Day 89: Wake-up Calls
I actually have this coffee pot. My dad would make us Turkish coffee in it. Very strong, but buffered with milk/cream and sugar. You didn’t need much. Now today it’s probably similar to triple espresso.
I spent several hours watching Dave Ramsey videos on YouTube. Dave is an Entrepreneur in the financial world. He is quite a motivator when he speaks, and he has fantastic financial advice, but he DOES expect you to follow it. I wish I had heard of him earlier in my life, but I DID notice that some of the things he has taught in his seminars, I was doing. The key is, though, to do ALL of them. Of his 7 Baby Steps to financial freedom, step 5 is too late for me, as I am no longer raising kids. He inspired me today.
For some, this is a very scary time and most of us feel a sense of anxiety what is to come. We have gone through recessions and very hard times before, and come through. As I mentioned a day or two ago, WWI through WWII, and everything in between, was a horribly hard time: WWI, Spanish Flu, fall of Wall Street, Great Depression, Dust Bowl, WWII…and other wars and recessions after that until now. For some, it is devastating, for others it is opportunity, and for maybe the rest it is just waiting for some time to pass so you can go back to what you were doing. I have heard that many, including myself, say that it will never be the same, again. And, that is a true statement as a whole, and as an individual. You can’t go through something major that impacts so many people, countries, and planet without a change happening.
I spoke in different writings about my own path and that somewhere last fall, no maybe even one year ago, I had an awakening because something blindsided me. After my initial shock and anger, I let it go because whenever something like that happens, I know that my path is shifting. It reminded me of a train yard, and the shift is pulled down and the tracks move to connect to a different set of rails forcing a train to go into a new, or planned direction. So, I knew this was a wake-up call for me to execute the ideas I had into a plan of action.
Then we get hit with coronavirus and the financial plans I had for the year (to go along with this plan) which was mainly to get rid of my debts and get more education. Well, that again hit a bit hard — for many of us. After listening today to all that I heard, I can see some of the financial mistakes I made. Instead of having the money in my checking accounts to fund my education using a debit card, I put it on credit cards. I felt confident because I had a plan how those would be paid off, because I had the income to do so, but I was still using future money. I didn’t expect this. I won’t say that no one knew, because I do believe that someone knew. But, I can only speak to me.
Whenever we get into these situations in our world, because whatever it is that causes recessions and inflations, ultimately, what happens in our own little world about it depends on what we did before it hit us. All through history, shit happens. It will happen again. It might not have the same details, but it will rock us once again somewhere.
I’m still going to go ahead with the plan. I shouldn’t need to buy more to execute it, because in my ignorance, I have probably more than I need. I won’t be able to pay my debts the way I planned originally, but I am not married to that plan. I have already put a different idea for a plan, in place. I still have to see what my income is, but I will not let my goals disappear because there is a set-back. I may have counted my chickens before they were hatched, but I do know that some of them WILL hatch. It is a process, and one that takes carful watching and planning; sometimes Plan A, Plan B, or Plan C.
Maybe you actually hated being in your job but didn’t know how to move. So, instead, something moved you for you. Take note of your situation and see what you wanted to do, and what is realistic in the moment. Let the emotion calm down. Maybe this is the perfect opportunity to either transform what you have currently been doing, or take advantage of this moment to change your vocation to something you love. People are hiring, right now. There are jobs available. It may not be what you want. Or, it may be the time to retire.
Lots of people have been thrown into chaos so it is going to take the help coming, a bit of time. We are millions. Many businesses will go away forever. Dave said that in America 100 jobs were lost for every case of the coronavirus, and he wasn’t speaking of the deaths associated with it, but actual confirmed cases. He made it clear that he was not placing jobs over lives over the virus or people losing their lives. Never. It is a hard thing that happened and isolation/quarantine was a necessary call to stop the spread. Many were caught off guard again and didn’t have any money save and instead used it all for business and living. I don’t like my debts, and I am immediately hyping up my plan to eliminate it. This is my-wake-up call. I’ve been here before, and I’m here again, and I don’t like doing life this way anymore.
What wake-up call do you see in your life?
