Years ago when I was working as a Tech, I strived to get into the Sales side of things. I’d see the Sales guys at the HQ driving in with a car and get off at a decent time. Long story short, I was able to get into sales with that hustle. Once I got into sales, I got that Mon-Fri/9-5 work week thinking I made it. I was part of the norm and I had a Salary. I had that paradigm thinking that I would be getting steady income for a while and thought that if I needed to save, I could always do it later. However, that’s where I was totally wrong and I sorta knew it too.
At that time, I was hanging out with a group of friends on a frequent basis cuz we had the same schedule when it came to the weekend. In order to hang out, I needed to drive to get to the places. I don’t know what came over me but I wanted to get a car. Not just any car, a luxury car. Maybe it came with the Job cuz I was rockin the shirt & tie business look.
I did some research calculating my current income and my expenses. With what I saw, it looked like I had enough left over to finance a car and insure it. The calculations I made at the time did not include extra expenses with going out more frequently cuz I did have a car. I got so excited that I was able to afford something luxurious that my ego made me purchase one just to flex. It didn’t help that a couple of old friends said I should get something better. After some shopping, I found a used Audi A4, test drove it, fell in love with it, and purchased it.
That’s when I really got into the Rat Race. I was locked in for a 5 year payment plan.
Before I got into Sales, I read “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” by Robert Kiyosaki. He gave a blueprint on what you can do with you money to have it work for you. It was really good advice, but being sorta young with an Ego, I didn’t take the actions he mentioned in the book.
One lesson he mentioned in that book about wanting to have a car is that you should put your money into assets first. Once that gets going, you can use the profit from those assets to buy or car or if your assets provide you monthly dividends, then use that for you monthly car payments. Patience is a virtue.
As time went by owning and making payments on the car, and spending money like crazy, I suddenly found myself living paycheck to paycheck. Even thinking about what I was going through during that time gives me that ugly feeling inside. I had good credit and got myself a couple of credit cards thinking it would help. It didn’t, it actually made things worse cuz now I wasn’t able to save for other things. All my income was going to bills. Even though I had an RRSP program with my work and would match half of what I was putting into an RRSP, it wouldn’t be enough to put me in a position where I’d want to be more financially free.
I ended up getting into some crazy debt only paying the minimum or just above minimum on my credit cards, getting a Line of Credit, even borrowing cash from friends/family. Even an RRSP (401K in the US / SIPP in UK) is not a great investment to be in either. I learned all this from the book, but my Ego who wanted to always hang out with my friends or flexing so that I could get to the ladies made me want to forget those lessons. I was stressing out and would use Cannabis and alcohol frequently to try and forget what was happening to me.
In the end and looking back, buying that car with my own cash that I was trading in my time for was a mistake. But I’m not kicking my own ass for it or playing victim. I know in life you gotta make those mistakes and learn those lessons the tough way. I don’t even have the car anymore cuz I was hit in car accident and was written off.
If there was a way for me to talk to myself when I first got the Sales Job, this is what I would’ve said…
Don't rely on the Job for consistent income, things can change in an instant
Go back and dive into the book Rich Dad, Poor Dad and absorb those lessons
Buy a really cheap car and check your Ego
Research into buying some real assets
Invest whatever extra savings you have left into those assets
Have patience, short term gratification isn’t worth it
With those points, I could only imagine what life would be like now, but again, I’ve accepted what had already happened, and learned from it. As of now, I am doing what's listed above that I would tell my younger self. By checking my Ego and using patience, I’m having fun with the process.
I highly recommend the Book “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” by Robert Kiyosaki to learn more about the proper ways to use your income and actually put it into practice. Do your Due Diligence and then take action.
Another book I do recommend to help check your Ego is the book “Ego is the Enemy” by Ryan Holiday. I read it later in life that really helped me with my Ego. I’ll save that for another story.
You can buy these books by hittin those buttons below!
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