My American dream is become a Millionaire before I am forty five years old. I hear a lot of people say I want to be a millionaire and yet they don’t put action behind their words. In order to manifest your thoughts you have to live them. I made a vow to myself to change my way of thinking so that I could change my way of living. In order for me to accomplish this goal I had to learn more about money, increase my income, and spend less than I earned.
The very first thing was gaining the knowledge. I went to library and found books on personal finance and investing. At first it was very overwhelming. I never knew that there were so many different books and money gurus out here. They basically are all the same except they all have there own little personal take on investing and saving and some have pet peeves. My favorite is Dave Ramsey who also has his own T.V. show. He puts his spirituality into it and he motivated me to save. Next I researched online banks for the best rates and found the perfect one. I opened a Roth I.R.A and I.R.A for my son. My daughter already had an I.R.A. I never put any money into it. I set up a monthly direct deposit for that. I put my savings in automatic mode and bought mutual funds and bonds. I was confident enough to buy any stocks so I steered clear of those for the moment. I felt like I was on the right track.
The next step was increasing my income. This one was not as easy as the first. I had two options. Try to get a better position at Nestle Frozen Foods or start looking for higher pay somewhere else. Since the economy was bad and Nestle was profiting I decided to stay. It took
about one year to get promoted. I received a four dollar raise and I was very happy. The opportunity for overtime came and I took it. A few months later senior operators were retiring left and right. I applied for every job I knew I was capable of performing and few that I knew nothing about. Four months later I landed a operator position. Freezer operator I was ecstatic, plus it was one of my many back-up positions. This raise was huge five whole dollars. I was doing less work and getting paid good money.
Next I had to live within my means. Living within my means wasn’t really good enough. I needed to live below them in order to save more. I decided to live like I never even received that second promotion. It was hard at first. I had the money to buy things I couldn’t afford before I got the raise. Temptation seemed to be everywhere. So I hit the books again to re-center myself. I had to start using a budget and tracking my daily expenses. I realized just how much money I was wasting on things I didn’t even need.
My Life is so different now. I am making progress slowly but surely. I am determined to keep my new way of living. I look at things differently now and all those material things that use to make me happy don’t any more. I was able to rebuild my credit and buy a house I could afford, nothing outrageous that could put me back in debt. I am happy just being at home building memories that will last longer than a $150.00 purse and $100.00 shoes. I am even happier knowing that I will be able to fund my children’s future. I have the knowledge to pass down to my children so that they can have a good start and stay ahead of the rat race.
