Rich by Thirty. Lesley-Anne Scorgie
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revisit and revise the goals and dreams you wrote down previously to make them SMART. My SMART GoalsHigh-level goalSpecificMeasurableAttainableRealisticTimely
Write your SMART goals down: Committing your goals to paper is like developing a contract with yourself — one that only you can accomplish or break. People who write down their goals are more likely to achieve them than people who do not. You may want to keep your goals close to you, perhaps stuck to your refrigerator, so that you are constantly reminded of what you’re working toward.
Create a personal vision statement: Writing a personal vision statement is a huge step toward financial, personal, and career success. A vision statement is somewhat aspirational in that it helps you set your sights on something huge that you want to work toward over a long period of time. It is a mental picture of what you want to achieve over a time period of five to ten years. A good vision statement will include the following:Who (you!)What (the goal)When (the time frame)How (the action plan)
Here is an example of a personal vision statement to support that goal:
I, Jane Smith, want to be free from financial and career worries so that I can be happy and can focus on my personal relationships. Thus, I will work toward achieving financial success by retirement by using tired-and-true financial fundamentals including spending wisely, making more money, saving and investing, and giving back to the community.
My personal vision statement is:
I, Lesley-Anne Scorgie, want to be happy and satisfied financially, personally, and professionally. I want to grow my relationships and my bank account while having a positive impact on people by inspiring them to reach their potential through my books, public speaking, and my business, MeVest.
Writing your personal vision statement can be a lot of fun. But, sometimes it’s difficult to know where we really want to go in the long term. Most of us, though, have at least some sort of idea. So give it a whirl below, and don’t worry if it takes a couple of tries to get it right.
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You may want to design your vision statement as a certificate, print it off, and frame it. Hang it on your wall so that whenever you see it, you are reminded of the positive direction in which you are headed.
I use my personal vision statement as a reminder of what I want to do with my life. But as time passes and I change, so do my goals and sometimes even my vision. Don’t feel too boxed in by one statement or one set of goals. Make changes to your vision as it becomes clearer over time.
Excuses, Excuses!
What’s holding you back? Make a list of all the reasons you don’t think you can get your finances in order. Then put it somewhere safe and prepare to tear it up in the not-too-distant future. Once you get through the next several chapters you won’t need it anymore because you’ll be on your way. Nothing will hold you back!
Hopefully, you’re feeling a little more inspired and motivated than you were when you started reading a few pages back. You know how important it is to start working on your financial future as early as possible, and you know how integral money can be to your future — both short and long term. Now you’re ready to put the wheels in motion. You’re ready to go out and make it happen!
CHAPTER 2
Get Educated: The Payoff for Hitting the Books
I know, I know. Studying is no fun! But your efforts at school will pay off in a major way. In the long run, educated people earn WAY more money and have a far better quality of life than those without formal education. Though it may feel super painful to pay for your schooling and work tirelessly on your courses, it’s well worth your efforts.
The Temptation
Joseph, 18 years old, had worked at his uncle’s oil-field services company for three summers in a row, cleaning and learning to maintain equipment. Because he continued to live with his parents and had limited expenses throughout those years, he’d managed to save a whopping $10,000. Upon graduating high school, Joseph’s uncle offered him a full-time job with an annual salary of $50,000. Wowie! Joseph thought. Not only was that a lot of money, but he could avoid the costs of paying hefty tuition bills by choosing to work full time rather than going to university. Visions of houses, snowmobiles, and cars started dancing through his head. But his parents strongly encouraged him to follow his original plans to go to university to become a mechanical engineer. He agreed to weigh the pros and cons of both options.
Have you ever wondered how much it really costs to go to school?
The average cost for a four-year university, college, trade, or technical program ranges between $20,000 and $50,000 — and that doesn’t include living expenses or purchasing a computer, textbooks, and software. But it doesn’t end there. Because you are in school, you give up the opportunity to work full time and make some money. Let’s say you could count on an annual salary of $30,000 if you didn’t go to school. Over the course of your four-year program, you’d be “losing” a potential $120,000 in income. Add that to the $20,000 to $50,000 in tuition expenses PLUS the amount you’ll spend on books and technology, and your post-secondary education is “costing” you well over $140,000!
Are you asking yourself why you should bother making an investment in college, university, trade school, technical school, or other post-secondary education? Considering that 75 percent of future jobs will require education past high school, the answer is yes![1] Certainly, there are very successful people in North America without higher education. But this phenomenon is becoming less common because the corporate cultural norm has changed: education is critical.
Of all the investments out there, which you’ll learn about throughout Rich by Thirty, education is the safest and most lucrative investment you can make.
From a “safe” perspective, education is something that can never be taken away from you. And regardless of what you study in school, your education will broaden your way of thinking, expand your skill set, and make you far more competitive in the workforce. Education can also, in some instances, save you from the labour intensity of many jobs that don’t require an education. This may not seem like a big deal now, but a tired and/or weak body in the future will inhibit your ability to continue working comfortably in a job that requires physical labour.
Financially speaking, according to the National Graduate’s Survey (Statistics Canada) and a 2013 report from the U.S. Census Bureau entitled “The Big Payoff,” when you invest in any type of education past high school, your long-term income-earning ability is a few hundred thousand dollars to over a million dollars greater than a high school graduate’s.[2],[3] So, though the short-term pains of student loans may seem unbearable, it’s worth the long-term gains in income throughout your working career.
Research has also shown that educated young people not only earn more money, they also enjoy a higher quality of life because they have more choices in terms of career opportunities and lifestyle.
Back to Joseph for a moment. If he succumbs to the temptation of a seemingly high income now, he will forego the much higher income the mechanical engineering route would have provided him later in life. Plus, his risk of injury in a manual labour job is much higher. In addition to that, he’d miss out on the opportunity to grow his skill set, broaden his thinking, and experience the social connections and friendships that a higher education often provides.
So, if you’re on the fence about formal education, like Joseph is, weigh your list of pros and cons regarding your future job security, income, skills, and quality of life.
It Starts Early
Preparing for and investing in your education should start early and well before your last year of high