You may well have enough money but it leaks away before you get to spend it. In a whole variety of ways—taxation, paying interest, lack of use (not invested properly), too much being spent on the wrong things. Before you can control your finances, you have to stop the leaks.
If you carried out the exercise in Rule 20 (of course you did) you’ll have a record of your credit card balances. Higher than you cared to admit? Probably. We are all encouraged to spend on plastic. We are all seduced into racking up debts monthly. If you want to stop the leaks, cut up all the cards and pay them off.*
Do a quick calculation and see what levels of interest you are paying. It’s the same with your mortgage. Make sure you’re not paying more than you have to through negligence. If your fixed rate deal has come to an end, it could be time to check out the best deals that are now available.
Keep a record of everything you spend. Everything. Do this for a short while—even just a week—and see where the leakages are. If you are going to be wealthy, first you have to know where your money is going. Sorry if you thought this was going to be easy or this book was going to be full of get-rich-quick schemes. But stick with me, and you’ll be glad you did.
When you carry out your financial stock-check, watch out for the hidden things which can easily be overlooked. For instance, direct debits and subscriptions that are too high, wrong, or out of date. The rich are eagle-eyed and miss nothing.
BEFORE YOU CAN CONTROL YOUR FINANCES, YOU HAVE TO STOP THE LEAKS.
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