Sacrifice Today for Tomorrow
Lets discuss a hot topic on my mind right now and what I feel many people don't do as much these days, which is SACRIFICE. Now, what do I mean by this? No, not some religious thing, but more sacrificing your hard earned money today for a better tomorrow. One great example is purchasing a vehicle. Sure, everyone needs one, but do you really need the top
model that costs $60K, when you can purchase a car for $30K? Why don't you sacrifice today and take that extra $30K your spending on a vehicle and put it into a mutual fund, or possibly towards an investment property? Now yes, you are leasing it or financing it over 5 years so its ok, but why not purchase the $30K car, and then in 5 years take that $30K you didn't spend and invest it. Now this is just one example, but probably the best example of how many people these days don't sacrifice and save there income. Now we are all guilty of doing this, including myself, and why not, you see that shiny new car, or that shiny new dress and want to splurge, but is it really needed? Wouldn't you want to one day retire earlier, or have an amazing retirement, if you just sacrificed today? Unless you don't have to worry about money, then most people can relate to what I'm talking about!
In fact, here's an example of how much you are sacrificing by spending money on unnecessary things today versus saving them. I have developed a spreadsheet that factors in my yearly expenses and income and then in 25 years tells me how much money I will have left. Its basically an ongoing cash flow projection, with my savings each year factored in, in which I only use a 3% ROI. When I input into my spreadsheet that I'm spending $60K, versus $30K, well over that 25 years, I actually don't have just $30K less, but in fact over $62K less. Think about it! If you took that $30K and invested it at 3% compounded annually, that adds up. See below for breakdown of what I mean.
Initial Investment $ 30,000.00
End of Year 1 $ 30,900.00
End of Year 2 $ 31,827.00
End of Year 3 $ 32,781.81
End of Year 4 $ 33,765.26
End of Year 5 $ 34,778.22
End of Year 6 $ 35,821.57
End of Year 7 $ 36,896.22
End of Year 8 $ 38,003.10
End of Year 9 $ 39,143.20
End of Year 10 $ 40,317.49
End of Year 11 $ 41,527.02
End of Year 12 $ 42,772.83
End of Year 13 $ 44,056.01
End of Year 14 $ 45,377.69
End of Year 15 $ 46,739.02
End of Year 16 $ 48,141.19
End of Year 17 $ 49,585.43
End of Year 18 $ 51,072.99
End of Year 19 $ 52,605.18
End of Year 20 $ 54,183.34
End of Year 21 $ 55,808.84
End of Year 22 $ 57,483.10
End of Year 23 $ 59,207.60
End of Year 24 $ 60,983.82
End of Year 25 $ 62,813.34
So the next time your going car shopping, or TV shopping, or clothes shopping, maybe stick to the lower priced options, make a sacrifice, and in 20-30 years, you'll be glad you did. WHAT TO DO NEXT: Enroll in Real Estate Investing Bootcamp
