Written by Business Development Officer, Jon Maroni
In every great film, there is a GameChanger. A point in the plot at which a lesson or moral is hit home and the characters transform or reach a resolution. When Mulan powers through the "Be a Man" medley or when you finally see who's behind the curtain in Wizard of Oz; movies are made on the GameChanger. In less dramatic fashion, we too can have GameChangers in our finances.
A financial GameChanger is when you increase your income or decrease your regular spending by a significant amount. In order to be wealthy, most of us need to have more money than we do right now. The only way to do that is to make more money or spend less of it. According to a recent Charles Schwab survey, a wealthy person has a net worth of $2.4 million or higher. To get there you must make some bold financial decisions, but which ones?
How Do You Find a GameChanger?
We define a GameChanger as anything that will amount to $1,000+ each year in either savings or earnings. A true GameChanger is when you take that money and apply it to a financial goal. When you're able to add more to your retirement savings, pay off a major debt or save the money - then it's a real GameChanger.
Examples of Game Changers:
- Asking for a raise
- Starting a side hustle
- Downsize your expenses
- Finding a part-time job
- Selling an expensive car and buying an eco-friendly cheaper replacement
- Becoming a one car family
These changes don't have to be life-long. Maybe for a few years you become a one-car household with the intent to return to two when you're in a better situation. Perhaps you take advantage of extra income just for the years you or your partner are in school. GameChangers don't have to be forever, but they do need to be long enough to change your financial picture.
Want to Be Wealthy? What Are You Going to Do About it?
Being an intentional spender is a valuable trait to have as you seek financial independence, but it won't get you there alone. If you want to drastically change your financial course, you need to take drastic action. Maybe it is time to downgrade your housing, or get up the gumption to ask for a raise? Perhaps it is time to acknowledge that your debt doesn't allow you to NOT have a second job. So get out there and make some GameChanging decisions.
We are highlighting financial GameChangers this month for Credit Union Youth Month, so stay tuned for our upcoming blog posts where we'll cover how to ask for a raise, how to start a side hustle and how to downsize your expenses.
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