $250K for the last seven months. Because of the volatile stock market, it’s been a lot of saving and investing only to come up short repeatedly. Never discouraged, I continue to trust my process and I’m happy to report that I have finally broken through. This breakthrough has provided a much-needed burst of energy to refocus and finish the year strong.
While I’m already focused on the next milestone of $300K. I don’t want to make light of having reached a $250K net worth. So here are all the possibilities for a quarter of million dollars and why I’m grateful:
- It means I have peace of mind and I have options.
- It means if I were to lose my job, and all my income streams, I literally have years to figure things out for myself without needing a job. This is a testament to living way below my means, since a third of Americans making $250,000/year can’t survive two weeks because they live paycheck to paycheck.
- It means I only need to save around $90,000 to reach the next milestone of $300K because dividends, interest and compounding are starting to work their magic on my behalf.
- It means I could pay off my mortgage.
- It means I could safely withdraw $8,000-$10,000 a year, every year and not run out of money.
- It means I don’t have to finance a car. I can pay cash.
- It means that my salary is growing less and less important every single year.
I hope this blog inspired you to get started on making your future a little brighter.
Remember, It is a fight to build wealth no matter where you are in the process. Everything around us conspires to take money out of our hands. But you must fight the good fight. Continue to save, invest and grow your net worth even when it seems impossible. Save your pennies (copper) until they become dollars (cotton).
