The email contained a single-word subject: “Help!” The sender, I’ll call her “Emily,” had been asked by her community group leader to give a 15-minute presentation on how to achieve financial freedom. She was honored to have been asked, excited to do it, but also panicked by the thought. She asked if I would help.
My first thought was that I can’t even introduce myself in 15 minutes. How could I, Emily or anyone else tackle that subject in just 15 minutes? But then I got to thinking: If money management is, as I believe, not that difficult, why couldn’t she do it? Why couldn’t I do it? I decided to give it a try.
SAVE
Do not confuse saving money with spending less, as in “I save money when I buy things on sale.” You are not saving at all; you are spending less. Saving money means that you actually put money into a safe place for some future time. Do that. Starting right now and forevermore, make it a rule that you will put some amount of your paycheck into a savings account before you spend any of it.
READ MORE: Everyday Cheapskate: How to make fruits and vegetables last longer
GIVE
Give away the same amount that you save. Just give it away — no strings attached — as an act of gratitude for what you have and how you are blessed. Goal: Give away 10 percent of all you receive.
LIVE
Rein in your lifestyle so that it fits into 80 percent of your net (take-home) pay. Pare down your lifestyle. Reduce your spending in every area of your life by a small amount and you will be able to achieve this goal — probably sooner than you ever dreamed.
CREDIT
You only need one credit card. Pick the Mastercard or Visa you’ve had for the longest time. Cut up all the others (but don’t close those accounts, because that would do terrible things to your credit score). Now you cannot use them. If you have a balance on the one card you keep, do not carry that card with you. You’ve given up that privilege until you are able to pay it down to zero dollars every month.
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