Future proof yourself
Comebacks are a part of life.
Hollywood has made billions off them.
Champions are born out of the 4th quarter comeback.
My kindergarten daughter is learning about perseverance (the thing that makes comebacks possible) in her first month of school.
Wall Street celebrates the comeback story.
Everyone, I mean everyone, loves a good comeback.
We recently surveyed over 800 new Tired & Rich subscribers, and one thing is abundantly clear: many of you need a financial comeback.
You need something good to happen, a spark that ignites the fires of hope.
Consider this edition your excuse to make an epic financial comeback.
Before I get to how to make your comeback, here is the painful truth of what happens when you stay at the status quo for too long.
I don’t share this to be rude or negative, but rather truthful.
Your entire financial future will depend on what politicians do with Social Security.
On one hand, the US government has been a staunch supporter of Social Security and has kept the policy largely intact over the decades, which isn’t horrible.
On the other hand, if the politicians in 2036 think something needs to change for retirees and cut benefits, you can do nothing.
You don’t want that to happen.
You have to future-proof yourself.
Ditch the status quo and start your comeback.
#1 – Money is a team sport
What’s the antidote for the status quo?
Doing your money with people.
Money has always been a team sport.
Our financial system works best when you use it with others.
The wealthy understand this, they have teams of people helping navigate markets, tax codes, legal systems and more.
They have people working for them, making them more money.
You need to find your people, people who know where you are going and how to get you there faster and safer.
People who can give you the encouragement, wisdom, and accountability to start your financial comeback and win big.
Who is this person for you?
For most of you on this list: it should be a quality financial advisor.
Not just a timid financial advisor who calls you once in a while and spends more time at the golf course than the office, but one who can call a spade a spade, someone who can build stuff that lasts for you and is constantly there.
Who are my people?
- My wife
- The Fjell team
- My CPA
I ask them to be brutally honest with me, and they are.
They make me better and more money.
Find someone, and pay them to do the same for you.
#2 – Change starts now
This is why you are here – to learn and take action with your money.
To stay tired and live rich, and in that, be wizards with your money.
While I have suffered a string of personal losses in my financial life over the years, I am dedicated to one thing: making change.
That means changing mindsets, behaviors, and real-life things that make me more money.
I’ve written extensively about change on Tired & Rich, but let me get a list of ideas for you.
- Put a date on the calendar to cut up your credit cards.
- Increase your retirement contribution by 3% by Jan 1.
- Spend 2025 practicing retirement.
- Stop fighting with your spouse about money, and start building together now.
- Commit to driving your car for three more years.
- Open a brokerage account and put X dollars in it now.
- Hire a financial advisor in November to help with retirement planning.
- Use debt only to buy assets, not stuff or experiences, starting now.
- Put a date on your iPhone for when you want to retire.
- Only buy online stuff if it’s sat in your cart for 24 hours.
You probably know the changes you need to make; I sure do.
The hardest part is doing it.
That is why, to make a comeback, you must find your people, then take action.
And cut out the useless crap that holds you back.
#3 – Put the phone down
As an entrepreneur, aging millennial dad, and husband – my social feed is filled with people who don’t know me and tell me I need to be a certain way.
They tell me what stuff to buy and share advice and entertainment I never asked for.
Why should these people have any say over my life when they don’t know me?
If you want to make a financial comeback and make it work, put the phone down and go mow the yard.
Take your teenager out for ice cream.
Buy a new pair of Nike’s and go for a run.
Play pickleball with your kids.
Talk with your spouse about something you used to love doing together, and do it.
Live in the now with your people in your physical place.
I love the internet.
I do; we’re building one of the coolest wealth businesses in the US because of it.
But my word, is it a dangerous place.
Particularly for pocketbooks.
Use it sparingly and wisely.
Because the last point is equally true and challenging.
#4 – Comebacks take time, and that’s ok.
Here’s the deal: money takes a long time to grow.
Don’t listen to the spammers telling you otherwise.
Why does money take a long time to grow?
The businesses you invest in take forever to grow.
The best businesses in the world take decades and decades to build.
Think about Coke; they’ve been perfecting their business for over 100 years.
Could you and I snap fingers, start a soft drinks business, and sell it worldwide by next year?
Nope.
It took Coke a hundred years to get to where it is.
It’ll take you, me, and every other Tired & Rich reader years to improve.
And that’s why this final point of the comeback is critical.
It’ll take a lot of time.
There are no shortcuts. Silver bullets.
Just time and discipline.
I’ve made several financial comebacks in business and personally. The longer I do this, the more I realize that everything that produces more money takes time.
It’ll take me 25 years to build my nest egg for retirement.
It’ll take me 25 years to build my business into what I want.
It’ll take me 18 years to save up for college for my six-month-old.
And I am 100% ok that everything I want to do financially will take forever.
Rome wasn’t built in a day. Coca-Cola wasn’t built in a day. Your financial comeback won’t happen in a day.
That’s not good or bad; it is just what it is.
So there you have it, while this edition took your 5 minutes to read, your comeback could take years.
Who cares.
There’s never been a better time to start than now.
Ditch the status quo and get moving on your comeback today.
You all are awesome.
