- Whether you like to eat steak, or pasta, or ice cream, you probably couldn’t consume 200+ pounds of any of those in one sitting.
- But you could finish all 200+ pounds of steak (or whatever it would be for you) over the course of a year by just taking tiny bites each day.
- A book called Adulting, which came out in 2013, discusses setting reasonable expectations for yourself when it comes to money. This is a little like taking little bites at the huge steak, but instead it’s taking little steps with money.
- This is important because there’s a lot of noise out there with people shoulding all over you, saying things like: you should do this, you should save that amount, you should… That’s no fun and, honestly, not very helpful.
- By taking tiny steps toward saving a very small amount of money each week or each month, you’ll eventually see a big difference — both in your confidence around money and your ability to grow your wealth over time.
Supposedly, the average American eats 220 pounds of meat a year. Imagine if someone plopped a huge 220 pound steak (I’m not sure it could be that big, in reality) in front of you and said, “Eat it.” You’d probably say, “No way! I can’t eat all of that.” Well, I didn’t mean do it all in one sitting. It would probably take a whole year of smaller portions and bites. That’s a little different way of looking at eating all that meat.
That scenario reminds me of a book that came out in 2013 by Kelly Williams Brown called Adulting. She goes through tons of really cool stuff, including a section on money. Step 227 in this section says, “Set reasonable expectations for yourself moneywise.” And if you think about that particular step, it’s kind of like taking these little (reasonable) bites.
Taking these small steps when it comes to money is a great idea. Why? Because people are coming at you from every direction saying, “You should do this,” and “You should save 15% of every paycheck,” and “You should save up an emergency fund,” and “You should save for retirement,” and on and on. They’re shoulding all over you and that’s no fun whatsoever, as well as being a little obnoxious.
What can make a lot more sense is deciding to do just one little thing. It can be anything. Maybe you cut back on a certain treat you give yourself, or any other small expenditure. This gets you to take your first small step. You’re starting to save a little bit–$10 a week, $20 a month, or a certain small amount per pay period—and put it away in a little separate savings account in your community or online bank. Trust me, it will make a difference. It’ll give you some confidence.
When you feel that small surge of confidence, you’ll keep on taking small step after small step and, before you know it, you’ve eaten the 220 pounds of meat; although, in this case, it’s money saved. Maybe it’s $1,000, which is enough for an emergency fund. That way when those unplanned things hit, you don’t have to turn to credit cards, or resort to some of those other things that will set you back further than ever before.
Take the small steps you’re comfortable taking. I like what Kelly says about this and that’s to simply do whatever you can up front. Eventually, as your confidence builds and you take slightly bigger steps, you can do other things that will grow your wealth over time. All it takes is a little patience and consistently doing a little at a time. It will add up and make a huge difference. Until next time, enjoy.
Gary