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| automatic millionaire |
Budgets don’t work. Every January after I dealt with the shock of my Christmas shopping credit card bill. I’d tell myself. “I am going to write a budget and stick to it.” Every year I would hold to my budget for a good two months. Some how writing down all my spending and calculating how much I have left for groceries or children’s clothing ends up becoming too much to remember. Before I know it the budget is forgotten and I am back to praying. Praying, that this month’s credit card balance is not as high as last month’s balance. Hoping, that the surprise car repair didn’t really add too much to the month’s expenses.
Then I remembered... years ago I read a book called, “The Automatic Millionaire.” by David Bach. It left a big impression on me. I think back to the opening story about a couple that had a very middle class income but had somehow managed to become millionaires.
What I liked most about the book was that it made getting rich sound simple to do over a period of time. It doesn’t preach a get rich quick scam. It advocates making all savings and bill payments automatic. Basically, if you have the maximum taken out of your paycheck every month and sent directly to a retirement account, and you have all your bill payments automatically deducted from your bank account, what you have left over you can spend! It is that easy. No budget, no brainer. The only discipline you need is to set up the payments.
There is one caveat. You can not be living above your means. If you are paying a mortgage on a house that doesn’t leave enough money left over each month for savings, if your car payment is to high... you are living beyond your means. This method only works when you are realistic about how much house and what kinds of expenses you can really carry and still be able to save for your retirement.
If you are a person who has committed to simple living you are probably on your way to figuring out what things you really need and are getting rid of expenses that are just excessive. So, in all sincerely, check out the author’s website. He is actually giving away a free copy of the update to his book. http://www.finishrich.com/books/automatic_brandhome.php Check out his blog and watch the video: Are You Making the #1 Financial Mistake?
Our family’s assets have increased tremendously by automatically saving. We even now donate to charities automatically each month, so we are not overwhelmed at the end of the year by lump sum contributions. Technology today has made this method of saving so accessible there is really no reason not to try it.
Our family’s assets have increased tremendously by automatically saving. We even now donate to charities automatically each month, so we are not overwhelmed at the end of the year by lump sum contributions. Technology today has made this method of saving so accessible there is really no reason not to try it.
