I was just leaving the school, when I saw it. It was red, and fast, and I knew I had to have that car. There was only one problem, I was a broke teenager. Undaunted, I set out to make some money. In the back section of "Jugs" I saw my opportunity to cash in! All I had to do was stuff envelopes and I could make thousands from home. Eager to make my fortune, I sent in my $8.00 for the information package. When it arrived, I was ready to get started! All I had to do then was send in $40.00 for my supplies and mailing list, and watch the money roll in. I received my package a few weeks later. My supplies were: A list of 1000 names and addresses, and a cheap looking sales letter about how to make money stuffing envelopes! I was supposed to copy the letter 1000 times, cost= $50.00, buy 1000 envelopes, cost= $30.00, get postage, cost= $300.00 - luckily, the mailing list was printed on labels, I still have them around somewhere. I couldn't shell out $400.00 more on a plan that was immoral at best. So, I kept riding my bike to work, until I saved enough to buy a lemon. That year I learned two things, you can't always believe what you read, and no one is going to give you money for nothing. Only slightly dispirited, I still had my dreams of buying a really cool car, or buying a house someday.

When faced with these realities, one must take action, lay out a path. All too often, consumers take the path to financial ruin, sacrificing the future for immediate satisfaction. High unsecured debt, such as credit card debt and personal loans are a huge drain on your future success. Financing a brand new auto may feel great right now, but you just lost $10,000.00 when you pulled out of the lot. Do you need to spend $200.00 a month on a cell phone, or $50.00 a month on fancy coffee, or $150.00 a month on cigarettes or beer? We all have our weaknesses, things we can't do without, but let's look at the big picture. Pretending you are a low paid 19 year old, working at a box factory like I was, you manage to save one dollar bill each day, plus .78 cents in the jar. Even if you save it in the bank at 4% interest you will have over 14,600.00 at age 35. You are not rich, but you have enough for a down payment on a nice house. What if you were a saint and managed to save only 8% of your $6.95 an hour. If you never got a raise, you would have $26,050.50. by 35. Still not rich, hopefully you will get raises! Even still, if you did only this until age 68 - more than 175,000.00. would be in your bank account. Even those of moderate means can amass considerable amounts of wealth. Let's say you make 35,000 from age 25 to 55, and save 6.85% of it at 4%. Before age 55 you have around 140,000.00. In your low tax bracket you would keep it all.

These examples are fun to play with, lets take the same 19 year old, he finances a car he likes for 5 years at 8%. The car's price was 12,500.00. He pays $250.00 a month for five years, at the end of five years, he is $15,200 poorer, and it is time to buy another car. Bank the same amount over 5 years at 4% - 16,875 in your pocket, then you can buy the car in cash, invest the difference at 4%, and after 5 more years you are over $40,000.00 ahead of the guy who financed his cars. Obviously, these are just examples, but it proves the power of taking action in life. You can add to your future success, or detract from it. By holding off on immediate gratification, we can leverage small amounts of money into huge fortunes. Simple steps in budgeting and saving can lead to the life we want in the future.

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