What I'm reading right now - Automatic Millionaire (part 1)

The first time I read this book was about 3-4 years ago, and I was blown away by the simplicity of the Automatic Millionaire system. I totally believe in almost everything David talks about, but before you implement these automatic strategies, you really need to (at the very least) be completely debt free.

Over the next several blog posts, I'll highlight some specific strategies from the book that are definite "must-dos" for a strong financial future.

On page 32-33, I really liked what David says in the following excerpts:

"...The trick to getting ahead financially, he said, is watching the small stuff - little spending habits you have that you'd probably be better without.

Most people have a hard time believing this. Why? Because they are taught the opposite. We live in a society where it's become almost patriotic to spend every penny of our paychecks. In fact, we often spend our pay increases even before we get them. Merchandisers know this; they run ads every November and December specifically designed to get people to spend their year-end bonuses. Even the government promotes this idea..."
{Larry's comment: hmmm, sounds familiar - ever heard of a stimulus package!}

"Unfortunately, there's a problem with this. If you are living paycheck to paycheck, spending everything you make, what you're really doing is running an unwinnable race.

Here's what the race looks like:

GO TO WORK...MAKE MONEY...SPEND MONEY...
GO TO WORK...MAKE MONEY...SPEND MONEY...
GO TO WORK...

Notice how it always comes back to GO TO WORK. This is the endless treadmill that most people are on. Some people call it the 'rat race.' It's a race in which hardworking people bust their butts, working forty to fifty hours a week or more - and wind up with almost nothing to show for it because at the end of the month their paycheck is already spent.

It's an unfair, vicious cycle, and you don't want to fall into it. If you are already there, you want to get out...fast. When you spend everything you make (or, even worse, spend more than you make), you subject yourself to a life of stress, fear, uncertainty, debt, and even worse - bankruptcy and the threat of future poverty."