thevicenarian.com

Live Rich on Any Paycheck

Posted by Tad Johnson - Feb 11th, 2008 at 22:02

As a newly corporate young adult, chances are you’re earning more money now than you ever have before. This is an exciting time, and you should enjoy it. Regardless of how large your paycheck is, you can live a rich, happy life now and in the future by following three simple steps:

1) Know your passions
Do a little soul searching and make a short list of your passions. Be they travel, cars, electronic gadgets, music, art, or beer. Give this list some order so you can differentiate between your ultimate top can’t-live-without passions and the rest.

2) Know your budget
You can read more about budgeting here or at Newly Corporate. It’s not as hard as it sounds, and it’s a crucial step in living a rich life. Without a budget, you will quickly discover how easy it is to spend 110% of your income.

3) Spend on your passions (and save on the rest)
Set aside a portion of your budget to feed your passions, and save a bit elsewhere. For example, I am passionate about computers and photography, but not about cars. I spent the same amount on my computer and camera as I did my car (by buying a 10+ year old car). In this way, I’m living a rich life on a small budget.

By directing your spending to match your passions, you can live the rich life without spending all your hard-earned cash (or worse, sinking into debt).