"Until you value yourself, you won’t value your time. Until you value your time, you will not do anything with it."
-M. Scott Peck
The ME First Timeline
First Quarter
Courtesy-MarketWatch
Second Quarter
Third Quarter
Fourth Quarter
The financially free "Me First" phase should be the main priority as soon as possible. It should be the main focus area so you can grow your money and let time do the work.
The mindshift with becoming financially free is to capture and live the way you could financially in the 3rd quarter as soon as possible. The key is to have your youth, health, and financial security as soon as possible!
The mindshift with becoming financially free is to capture and live the way you could financially in the 3rd quarter as soon as possible. The key is to have your youth, health, and financial security as soon as possible!
The ME First Teacher's Timeline
Every teacher has a different story to tell when it comes to his or her career, however the majority have very similar stops along the way. We all work hard to get our degree to gain credentials to apply for and land our first job. From that point, we are learning each and every day about who we are as educators. It's kind of of ironic, but our students are actually teaching us in a way.
With a lot of dedication, hard work and luck we hopefully gain job security (tenure in most states) and we strive to become the best we can be for our students, school, and profession. We are dedicated professionals that put in time in and out of the classroom. Hours of planning, so many minutes of reflecting and entire school years of bringing the highest level of instruction to our students day in and day out. The nature of this profession with the responsibilities and demands of our own personal lives leave little time for us to focus on things that are imperative to our futures. Things like organizing our own personal finance, learning about investing, and wealth-building are often put on the backburner.
This is not the path to financial freedom!
We continue on this marathon of a profession putting everything else first and before we know it we are approaching our retirement years only to find out that we aren't in a position to decide when want to call it a career. Our options are limited, our futures aren't in our own hands, and we are dependent upon others after giving our all to this profession.
Is this how you want to live?
From day one there must be a commitment to yourself! A promise that you will put your future at the top of the list. You must embrace the idea that you are the only one that fully cares about your financial future.
Don't put it on hold, don't let others make decisions for you and please don't expect someone else to do it for you!
Make your financial future a top priority, use your earning ability to give yourself options, and most importantly put yourself in position to control your own financial destiny.
With a lot of dedication, hard work and luck we hopefully gain job security (tenure in most states) and we strive to become the best we can be for our students, school, and profession. We are dedicated professionals that put in time in and out of the classroom. Hours of planning, so many minutes of reflecting and entire school years of bringing the highest level of instruction to our students day in and day out. The nature of this profession with the responsibilities and demands of our own personal lives leave little time for us to focus on things that are imperative to our futures. Things like organizing our own personal finance, learning about investing, and wealth-building are often put on the backburner.
This is not the path to financial freedom!
We continue on this marathon of a profession putting everything else first and before we know it we are approaching our retirement years only to find out that we aren't in a position to decide when want to call it a career. Our options are limited, our futures aren't in our own hands, and we are dependent upon others after giving our all to this profession.
Is this how you want to live?
From day one there must be a commitment to yourself! A promise that you will put your future at the top of the list. You must embrace the idea that you are the only one that fully cares about your financial future.
Don't put it on hold, don't let others make decisions for you and please don't expect someone else to do it for you!
Make your financial future a top priority, use your earning ability to give yourself options, and most importantly put yourself in position to control your own financial destiny.
Money you Keep |
Money you Owe |
Every dollar you earn should be assigned exactly where it should go. It is your money so you should treat it as such. We all know taxes are inevitable and we should learn from how the government plays the game. Your money is their money even before you cash your paycheck. Federal and State taxes, social security, medicare, and some insurances are just taken. Poof! The bills disappear before your very eyes.
The government understands the "Me First" concept and that is an easy lesson that you can follow as well! Think about it, they take what they need even before you do, so why shouldn't you get the next dibs on your own money? You need to take that approach so you can begin to take and use the power that your money is meant to help you create.
View yourself as your own little government and begin to take your own money from yourself before anyone else does. This is considered the Money you Keep! Savings, retirement/investing should be paid to yourself just like taxes, social security, and medicare. "Sorry, but that's my money" needs to be your "Me first mindset" because that is going to make all the difference when it comes to achieving financial freedom.
Once you have taken out for you, then you can focus on the Money you Owe. This money needs to be returned to the outstanding debts (bills) you have in your life. They need to be fully paid each month and utilizing credit cards is a solid option if you have the money and discipline to pay them off in full every month. If not, then you are paying the government, the credit card companies high rates of return, and then you become 3rd on the list!
Ultimately, these expenses allow you to live and work and without them your life might be in the red (negative). Rent/Mortgage, insurances, life necessities (food, electricity, gas, utilities, etc.) There are definitely tiers to this area and this is where it is imperative for you to begin to determine needs vs. wants and align your lifestyle to one that aligns with financial freedom.
There are things in life that are meant to be enjoyed, however just remember that instant gratifications often times lead to delayed goals when it comes to financial independence and freedom. Learn to find happy mediums when it comes to your lifestyles if you find yourself having internal battles. You can't win them all, however win as many as you can.
Example-
You want (notice I didn't say need) cable +internet ($150 month)= $1,800 year
Not enhancing your life or getting you closer to financial independence!
vs.
You want cable+ internet ($150 month) so you negotiate with yourself to get internet ($60 month) + 1 Roku ($29 one time fee) and Netflix ($15 per month)= $929
Providing you with entertainment and turning your want into half of the expense while helping you free up $871!
Look for more to doing this in How To (Period 4)
Once you satisfy the Money you Keep and the Money you Owe portions and if you are lucky enough to have Remaining Money you can decide on what you want to do with that money. (I suggest invest it!)
Life is full of incredible experiences, things, and pleasures!
What good is money if you can't spend it on things you enjoy/want?
You need to make decisions that you can live with understanding that your financial choices will have consequences and they are directly connected to your financial freedom time horizon and whether or not you achieve your financial goals.
Just remember, putting more of this money in your Money you Keep pocket is going to get you to financial freedom faster!
The government understands the "Me First" concept and that is an easy lesson that you can follow as well! Think about it, they take what they need even before you do, so why shouldn't you get the next dibs on your own money? You need to take that approach so you can begin to take and use the power that your money is meant to help you create.
View yourself as your own little government and begin to take your own money from yourself before anyone else does. This is considered the Money you Keep! Savings, retirement/investing should be paid to yourself just like taxes, social security, and medicare. "Sorry, but that's my money" needs to be your "Me first mindset" because that is going to make all the difference when it comes to achieving financial freedom.
Once you have taken out for you, then you can focus on the Money you Owe. This money needs to be returned to the outstanding debts (bills) you have in your life. They need to be fully paid each month and utilizing credit cards is a solid option if you have the money and discipline to pay them off in full every month. If not, then you are paying the government, the credit card companies high rates of return, and then you become 3rd on the list!
Ultimately, these expenses allow you to live and work and without them your life might be in the red (negative). Rent/Mortgage, insurances, life necessities (food, electricity, gas, utilities, etc.) There are definitely tiers to this area and this is where it is imperative for you to begin to determine needs vs. wants and align your lifestyle to one that aligns with financial freedom.
There are things in life that are meant to be enjoyed, however just remember that instant gratifications often times lead to delayed goals when it comes to financial independence and freedom. Learn to find happy mediums when it comes to your lifestyles if you find yourself having internal battles. You can't win them all, however win as many as you can.
Example-
You want (notice I didn't say need) cable +internet ($150 month)= $1,800 year
Not enhancing your life or getting you closer to financial independence!
vs.
You want cable+ internet ($150 month) so you negotiate with yourself to get internet ($60 month) + 1 Roku ($29 one time fee) and Netflix ($15 per month)= $929
Providing you with entertainment and turning your want into half of the expense while helping you free up $871!
Look for more to doing this in How To (Period 4)
Once you satisfy the Money you Keep and the Money you Owe portions and if you are lucky enough to have Remaining Money you can decide on what you want to do with that money. (I suggest invest it!)
Life is full of incredible experiences, things, and pleasures!
What good is money if you can't spend it on things you enjoy/want?
You need to make decisions that you can live with understanding that your financial choices will have consequences and they are directly connected to your financial freedom time horizon and whether or not you achieve your financial goals.
Just remember, putting more of this money in your Money you Keep pocket is going to get you to financial freedom faster!
Money you KeepAnything that is legal and ethical and that is going to make you more money.
Savings Retirement Investing/Investments |
Money you OweAnything you promised to pay!
Rent/Mortgage Insurances Loans (student, automotive, personal, etc.) Monthly bills (living expenses) |