We began this series of articles talking about the Laws of Wealth. These laws exist and those who accumulate large sums of wealth have not only learned these laws but apply them consistently to their every business and investing lives.
We look at the mentality of the wealthy. Today I want to explore the concept of “learn to pay yourself first”. I suggest 10% of what you take home.
This seems like a pretty straightforward concept but sadly, most people do not adhere to this principle. I know I didn’t for years. The reason was real simple; I barely had enough to cover my expenses. I certainly couldn’t put any money aside.
Let me show you what I have learned about this principle. For starters, when you get paid and pay your bills you are paying your creditors. But when you fail to pay yourself you fail to pay your biggest creditor; you.
Why would I say that? Because you owe yourself for all the success and happiness you have had up to this point in your life. Thank God for electricity, food, a place to live, a car to drive, etc. But take you out of the picture and none of that would matters. You are indeed the most important component for your own life.
Look at this concepts I have learned about paying yourself first;
1) You take care of you first – this means that no matter what you owe, how much you owe and what you pay out, you know that number one has been taken care of. This gives us a sense of satisfaction knowing we didn’t just work the last week for someone else.
2) You can decide on what to do with your money – when you earn money you also have to both spend and invest it. I find that the money I pay myself brings me the most satisfaction when I get to save and invest. This is great when you begin to get really excited about building your own portfolio.
3) You can buy yourself your own reward – I remember times when the only thing I wanted for the week was to get a haircut, maybe a massage or pedicure/manicure. Just wanted to pamper myself for a hard work. When you work hard (and I suggest you do that with all your heart if you are not doing that already) you deserve to play just as hard. Different people need different things so you need to see what you want and need. Then on occasion do that.