Rice Business Report September 2019 September 2019 Rice Business Report | Page 35

Rice Business Report September 2019
Do You Spend What You Make?
By Karen Rittenhouse
Most of us would like more money at the end of the month and there are 2 ways to get there:
1. Make more money
2. Spend less
From everyday conversations, it seems that more people focus on making more money (and most have
no clue how to do that) but far fewer focus on spending less.
Now, my question was - "Do You Spend What You Make" - but plenty of people spend even more than
they make. That's a sad place to be.
Do you keep track of your spending? Do you know where your money goes? That's the first step to having
more at the end of the month. You can't cut back if you don't know where you're spending.
I consider my husband and myself to be fairly conservative spending except for 2 "minor" areas of our
lives - our house and our cars. Oops.
The house was way beyond our means at the time we moved in but, as real estate investors, we tripped
over a deal that was too good to be true and could get into it with no money down. How could we pass it
up? Long story short, we didn't.
So the house can be explained. The cars? We "wanted" luxury and comfort. We don't need all that, but it
was sure nice to get it when we wanted it. It's the American way, right? We're just doing what all the
commercials tell us to do because, after all, we've earned it; we deserve it.
Well, lately, I've been reading a lot of posts and articles about FI (Financial Independence) and a ton of 30
somethings are working hard - and smart - toward FI while still in their 30s! That would have been half a
lifetime ago for me, but it has definitely gotten me thinking and talking about FI with my husband.
So, here's the thing: We make more than enough to live well without working much going forward. How-
ever, we spend most of it every month. Do we need to? No. Since the majority of our earnings goes to-
ward the house we live in and the cars we drive, we can change that. But do we want to? Another very
serious place for consideration.
Naturally, I want to live better and work less, but that's not an option. Today, I can live better or work
less. My contemplation is which will I pick.
Have you ever focused on your financial independence and how to get there? Or do you focus on a better
lifestyle? Which will you put first?
My name is Karen Rittenhouse and I've been investing in real estate full time since 2004. We currently
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