Do you know how they tell young drivers to slow down in driver's ed school? I still remember the teacher asking this question and everyone answering, "Duh, you put on the brakes." The instructor answered, "Fine, but what about on the highway? How should you slow down?" He then told us that people don't realize, the best way to slow down is actually so simple: take your foot of the accelerator.
Many people have followed my advice on the numerous ways to acquire wealth. Yet, I often get e-mails from people asking where is all the money they were supposed to make. When we discuss it, it turns out that they did make lots of money with my proven strategy for getting rich. They doubled, tripled, or even quadrupled their income with my tips. Yet at the end of the day, they had no money left in the bank. How could this have happened?
Simple. Being wealthy also means knowing how to hold on to your money. All the people who have written me may have boosted their incomes, but they also let their expenses skyrocket. One guy made $400,000 last year and was left with almost no money in the bank. I asked how many cars he owned. The guy had bought four expensive sports cars! Four cars. How many cars can anyone drive?
I am not trying to say that you have to live like a pauper. After all, that would defeat the purpose of getting rich. The key is that whatever your income, you must make a budget and live within it. It doesn't matter whether you earn minimum wage or are a billionaire. Being wealthy is like being fit. If you spend more than you make, you will go broke. If you eat more calories than you work off, you will get fat. You can run a marathon every week, but if your diet is pure marshmallow fluff, you will still have a belly.