Pump, pump, pump it up

Pay at the Pump

How much money do you want?  This seems like a simply question because the most common answer would be some version of “a lot”.  However, “a lot” isn’t a number and because items actually cost numbers you need to know how much you need in order to afford the things that you want.  There’s another reason why you need to have a better answer to that question – depending on your answer, you may have to make a lot of major life changes.  For example, if you want to make $10,000,000 a year then you better get really good at basketball, singing or computer programming.  If only $7.15/hour is your goal, well then your options are far more plentiful (but not nearly as attractive). We as a society get so caught up in chasing the money that we never really take the time out to figure what to do when we finally catch some.  My answer to this question lies at the gas station.

The number that I need is less important than the lifestyle that I want my money to provide me.  A few years ago, I coined the phrase “gas rich” to describe the amount of money that I would like to make from my real estate business.  When I started my company, many people instantly started calling me a “future mogul” and made all kinds of references to The Donald.  The truth of the matter is I don’t want to be Donald Trump; I would retire way before I amassed the amount of wealth that he has.  I simply don’t need or want that much money.  What I do want is the freedom to come and go as I please and have the piece of mind that my month-to-month bills won’t get thrown out of whack when BP temporarily destroys our eco-system.

There is nothing more stressful than seeing a news report about a sharp increase in gas prices (especially if you have a “9” in your zip code) and you start adding up those numbers in your head and realize that your commute to work may affect whether you make ends meet.  And the “gas” in my “Gas Rich” is simply a metaphor for all of life’s staples including things like milk, bread, home heating costs and health insurance premiums.  I want to have enough money not to worry about the fluctuations in the price of life’s necessities.  When you know you can go to the pump, grocery store and pay all of your bills without even knowing what they will be, then my friend, you are “Gas Rich”.

It’s okay to be ambitious and want a lot of money but it can’t be forgotten that money is never the goal; it’s only a mean to an end.  You may read this and say that you want to be “Kids College Fund Rich” (which as I near my wedding date, I may upgrade to that) or even “Yacht Maintenance Rich”.  There is no wrong answer; the key is to know where you’re headed because when you can see the finish line, you run faster and work harder.