Is Inspiration All That's Needed to Pay Off Your Debt?
There's been a little bit of flattery going on this week as two people I know in real life confirmed that they did indeed pay off some or all of their debt because of this blog. That makes me happy and gives me a sense of purpose in what I'm doing here. Upon hearing of these examples, one can't help but wonder who else is being effected by what we say here on this blog or what's said on other even greater blogs out there. The question is, is inspiration all that's needed to change our personal finance lives for the better? Let's dig deeper.
For Me, It All Started with Inspiration
Several years ago, I stumbled across this guy named Dave Ramsey. I didn't know a thing about him, but soon learned that he was a personal finance guru, and that he seemed like a good guy. My first memory of him was back when I still had cable. He was on TV almost every night back then on Fox Business. He had a guest on the show and promoted her book. It was called Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters. Of course, it wasn't relevant to me as I'm not a daughter nor a father. But I had a dad and I have a sister. I can put two and two together and see how this was a great message to send to fathers out there. This Dave guy built credibility with me that day when I just felt a sense that he cared about people and wasn't in this for the fame, but for the impact.
So this guy Dave, I listened to him like he was going out of style. I soon learned that he and I had a lot in common. He hated debt, which was not something I was used to hearing. The only person I ever remember hating debt was my dad. So Dave took over the role that my dad couldn't play anymore, since he's not here anymore, which is the role of personal finance mentor and adviser. Dave was a good one.
Dave inspired me like no one else ever had on personal finance. He made me stop and think about what I wanted my future to look like. For the first time ever, I felt motivated to give it all I had. I started to dream of being debt free, of building wealth, of changing my family tree, of making my dad proud, of being able to support my family someday, of retiring with dignity, of leaving a legacy. I was fired up to rock this stuff. I changed my life because of Dave. Dave, thanks a lot for that. (Wow, I just produced and distributed a commercial for him. Maybe next time, I'll get paid for that).
Can I Help People Like That?
There's definitely still room to impact people beyond what these financial movie stars if you will, like Dave Ramsey and Suze Orman are doing. Not everyone can connect with them like I connected with Dave. Not everyone is into what they teach or their personalities. Of course, not everyone is into mine either, but some people might be.
I'm excited about helping all of you, even if only in a small way, to be inspired to change your life through your finances.
What Causes Us to Make These Changes?
Back to this question on what causes us to make changes like cutting our lifestyle, paying off our debt or aggressively saving our income. Is it inspiration? Is it common sense? Is it rational thinking? Does it make any sense at all? Is it emotional?
For me, it was all about inspiration. It was emotional. It wasn't so rational. My emotions were touched. It wasn't about math, where I pulled out a calculator, ran some numbers and then said, "Huh, I guess this makes more sense." It was dreaming and emotions that I felt of being able to take care of my family, being able to give to causes I really care about, being able to leave a legacy for my family and changing my life and the lives of my family that moved me. Personal finance is personal and it's about "WHY", not about math.
My "Why" is Personal and Inspirational
I'm in this for personal reasons. I'm inspired on many, many levels. I hope to help myself, my family, my friends and you. I'm in this so I can spend less time on what I don't care about and more time on what I do care about.
What causes you to save or not save? What causes you to pay off your debt or not pay off your debt? What causes you to make big changes in your life and become a different person? I'd love to learn more about how this all works for you. Please comment and tell us more. It's not to make my head bigger, I promise, but instead to make this a better bit of inspiration and help for you to accomplish big things.
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14 Comments
- Ross says:January 31, 2013 at 6:59 AM
The thing that got me to start aggressively saving my money was actually thinking about what I valued and what was possible. Before I started saving , I had the mindset that everyone worked til they were 65. Seeing examples of early retirees on blogs really shiftedmy world view.
- Kraig @ Young Cheap Living says:February 1, 2013 at 8:34 AM
Ross, That same thing happened to me. Well, I was saving money before this just so I could get out of debt. But then once I was out of debt, I was unsure of what I was going to do next. It wasn't the early retirees that inspired me initially, but the idea of buying a house in cash. I felt that if I could do that, I could do anything and that if I had no house payment (or rent payment), I would have much lower living expenses and I would be able to build additional wealth very quickly. Since then, this mindset has changed and I value financial independence or early retirement much more that owning a house or buying one in cash. But nonetheless, I was inspired by those that I read or heard about that had done this stuff and made big things happen in their lives.
- Grayson @ Debt Roundup says:January 31, 2013 at 9:07 AM
I agree that personal finance is about why and the emotions, but after I decided to pay off my debt, it was all math. I used math to figure out the best way to get me back on track and the fastest way to pay down my debt. It think you will be better off if you use a combo of emotion and math to free yourself from debt. Both can work in tandem.
- Kraig @ Young Cheap Living says:February 1, 2013 at 8:37 AM
Grayson, Thanks for the perspective. Being so emotionally driven, I do sometimes undervalue the math of it all. The math does matter too, as long at the drive is there and the motivation.
- Laurie says:January 31, 2013 at 12:54 PM
Hey, Kraig! Just found your site and am loving it! We too are in the Mpls/St Paul area. We have recently started our own journey to debt freedom and financial peace, and what's been our inspiration/motivation is our children. We come from long lines of bad money management, and we want to change our family tree for the sake of our children. You're so very right about it being about the "why" and not about the math. Thanks for the educational post!
- Kraig @ Young Cheap Living says:February 1, 2013 at 8:40 AM
Hi Laurie, I'm glad you found your way here. I can't believe I haven't been to your blog either, but I'm taking a look now. It's great to know more area locals. You should come to our next local meetup! Anyway, that's great that you're inspired to change your family tree. That's a great reason to change the way you live and turn things around. Good luck on your journey and I hope to see (and hear) you around here more in the future!
- John@MoneyPrinciple says:January 31, 2013 at 4:43 PM
You only need one or two inspirational teachers to change your life. Seems as if you found it in Dave. We hope that someone TheMoneyPrinciple can serve a similar process to our audience.
- Kraig @ Young Cheap Living says:February 1, 2013 at 8:42 AM
John, That's a great goal to have. Inspiring people to change their lives is a big thing and I'm just as excited about it as you are. Good luck to both of us!
- John@MoneyPrinciple says:February 3, 2013 at 6:25 PM
Of course there will be an intersection in audiences!
- Sophie says:January 31, 2013 at 6:07 PM
That's wonderful that you've inspired at least two people to improve their financial situation :-) I think you need the emotional side of things to get your motivation for changing your life, but for me, the inspiration would be meaningless if it didn't also make sense from a rational, logical point of view. I love the math!
- Kraig @ Young Cheap Living says:February 1, 2013 at 8:44 AM
Sophie, Thanks for the kind words. I'm quite happy about hearing of those positive and encouraging stories too. And oh yes, the math. I do undervalue it at times, even though I love math as well. I did that post a couple weeks ago on my projected progress if I stay on this path. The math is important too, but I feel that the drive and motivation has to be there before any math will even be needed. Without progress, the math just doesn't matter, because it won't add up. :)
- Johnny Moneyseed says:February 1, 2013 at 10:16 AM
Like you, my introduction to personal finance and wealth building was through Dave Ramsey. But I feel like I grew out of his program pretty quickly. His advice is pretty good, but most times you cannot assign blanket percentages that people should be saving, investing, spending on housing, etc. Although Ramsey and Orman are the most well-known finance gurus, they advocate for people working until 65. This isn't a message I can subscribe to, as I would like to be retired in my 30s. Nice post though!
- February 5, 2013 at 12:08 PM
I got my first real exposure to personal finance strangely enough through Dave Ramsey. I was able to listen to his radio show while at work and started thinking that hrmm...sounds like the smart move. The light bulb finally turned on. After getting laid off, I had so much more free time on my hands that I then searched the internet more about personal finance and stumbled on some great blogs about early retirement. Finding that there's another way other than working til 65 combined with the lack of control when working for someone else inspired me to go for early FI.
- Kraig @ Young Cheap Living says:February 9, 2013 at 11:10 AM
Hi JC, Sounds like we have a lot in common in our personal finance paths. Dave was great for getting me fired up, inspired and then on a good path, but I knew I wanted to go further than where he leaves off. So I got into all the good blogs out there too, many of them on early retirement. I'm pretty into the stuff now, obviously as it sounds like you are. Yes, it's so great that there really is another way than the norm.
