You’re probably worth more than you think
Basically you try and add up all the money you have ever earned or received in your life. Take your time, make a big list, and come up with a number that seems inconceivably large.
Then, add up all your current savings, investments, and possessions. Look at the difference and weep. I did.
The point of the exercise is to show you your potential. You can do something similar going forward. Take your monthly income, factor in any likely increases, then multiply it by the expected remaining years of your career.
I’m 36, so I probably have another 29-34 working years left, barring accidents or unexpected developments. Using my current salary and likely raises, etc. that gives me a number of more than 1.5 million US dollars.
A life-changing amount, but how much of it will I manage to hold onto? How much will I invest wisely so that it keeps working on my behalf? I think these are the key questions.
I’d recommend reading the book, but even if you don’t take a few minutes and try both the exercises above. Makes you think, eh?
Next week we’ll start a series of guest posts from northSaver. Stay tuned!