What’s the best day of the week?
Friday?
Nope.
Saturday…eh, close but no.
Humpdayyy?? no.
It’s payday.
For some people payday is every two weeks. For other people it’s every single day.
Reality check, for some people it’s non existent (thanks Coronavirus). But that’s not what we’re talking about right now.
You just got paid and now you have a pocket full of cash and you’re ready to put it to good use but, people please, I need you to listen to me on this one: let’s not do what the #fakerich do.
If you try to be somebody you’re financially not, you’re going to end up #realbroke (which is not how you want to end up).
So here are five things you should stop doing when you get paid…
1. Stop taking “weathies”
Number one, don’t be the person that IG’s or puts their paycheck on Flakebook every single time they get paid.
People who actually make money don’t need to take “weathies.”
First of all, you’re not fooling anybody. We all know that you’re just holding a stack of singles with $100 in front of it.
But you know it doesn’t matter if you made $10 or $100,000, once you tell everybody that you got paid, everybody suddenly wants to be your friend and help you spend that money.
People don’t want to see you invest that money or save that money, that’s boring.
They want to see you spend it and they want to be a part of the fun.
Don’t flash your cash, everybody doesn’t need to know.
2. Stop paying math tax
Second, you just made $3,000 and you’re thinking…hm, how can I take my $3,000 and turn it into $30,000?
Now I like the way you’re thinking!
Let me look at what some really successful people have done and I’ll replicate that.
Boom, that’s what I’m talkin about!
Fred Smith, the founder of FedEx, needed $24,000 to keep his company alive. So he took his company’s last five thousand dollars and he went to the blackjack table and he turned his $5,000 into $24,000 and now he’s a billionaire…
Hellz yeah, I’m going to the casino!
(Face palm)
Out of all the people you could have chosen, you had to look at that one story!?
Okay well this is one of the few times I’m going to tell you to do the opposite of what turned a nearly bankrupt company into a very profitable company.
And this includes the lottery too.
Handing the lottery your money is like taking your money and throwing it in the garbage can and then rubbing it three times hoping the genie pops out and hands you a million-dollars.
They say lotteries are a tax for people who don’t know how to do math. Do you understand that you have a 1 in 175 million chance of winning the lottery?
If you walk into 175 million restaurants and say that you are Donald Trump and ask for free food, I bet you get at least two free meals. You’re better off trying that.
But let me give you an even better option.
How about taking your money and investing it in things that make you more money?
Sounds cool but I’ll stick to Black Jack. (kidding)
3. Stop buying dumb things
Third, stop spending your money on dumb things.
Remember George who bought a $400 umbrella when he had no money, no income and was in debt?
Yeah don’t do that.
There are things that you need, like food and a place to live. There are things that you want, like a new pair of jeans. And then, there are dumb things like an overpriced umbrella that you’re probably never going to use.
If you want to buy dumb things, that’s fine. Just make sure you can afford them first.
Remember the 3x rule. If you can’t buy 3 of them, you can’t afford one of them.
4. Stop jumping off financial cliffs
Forth, don’t be a cliff spender.
So when the most people get their paycheck, they start spending it as fast as possible.
And then, oh crap, the money is gone.
And then they have to wait until the next paycheck..and then, poof, it’s all gone again.
It looks like a cliff.
You get money and then it’s time for some fine dining at Red Lobster twice a day, and then whoosh the money is gone.
And now you have to wait until the next paycheck and then boom, you got your paycheck and now back to Red Lobster and then money is gone again.
Open up an Excel spreadsheet and write your income on top and write all your expenses below it.
See where your money is going and see where should be going – and compare the differences.
If you don’t know where your money is going, you can’t do anything about it. It’s time to close your eyes, take a deep breath and smell the… expenses.
Bottom line, it’s time to look at the numbers.
5. Stop falling for sales speak
And number 5, stop listening to sales people.
I used to be an auto re-finance salesperson. Us sales people are paid on commission so we want to be sure you get the most expensive…I mean…best deal you can. Not only is this what we want, but we’re trained to get you to close the deal.
This doesn’t mean sales people are bad or evil, everyone’s to trying to make a living.
What you need to do is know your number.
So next time you go to the car lot and you’re looking at a used Toyota and the sales person comes up to you and says hey take a look at this BMW we just got in. All you have to do is put $500 down and it’s $800 a month for the next 72 months.
I want you to turn around and look at the salesperson in his eyes and say no.
And when they say “are you sure? I might be able to drop in free oil changes for a year if you buy it now.”
No.
I need you to stay strong side hustlers and don’t fall into that temptation.
I know how badly you might want a new BMW but trust me when I tell you this: you can afford it when you stop financing things that you can’t afford and buy with cash.