Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is

Independence. You’ve been campaigning for it since you were waist-high. At age 5, you were stomping your foot saying "I can tie my own shoe!" At age 15, you were stomping your foot saying "I don’t see why I can’t stay out until 11:00 like everyone else!" And at age 25, you are stomping your foot wondering why you can’t afford to go out like everyone else. Part of growing up is gaining independence. Part of growing up is also learning how to manage money. To have freedom you need financial freedom. Although for many 20somethings, instead of feeling free, they feel financially crippled! Your 20s are supposed to be the time when you leave the nest, spread your wings and fly solo. And while every 20something dreams of soaring on their own, these days many are finding it difficult to take flight. Before even entering into the "real world," the typical college grad is already thousands of dollars in debt!

I recently took a Charles Schwab Financial Fitness Quiz to see how I fared against my 20something peers. I scored a 97, failing on one question for not having a will. While I’ve always been good with money, I haven’t always been debt-free. I was ecstatic to be handed my first "real world" paycheck in my early 20s, but the excitement was short lived when I quickly discovered how thinly I had to stretch it to cover all my living expenses and student loans.

Today I could sit here and tell you my simple philosophy on money. To save and invest more than you spend. To only spend money you have today, not money you expect to have tomorrow. And if you want more, to work harder. I could brag about how I max out my 401k, how I pay my credit card off in full every month, and how I refused to buy a new car until I was able to pay for it upfront in cash.

Or I could be humble and tell you about the time I decided to start my own business and lived on Ramen Noodles because I couldn’t afford to give myself a paycheck for the first 2 years of running my own start-up company! I could talk about the time I cut DirecTV, took the bus, skipped vacations and even skipped dating because I didn’t have money to buy a girl flowers let alone a decent meal. And then there was the Winter of 2009 when I found myself homeless for 2 weeks and how I’m now a huge advocate for having at least 6 months of living expenses saved because you never know what life will throw at you.

I could tell you all those things and lecture you like a child, but instead I rather empower you. Empower you with the one story about the one person that has empowered me to push forward no matter what life threw at me. She's 90. And she’s the strongest woman I know. She’s my Grandmother.

She grew up during the Great Depression and came from an extremely poor family. At age 20 she met a wealthy, well known architect. He impressed her with his Ivy League background, his smooth talking ways and promises of a house with a white picket fence and horses. They married, had 2 kids and he provided the lifestyle she once only dreamed of. Then one day he decided he would have a drink. And he never stopped. He went out, did as he pleased, and who he pleased. He controlled the money and her, but couldn’t control his drinking. The alcohol took over and he lost his job because of it. Out of work he couldn’t pay the bills. So to buy liquor he secretly tapped into his children’s college funds and spent every last cent. On the verge of losing their home and everything they owned, my Grandma checked him into rehab. When he completed rehab and was released, he drove himself to the nearest bar for a drink. It was around that time my Grandma decided to file for divorce, something that was unheard of in that day! With 2 children to support, no money, no home, no job skills and only a G.E.D. to her name...my Grandma was forced to depend on herself. And she’s done so for the last 60 years. She is the original Miss Independent.

With money comes power. Without it comes fear. That is why my parents made sure my sisters and I all went to college so we could make our own money, be in control of our own destiny and not have to count on anyone to support us. And YOU should not count on anyone to support YOU. Because maybe you have a trust fund or maybe you have a wealthy spouse, but you never know when either one might run out.

When you were a child independence wasn’t given, it was earned. The same is true today. If you want independence and freedom you have to earn it. And it starts with being financially responsible for your own life.


Disclaimer: This post is part of the 20SB Blog Carnival: Friends & Money, sponsored by Charles Schwab. Prizes may be awarded to selected posts. The information and opinions expressed in this post do not reflect the views or opinions of Charles Schwab. Details on the event, eligibility, and a complete list of participating bloggers can be found here.