It is almost inconceivable to imagine, much less conceive the actual amount of one trillion dollars. In fact, according to Forbes one trillion dollars is equal to a thousand billion or a million times a million. A stack of a trillion dollar bills would stretch nearly 68,000 miles into space, or if laid end-to-end they'd reach further than the distance from the earth to the sun. (Mar 12, 2023
What’s even more unfathomable, definitely alarming today according to Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the total of U.S. household debt hit a staggering $17.69 trillion (newsbyjoshua.com).
Big numbers huh?
The legendary life insurance salesman and author, John Savage, seem to always allude to those two very important words: ‘denial and discipline.’
Few of us get excited about these words, however, they are key actions that can make a difference in our financial future.
I remember working with a neurosurgeon who was deeply in debt both to the IRS and to his outlandish spending habits. I devised a clear and workable financial plan for him to get out of his debt.
The biggest hurdle was selling his home in a very posh neighborhood. He had enough equity in his house to clear ninety percent of his debt that added up to several million dollars.
I shall never forget him holding his head down. Then to my surprise the neurosurgeon said in a sheepish voice, “I simply can’t do that. I have a status in this city I’ve got to maintain….I’ve just gotta keep up my same lifestyle.”
I never thought I would ever hear such an attitude from a very prominent person. It is no wonder that 17,960,000,000,000.00 debt exists in US households today.
Denial and discipline.
Let’s face it we are all challenged when it comes to spending versus saving. Remember in 2001 the famous actress, Winona Ryder, was arrested on shoplifting charges in Beverly Hills, California. This especially shocked her fans and the public as a whole stealing $5,560 worth of designer clothes and accessories from a Saks Fifth Avenue department store (Wikipedia.com).
Whether she was guilty or not, the truth is denial and discipline make all the difference among the world famous or a common citizen.
We are a country of glitz and glitter, of bankruptcy and beggary, and of success and being a sensation.
Did you know that the chances are when someone wins the lottery—especially a powerball-type, the astronomical sum—are minuscule. In addition to that, tragically about a third of lottery winners end up in bankruptcy court.
Strangely enough lottery winners are also more likely than the average person to declare bankruptcy within 3-5 years of their big win.
Some sources contend that it could be more like seventy percent of lotto winners that go bankrupt.
When I ask my successful, level-headed, down-to-earth clients the question, “Do you fly first class?”
Ninety nine percent without any hesitation say, “No, but I could if I wanted to.”
Then I ask them, “You know why you don’t fly first class?”
After enough hesitation searching for the right answer I often share with them what the late Dandy Don Cinocco taught me.
Dandy Don, a professional associate of mine for many years, described this behavior like this:
It is because of your ‘value system’ that you don’t fly first class. Your value system acts like a governor on a vehicle. You can just go so fast and then that governor kicks in. You simply will not allow yourself to exceed those extra dollars for a more plush seat on an airplane.
If your value system is saturated with common sense, frugal spending and careful economic choices your value system will rule.
And the question then, “Why should I add to the $17,690,000,000,000.00 of debt?”
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