Saw this article tweeted around by my boy Cody McKibben (who’s also a pretty killer “personality” online, fyi), and thought some of the points made in it were pretty spot on. People either love or hate on Seth Godin, but regardless he’s a pretty brilliant dude.
Here were the points I really got down with:
- The amount of money you have has nothing to do with whether or not you’re a good person. TRUE!! Some people are just better at it than others, like any other game out there. What makes you a good person is your heart :)
- Money spent on one thing is still the same as money spent on something else. Also very true! Though admittedly I suck at remembering/understanding/caring about this. A $40 parking ticket vs $40 for a kick ass new outfit feels completely different to me – though technically still $40.00. Same with earning $40.00 more one month at “my job” vs getting a check for $40 for my birthday. It’s probably best to consider it all very much the same, but such is my hang up.
- If you borrow money to make money, you’ve done something magical. If only we can figure out more ways to do this! My dream is to be able to say, “Give me $____ and I’ll turn it into $____.” That’s a powerful thing to be able to do right there.
- There’s no difference (in terms of the money you have) between spending money and not earning money… Yup. And both are very easy to accomplish, haha… The trick is figuring out whether you’re better at spending less or earning more to keep your finances going up, up, up!
- If you’ve got a job, a steady day job, now’s the time to figure out a way to earn extra income in your spare time. Side hustling, baby!! Much easier to pull off when you’re not counting on that money and it’s all “extra.” Also for following that dream of working for yourself one day, if you’re one to fall in that category anyways. If not, it’s still some great extra money!
There were some others in there that were so-so and/or I didn’t understand all the way (Did I mention Seth was pretty smart? ;)), but those above 5 were the ones that really stood out to me. And then there were a few others I just didn’t agree with all the way, like this one:
- If money is an emotional issue for you, you’ve just put your finger on a big part of the problem. While this could be true for a majority of people, I actually feel like being emotional HELPS with managing your money. Because the more passionate/angry you are, the better chances of you accomplishing whatever it is you’re trying to do w/ your money! It’s taking all that emotional energy and using it to better whatever situation you’re in. And it’s nice feeling alive when you interact with money too – for better or for worse ;)
Here’s the entire article if you want to check out all 16 of them: Thinking about money. I guess it was on his mind knowing that marketers work overtime to try and confuse us about money, haha… That’s def. true! Y’all keep on eye on it, ya hear?
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PS: Yes, there is even an action figure based on Seth too, as you can see from that pic above. On top of all the books and everything else he’s built for his cult following! A true marketing master indeed…
[Photos by betsyweber]
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Your fourth point about essentially being more frugal or finding ways to earn money is pretty basic and something I always try to do. Although recently I read an article that said you should really look to earn more rather than spend less. If you focus more on spending less, you may not spend enough time meeting your earning potential. Although some truth to that, I still think amping up your frugalness, especially if is does not reduce your quality of life, is something you should always have in the back of your mind. Simple things like paying insurance bills 6 months at a time to avoid the $3.50 service fees if you were to pay month to month seem like no brainers to me as the only thing required is a little saving and planning ahead of time.
Yup – but I’ll agree on *earning more* is prob best in the long run. And the beauty of it is that the more you earn the less you have to worry about those smaller frugalities IF you want to. I tend to enjoy being both frugal and a hustler during different stages of my life, but the months I bring in a ton it’s nice to not have to worry about it if I don’t feel like it :)
That character looks like Professor X without the wheelchair! But back to the post points 2 and 3 are my favorite. Right now I am working on being able to buy real estate using other people’s money (OPM) principle. If I can do that then I think I am on my way. Cant forget those side hustles. Hopefully they grow to where they are just money machines and not on the side at some point.
Agreed. As long as you *enjoy* the hustles, of course ;) Sometimes it’s purely for the money only so that could change your quality of life if you turn it to a full-time thing where you’re doing dumb stuff for more hours, haha….
I think what is meant by the “emotional issue” point is if emotions (shame, anger, helplessness, stress etc.) control your ability to take charge of your finances then that’s the problem. Some people have a hard time turning their emotions into motivation and just wallow. We all have known some wallowers and/or have spent some time being one. I always put a time limit on wallowing (and try to teach my wallowing sister this!) depending on the issue. Messed up on your register and got an overdraft fee? 20 minutes!! Boyfriend dumped you? 3hrs -1 day!! When time is up, it’s time for action!
I love that!! And I’m impressed too – only 3 hours to a day for a bf dumping? Must not be that awesome of a BF! (obviously if they’re breaking up with you ;))
I love point number 3! “If you borrow money to make money, you’ve done something magical.”
So true!
Actually here is something even better… Creating money out of thin air! I’m seeing more and more people do this. :-D
That and growing money trees in your back yard :)
Those are my favorite kind of trees!
Great points about money, read the entire article by Seth too!
1- Very true! There are so many people of different types out there. Some have lots of money, but are generous. Vice versa no money and not generous. Money and not generous. No money and generous.
6- Oof! I think impulse spending is definitely tied to emotions. I do it more often when stressed out! I try to impulse spend on little things now and only on food. At least its something I eat.
That’s a great way to impulse spend actually – doing it on smaller things. I like that :)
These are great points. I really like the one about figuring out how to make side income when you feel safe in your current job. It’s when you have a stable job that you can start working on making the extra money without “needing” that extra money yet.
Exactly. Stability is key with that. Amazing how much riskier you can go when it doesn’t matter as much too :)
The link between emotion & money is also made worse by most people are lying to themselves…
A nice TED talk describe it nicely : http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_ariely_asks_are_we_in_control_of_our_own_decisions.html
Yes, lying to yourself is never good, haha… though worse if you don’t even REALIZE you’re lying to yourself anymore! ;)
I linked to Seth’s article and understand his perspective regarding #2, but in my daily life, I find myself coming at it from the purchasing angle. Just last night, I was browsing bagborroworsteal.com looking at discounted designer bag for fun and kept having to remind myself that the $500 discount bag is the same as a huge $500 wardrobe upgrade which is the same as a $500 purchase in dividend stocks that can generate income for me in the next quarter and well into the future.
You got that right! And either option is fine depending on your mood and your prioritizations :)
The amount of money you have has nothing to do with whether or not you’re a good person.
Believe me I’ve met folks who talk about nothing else but money and how they spend it on luxury items. They’d look at someone financially less fortunate as if they don’t even exist.
I love lots of these points because they are so spot on. It’s interesting, if you’ve ever really focused and paid attention to most people’s perception of what type of person other’s are.. people tend to assume that those with less money are BETTER people than those with more. It’s really odd.
I remember a lot of that during the Romney race too – people were hating on him big for the simple fact he was wealthy (well, for other reasons too, but usually that was up there at the top which never made real sense to me).
For getting a part time job … here is a concept I teach and proved it pays a LOT more than any part time job on the planet …
Make saving money your part time job because it pays more than five times the money.
If you make saving money your part time job, you will never need to get a part time job to save money.
When you learn all of the most incredible money saving tips on the planet and make your part time job practicing those tips, you can earn as much as $500 per hour depending on where you might have outgoing money at the time.
For instance, my wife and I just rented a 3,800 sq. ft house in a gated community on the coast of CA for only $300 for FIVE DAYS where a cheap hotel room is more than $200 per day.
Since it only took me one hour to find that fully furnished house for our vacation because I know this unique money saving tip that anyone can learn, I saved (earned) $700 per hour. A penny saved is a penny earned after all.
Most people would have found the hotel room and spent $1,000 and lost all of that extra money.
We had the outgoing money anyway, because we had the trip planned, so I made saving money a part time gig and one hour paid us handsomely for a better place to stay in a safe area. Anyone can do this over and over in all of the areas where they have outgoing money.
When you learn cool tips on how to save a ton of money where you have outgoing money, and then go to work every time you need to dip into your wallet, you can average more than $100 per hour in savings over the long haul.
Tell me if you know of any part time job that pays more than $100 per hour where you don’t have any boss breathing down your neck every second. You’ll be lucky to find a $12 per hour part time gig.
When I started making saving money my part time job, our savings started piling up at an unbelievable rate. I always kept track of the amount of time and the savings and since a penny saved is a penny earned, I made a lot of money where I had those unavoidable hits and expenses that normally would break most people and leave them struggling.
If everyone knew the tips and concepts I know, no one would ever struggle financially.
I like that! Haven’t ever heard of it that way either, haha… good job on that one :) If only you could find ways to work 8 hours days at that rate, eh? Let me know once you’ve mastered that and I’ll share my profits with you when I turn around and do it ;)
If you borrow money to make money, you have done something magical.
I have never really thought about this one, but it makes so much sense. Mind. Blown.