Wednesday, January 13, 2016

Climbing Your Emergency Reserves Mountain



Hi! Welcome to the Finance Gym Action Plan for a Better Life with Money Video Series. My name's Stacey Powell, and I'm here to help you and your money get stronger.

And today we're going to be talking about climbing the emergency reserves mountain. The emergency reserves mountain is one of my favorite; it's not one of my favorites, my favorite picture in the entire book. I love this thing, and I'm going to tell you why I love this picture.

First, reason is because it shows that no matter who you are, whether you are able to climb a rope to the top of a mountain, or slowly walk up a winding path, even if you can't walk, you can make it up bit by bit by bit, to the top of 6 months reserves. And that's why I really like this picture, that if you just go step by step, you can get there.

The other reason that I like this illustration is that it also shows the reality of how long it takes. You can be the most in shape, financially fit person climbing at a 20% grade, putting 20% of your income away every month. And to get to the 6 months reserve that is recommended you have, it's going to take you 2 1/2 years. That's a long time and a big chunk of your income. But you'll get there.

If you're walking, oh my gosh, it's going to take a lot longer. This is a 5% grade here; this person is putting away 5% of their income every month. That's still really a decent chunk. You'll feel it if you're putting 5% away. It's going to take you 10 years to get to 6 months.

I think that's why a lot of people just go "pfft, what's the point? It's going to take me forever." I think maybe that's what I felt like when I kept trying. Like why would I even bother putting $25 away? What good is that going to do?

But I started doing it and bit by bit by bit, I was no 5% grade I think I was kinda crawling up this mountain. But I crawled up the mountain. I'm not at the top, by any means. I'm not. But I'm somewhere that has brought me peace. Which is what I want for you.

And that's the final thing that I just love about this whole illustration.  That if I can get you to just start on this path of walking just a little, I really believe that what happened for me, and a whole lot of clients that I've worked with, will happen with you.

It could change the entire rest of your life. Just stop and think what it would feel like to move through the rest of your life with 6 months of reserves, set aside for whatever emergency hits you.

That is a feeling of peace and wellbeing that you might not have ever experienced. So go out there and start climbing.

And you really don't want to do this one alone. So what I'd like you to do is come over to our Facebook group, Team Do Better where you can get support from others just like you and by me. You can join our mailing list at thefinancegym.com, or you can subscribe to our YouTube channel so you can be sure and catch every single one of these. Please come join us.

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