As a financial professional who’s looking to start or continue a successful career, you need an unequivocal understanding of money conservation.
That understanding really needs to begin at home. Because if your current (or potential future) CFO gets a whiff of your own personal financial picture and she doesn’t like the smell, she isn’t going to let it pollute the aroma of her company’s P&L.
With that in mind, the most effective way to avoid unpleasant odors associated with your personal finances is to adopt a strong attitude toward money conservation. And like it or not, “money conservation” is best practiced through a solid commitment to old-fashioned, frugal thinking.
Here are three simple ideas to get you started on the right path:
Stay Away From Starbucks
Five dollars for a cup of coffee? Really? Sure, it tastes good, but does the incremental difference between a cup of “designer” coffee and the McDonald’s version justify a 500% premium? If you splurge on Starbucks just twice a week, you’re spending $520 a year on coffee; make a cup at home for 25 cents instead, and you’ll save $494 a year. And if you simply must have the occasional Latte Grande, whatever you do, don’t show up to a job interview or a meeting with a CFO carrying the evidence! You might be seen as a big spender, which is an image you really need to avoid as an up and coming financial professional.
Live Smart
There are four simple elements to this one: don’t overspend on your house, buy it in a low cost-of-living area, keep the kitchen stocked with healthy food, and save some space for a treadmill. In short, keep your mortgage and monthly expenses down by understanding the effect of location, and live healthy wherever you hang your hat. You’ll save thousands on mortgage interest, groceries and medical bills if you observe these simple principles.
Consider Giving up TV
Yahoo did a recent study that suggested you could actually make a million bucks by giving up the boob tube. Seems crazy, but consider that the hidden costs of watching TV can add up to as much as $700 per month when you factor in the influence of advertising on the average American. The study also included the cost of cable or satellite service, pay-per-view events, equipment, energy, movie rental, video games and perhaps most importantly, opportunity cost. If you decided to invest what you inadvertently spend on TV, in 30 years at 8% compound interest, you’d have $1,027,705 in your account.
Most people will scoff at ideas like these. If you doubt their validity, try a little experiment over the next 30 days. Take the time to record every expenditure you make in a month, no matter how big or how small. You will be shocked at where your money really goes, and if nothing else, you’ll be the rare financial professional who can say you have a real understanding of money conservation.
And that understanding will play very well, whether you’re sitting in a job interview or a board meeting.
By: David DiCola
David DiCola is a 20-year management veteran and the author of Customer Golf – The Short Game, a novel about overcoming obstacles in business and in golf.
That understanding really needs to begin at home. Because if your current (or potential future) CFO gets a whiff of your own personal financial picture and she doesn’t like the smell, she isn’t going to let it pollute the aroma of her company’s P&L.
With that in mind, the most effective way to avoid unpleasant odors associated with your personal finances is to adopt a strong attitude toward money conservation. And like it or not, “money conservation” is best practiced through a solid commitment to old-fashioned, frugal thinking.
Here are three simple ideas to get you started on the right path:
Stay Away From Starbucks
Five dollars for a cup of coffee? Really? Sure, it tastes good, but does the incremental difference between a cup of “designer” coffee and the McDonald’s version justify a 500% premium? If you splurge on Starbucks just twice a week, you’re spending $520 a year on coffee; make a cup at home for 25 cents instead, and you’ll save $494 a year. And if you simply must have the occasional Latte Grande, whatever you do, don’t show up to a job interview or a meeting with a CFO carrying the evidence! You might be seen as a big spender, which is an image you really need to avoid as an up and coming financial professional.
Live Smart
There are four simple elements to this one: don’t overspend on your house, buy it in a low cost-of-living area, keep the kitchen stocked with healthy food, and save some space for a treadmill. In short, keep your mortgage and monthly expenses down by understanding the effect of location, and live healthy wherever you hang your hat. You’ll save thousands on mortgage interest, groceries and medical bills if you observe these simple principles.
Consider Giving up TV
Yahoo did a recent study that suggested you could actually make a million bucks by giving up the boob tube. Seems crazy, but consider that the hidden costs of watching TV can add up to as much as $700 per month when you factor in the influence of advertising on the average American. The study also included the cost of cable or satellite service, pay-per-view events, equipment, energy, movie rental, video games and perhaps most importantly, opportunity cost. If you decided to invest what you inadvertently spend on TV, in 30 years at 8% compound interest, you’d have $1,027,705 in your account.
Most people will scoff at ideas like these. If you doubt their validity, try a little experiment over the next 30 days. Take the time to record every expenditure you make in a month, no matter how big or how small. You will be shocked at where your money really goes, and if nothing else, you’ll be the rare financial professional who can say you have a real understanding of money conservation.
And that understanding will play very well, whether you’re sitting in a job interview or a board meeting.
By: David DiCola
David DiCola is a 20-year management veteran and the author of Customer Golf – The Short Game, a novel about overcoming obstacles in business and in golf.
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