To rise to your financial “wants” takes…
Warren Buffett, thought of as one of the top investors of all time, said it best, “There are many ways to get to financial heaven.”
The first question to ask yourself is, “What is my financial heaven? What does financial heaven look like to me?” Financial heaven will be different for each woman, depending upon where she is today and what she wants in her life. Your financial heaven may be to never have to worry about money again. Financial heaven may be to wake up every morning without having an alarm clock telling you it’s time to go to work. Financial heaven may be first-class travel, first-class hotels, and first-class restaurants whenever you want. It’s your financial heaven. Make it what you want.
Years ago in the late 1980s when Robert and I were broke, it was hard to imagine such a thing as financial heaven. We were living a financial hell. We were in the early stages of building our new business. We were hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt from Robert’s previous business which had gone bad, and we were committed to paying that back. We had very little income trickling in and no white knight riding towards us on the horizon. We knew we had our work cut out for us. We just took it one step at a time, and I kept taking deep breaths.
What did I consider my financial heaven at that time?
Zero.
My financial heaven would be the moment we climbed out from that massive financial hole and paid off that last debt so we could move forward.
I still remember the day I sat down with our bookkeeper, and we wrote that last check. It was to an old friend of Robert’s who had loaned him money for his now-failed business. That evening I pulled a bottle of champagne out of the refrigerator, poured two glasses, and Robert and I toasted to zero. Today I’m happy to say that my financial heaven is much more abundant and bright.
So, what would you say is your financial heaven?
The All-Important Question
To reach your financial heaven, you have to start from wherever you are today. So where are you today? We have already talked about the importance of knowing what you have in terms of income, expenses, assets (i.e., investments), and liabilities. I strongly recommend you gather that information as soon as possible if you have not done so already. This will put you one step closer to arriving at your financial heaven.
Now let’s take it a step further to give you a vivid, and very revealing, picture of your current standing. In other words, let’s make it real for you. The question is this:
If you (or you and your partner/spouse) stopped working today, how long could you survive financially?
This is a crucial question and one that most people will never calculate. This is why, when the unexpected happens—like a job layoff, an illness, or a divorce—so many people are not prepared. This is one reason why so many people are struggling in this economy. It’s at the time of the unexpected event that most people, for the first time, are forced to face the truth of where they are and how long they can survive.
This calculation is important because most people calculate what they want and need in terms of money. “I need $1 million to live on for the rest of my life.” When you talk with financial planners, they talk to you about your nest egg, how much money you will have to set aside to retire.
However, instead of measuring your wealth in terms of money, we’re going to measure your wealth in terms of time.
There are two parts to this question:
1. If you stopped working today…
That means there is no more salary, no more paycheck. For whatever reason, you can no longer work for a business or job so no income is coming in from those sources.
2. How long could you survive financially?
We’re talking about survival at your current standard of living, not if you downsized your house, sold your car and rode the bus, stopped eating out, and so forth. Given your current level of expenses, how long would your money last? Remember, this is about reaching your financial heaven, not living in financial shackles.
For our purposes here, your money consists of your savings, CDs, retirement accounts, liquid stocks (stocks you could sell today), physical gold and silver you have in your possession—anything that can be converted into cash today. It does not include selling your jewelry, your furniture, or your second car, for example, because that would lower your current standard of living. It does include cash flow from dividends, rental real estate, and other investments that produce income without your effort.
If you have done this calculation for yourself before, then I encourage you to do it again now. Why? Because your finances are dynamic. They are continually changing. You may come up with a similar answer, or you may be surprised by your new outcome.
Do the Math
The equation goes like this:
Note: Remember, it’s easy to lie to yourself about how much you actually spend on monthly expenses. Include all your expenses because you want to expand your financial means to meet the lifestyle you desire, not live below that lifestyle.
Once you do the math and divide how much money you have available by your monthly expenses, you end up with your wealth number. What does that mean?
Your wealth number is measured in time—in this case, in months. So if your wealth number is 24, that means 24 months. If your number is 6, that equates to 6 months. And what does that mean?
Your wealth number is the number of months you could survive if you (or both you and your partner) stopped working today. What’s your number?
For most, this calculation is sobering. It brings you and your money face to face. It is the most realistic and telling demonstration of exactly where you stand today financially.
For a lot of people, their number is 3 or less. That means they could only survive without paychecks for three months or less. They are pretty much living paycheck to paycheck. Some actually have a negative number, which means they are spending more every month than they are bringing in.
If you are unhappy, or even upset and disturbed, about that number in front of you—good. This exercise is meant to shake you up if that’s what you need. You see, it’s not until a person is uncomfortable that they begin to take action. Think about it. You’re sitting in a chair for 20 minutes. You suddenly realize you’re uncomfortable because you’ve been in the same position for so long, so you move.
You do something different. That is the purpose of determining your wealth number. To realize the position you’ve been sitting in for so long may, all of a sudden, be uncomfortable. And it should be uncomfortable enough for you to do something about it.
It really doesn’t matter what your number is. Your number is simply your number. You don’t need to make it right or wrong or continually stress over it. It is what it is. Period. Now you know. Now you know something that most people will never take the time to figure out. And most importantly, now that you know, you can take action and change it if you choose.
What Is the Ideal Wealth Number?
What do you think the ideal wealth number is? Remember, we’re talking in terms of time, not money. If you’re 30 years old and you stopped working today, do you want to survive financially for 10 years? Twenty years? Thirty years? I don’t think so. If you’re 60 and want to retire and you stopped working, how long do you want your money to last? Whether you’re