Give Yourself A Raise

Before we get started, let me clarify that I do not judge what anyone chooses to do as a social activity. However, a proven model for success is to increase revenue and decrease expenses. Both of these tasks yield the same result: more money in your pocket. Most people only think of expenses as bills such as utilities, child care, car payments, rent, taxes, etc. Actually, an expense is anything that is not an investment; meaning it will not directly bring more money as an end result. We all have hobbies, vices, and social activities we enjoy that require our monetary contribution. We only get one run through life so you should be able to have and/or do many of the things you enjoy. Some of these things are stress relievers which add to your quality of life. Others are things that you could ultimately do without which would spare you the expense, essentially giving you a raise.

Take smoking cigarettes for example. It has been proven that smoking is detrimental to human health and our wallets. The average smoker puffs nearly a pack of cigarettes per day. The average cost per pack varies by state, New York being the highest and West Virginia being the cheapest, making the national average about $8/pack. Just 1 year of smoking a pack of cigarettes per day creates a $2920 expense. While experts agree that stopping is the best option, the reality is that if one wants to smoke, the cost nor the health consequences will deter them. Here's a tip, simply reduce the quantity of cigarettes smoked per day by 50%. That could instantly add $1460 back into your budget before factoring in the fuel cost saved by making half as many trips to the store to purchase them.

Smoking isn’t the only expense that we can remove from our budgets. I have things I’ve had to cut out or reduce in order to get my raise. I could then put that extra money in my IRA, vacation spending allocation, or gym membership. Try it out and come back with your comments so your experience may be a blessing to others.

-- Wood Butler, Jr.

It's been a long time coming!  The release of my new book "It's Always Today - Change Your Entire Life In Just 24 Hours" is around the corner.  Stay informed by hitting the "LIKE" button on www.facebook.com/itsalwaystoday

Caught Sleeping

I had a truly "eye-opening" experience yesterday morning. The smoke alarm went off at 2:30 am and scared us into a frantic panic. We jumped out of bed like popcorn running around the entire house checking for fire. I was in a deep sleep so my eyes were not adjusted to the dark and I thought I was seeing smoke. My wife told the kids to slip some shoes on and get outside. After a sprint through the entire interior of the house, I ascertained that it was a false alarm and we all returned to bed.

However, before I fell back to sleep I was pondering the lesson in what had just happened. The lesson was that we were not prepared in the case that it was a real fire. We had no official escape route or alternate plan. We had shoes and other items in the floor that we tripped on as we ran to the kids bedrooms. We have dual-sided key deadbolts on the doors and the key is not near them. We didn’t have all of our important paperwork together in a sealed fire/waterproof safe. And evidently we haven’t been checking and testing the smoke detectors on a regular basis. Any of the above could have spelled disaster and unnecessary headache in the aftermath due to a lack of planning and preparation.

I let my mind wander to other areas of my life where preparation may be lacking or non-existent. You should do the same. When was the last time you reviewed your emergency escape plan? When was the last time you reviewed your insurance policies to ensure that you have adequate coverage? As your life changes, your insurance needs may change as well. There are so many other areas of our lives where we all are vastly under-prepared for the unexpected.

Coincidentally, while in the middle of writing this post, we experienced a 5.8 magnitude earthquake in Virginia. Everyone was running around wondering about the right thing to do. Some got under their desks, some went to an interior room, and others ran outside as the managers advised. It caught us completely off guard and by being unprepared we had no clue what to do.

We are ultimately responsible for everything that happens to us in our lives. We can’t predict or prevent everything, but being prepared can greatly reduce, stress, injury, casualties, and recovery time. Plan, prepare, and prevail.

-- Wood Butler, Jr.

   

It's been a long time coming!  The release of my new book "It's Always Today - Change Your Entire Life In Just 24 Hours" is around the corner.  Stay informed by hitting the "LIKE" button on www.facebook.com/itsalwaystoday