We need to be mindful of the things that President Barack Obama touched on in his first speech before Congress — like how we are great enough to survive these turbulent economic times and how we need to pick ourselves up and dust ourselves off and do what we can to make a better life for ourselves. And while many of us have bought into the ideals that the president has put forth, many of us are missing a couple of key ingredients — hope and action.
The hope Obama espouses is based on what America’s implied promise has always been: that America is not only the land of opportunity; it is also the land of plenty. The land where the cupboards are never empty, the refrigerator is stocked to the gills and the almighty ATM dispenses cash on demand. So insidious is this particular belief, that it has lulled an entire generation into a false sense of security that is leading them straight to the poorhouse.
Some folks have to learn their lessons the hard way. You can’t convince them. You can’t warn them. You can’t lecture them. Their wake-up call usually consists of reality delivering a hard smack to the side of their noggin. Like getting a foreclosure notice. Like getting a pink slip. Like not having the money to send their kids to college.
The value of being afraid of dying broke means not spending every last dime of your paycheck. It means learning how to consistently save a portion of your salary and developing a relationship with a financial professional. Fear of dying broke should help you distinguish the difference between wants and needs. You may want a pair of $200 shoes, but you don’t need them. You do need to draw up a will and make provisions for your heirs.
Sacrifice. Discipline. Budgeting. Saving. Planning. These are the principles we need to embrace. These are the principles that will allow us to begin to accumulate generational wealth that can be bequeathed to our children and our children’s children. Those who fear dying broke end up rich because they have taken the time to battle being dead broke. Peace.
