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Tuesday, March 27, 2012

FFGTHF – Inscribed on my Piggybank

Currently I’m reading “You and Your Network” by Fred Smith. I highly recommend this book for everyone. It’s got a lot of great common sense information. I’m sure I will blog more about things I’m taking away from this book but this one tonight struck straight to my heart and I was compelled to write about it.

Fred is talking about the importance of money. It’s no secret that our American society and many societies in general are all about keeping up with the Jones’s. We chase the almighty dollar like it’s going to solve all our woes. While many people right now are out of work and getting laid off still, money or the lack thereof is a sore subject for most people. This recession has taught many of us to be more frugal. Saving seems to be coming back into fashion so to speak. Saving is hard, especially after the famine we’ve experienced over the past several years. When you finally have a feast (more money coming in) it’s hard to fast and put some of that back and not splurge on yourself.

So why will the piggybank I do at the local U Paint It location be my favorite color and have “FFGTHF” on it? Well here is why. Fred talks about how a friend of his gave him a piggybank with this on it and they laughed over it. It’s a fantastic private joke they were sharing. It’s a great lesson as well. Something I’m taking to heart and putting in place because it’s important as a principle. The letters stand for “Fat Fred’s Go to H--- Fund.” It was what he jokingly called his savings account in his early years of saving.

So what does this really mean? It means a sufficient amount of savings allows one freedom. Freedom to do what’s right in every situation. You aren’t held hostage by the lack of money to be forced into doing anything you know is not the right thing to do. If you know you have enough to pay your bills for several months to come, wouldn’t that allow you the independence everyone deserves? It is freedom to do what you love instead of slaving at something you hate just to take care of your obligations.

So how do you get your own “FFGTHF” fund? Well first it takes discipline and looking at your finances to see where you can cut back. The excess fat goes in the fund. Another way to make a respectable savings is another source of income. I hear the audible sigh on this one because jobs are hard to find these days. However, alternate sources of income abound with no need for entrepreneurial thumbs.

Use your skills and talents and outsource them for cash. If that’s too much work for you, research options out there for a ready-made business. Make sure to interview the people that you are considering working with and if they aren’t interviewing you (like they want you on their board of directors) then evaluate what business model they have carefully. If they are not treating it like the business it is, then they may not be the right support or mentor you need to be successful.

Are you ready to start your Freedom fund today? What is holding you back? What could you do with a Freedom fund? How much would your Freedom fund need to hold for you to feel secure?

You can do it!! Make a decision today to start yours! Even more novel of an idea is that someone is ready to help you do it!! Don’t believe me? Let me prove you wrong!!

Kathie Hitt
Please go purchase Fred Smith’s “You and Your Network”. It applies to life in general and will make you smile, show you a better way to relate to people and just all-around feel better about life as we know it.  

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