10 Things Worth Buying EVEN If You're Short On Cash

Hey there, real quick, before we jump into the episode, listen, if your earnings treadmill hasn't set you free yet, running faster won't either. Listen, hustle without principles just going to burn you out. So here's what I want for you. I want you to join me for my money machine experience Live. It is three free trainings. Deep dive into how to escape the treadmill and build a money machine that actually works for you. All right, Grab your spot here by going to moneymachinelive.com and I'll see you in the free training. What if the real mistake isn't spending too much, but cutting the wrong corners when money's tight? Listen, if you've ever felt like you had to say no to something or you feel like you're saying no to everything, or you're sitting back and saying, do I get this or that, then this episode is for you. Because I'm going to show you 10 things, 10 things that I think are actually worth spending money on, even when money is tight. Because even though they may cost you money, they actually protect you. They pay you back, and they build a stronger future version of you.

I know this one's gonna be a little different than some of the other episodes, but this is gonna be about buying stuff. But is it worth buying even when money's tight? But here's the thing. The right purchases actually don't cost you. They save you. They build something of value. And when money's tight, the instinct for people is to stop spending, which is a good instinct. And it's something we need to be thinking about and be discerning about. But some purchases, if they're made wisely, even though they take money out of your wallet, they protect your health, they multiply your income, or they give you peace of mind. And in this episode, I'm going to share 10 things that I think are still worth it to spend on even if you feel like money's tight. They're life upgrades. Let's do this. All right, so the first one is this. It's your basic emergency fund. Now, in the Wealth Priority ladder, in chapter 12 of my book, I talk about two funds, the comfort Fund and the Peace of Mind Fund. The comfort Fund is $1,500 or one month's expenses. It is not your emergency fund, but it is there just in case something happens that's completely unplanned. You know, medical deductibles, the transmission goes out, things like that. To do that, it's a smaller emergency fund. It's the step to the peace of mind fund. But the fact of the matter is, is without, without a comfort fund or the peace of mind, the bigger emergency fund, any little hiccup in your finances will, will destroy you. This, this is about you not being destroyed. So putting money away to have liquidity to sustain you without going into debt if something unplanned happens is probably one of the smartest decisions you can make. Whether it's a medical situation, whether it's a job situation, it's important. And so I've seen people really kind of go through this and say, I'm doing the right things, I'm getting all my, my debts paid down, I'm working extra jobs, I do. They had no liquidity. And one flat tire, one car problem, one medical bill literally wipes out all their progress. And so this is an important thing to have in place. It's one of the most valuable things you can do. And when you look at the data, a bank rate Survey said almost 60% of Americans can't cover a thousand dollar emergency. That's a problem. And so I think that we need to really get this in place. It's one of the smartest things that we can do. And it's not about wealth, it's about breathing room. It's about making sure that you don't end up in a ditch somewhere, okay? You know, you just, you avoid it. That leads me to number two, health insurance. Look, don't get me going on our, our health industry here, okay? But.

One of the biggest causes of bankruptcy is medical bills, okay? So I'm looking at health insurance and I look at like, even with my background in with, with the cancer and all that stuff and what it costs, a single medical event can literally wipe out years of savings. It can put you into lifelong debt if we're not careful. So even if you don't get a Cadillac plan, health insurance plan, at least get a catastrophic plan. And knowing that you've got medical things that are covered and you'll be subject to the deductibles and the co pays and all that stuff. But here's the thing.

It'S one of those things that I think that if you go, for lack of a better term, naked, no medical insurance, it's a problem. I knew someone once that didn't like the insurance costs. He said it was too expensive. I'm paying all these premiums and I got all these big deductibles and, and everything. And then he ends up with appendicitis and had to get an appendectomy and that was a $32,000 bill that one moment completely derailed years, years of his hard work. And so I think that it's important for us to put money towards at least a catastrophic health insurance plan. Insurance isn't a luxury, and Lord knows, I think that I'm not a fan of the insurance companies, but it's a financial seatbelt, and it's one of those things that you hope you never need it, but when you need it, you're very thankful that it's there. Okay? So I would be really careful about that, and I would. I would put money towards a health insurance plan and at least make it a catastrophic plan at. At. At worst case. Okay. Number three. And. And this is just to help either a good budgeting tool or app. Here's why. If we. When things are tight, when things are uncertain.

We need some direction. We need some guardrails, and we can't fix what we can't see. And budgeting tools or apps that track your spending, track your inflows and your outflows track can give you clarity, but not only clarity, they can give you control. Okay. One of the things that I did is when I got wiped out in that Ponzi scheme, I used a spreadsheet to do it instead of an app. But I have historically, just so you know, I have tracked for decades all of my investing, all of my personal expenses and everything through Quicken. And I use that to know exactly where every dollar is going. Every dollar is coming in from what it's doing. It gives me clarity on what is going on. And I can look at things and say, I don't need to spend this. I don't want to waste money here. I don't need. And I know exactly what is. Is going in and out. So if you're disciplined, great. But even disciplined people need a plan, and this will help you plan. And most of these apps are very cost effective, but the value you get for it is huge. You can use, you know, Ynab, you need. You need a budget app. There's a. There's so many different ones that you can do. Here's the thing that I have seen. When you look at the data, people who actively budget, people who actively do this, save up to 15% more than those that don't. Okay? You think you have it handled, but until you're looking at the numbers on a regular basis, you have actually no. No idea what's. What's going in and what's going out. And by simply tracking your Expenses you'll read stats show that you'll reduce your impulse Buying by 22%. Almost. Almost a quarter. Okay, so getting an app in place that gets you clarity, gets you control, and has an understanding of where your money's coming in and out is really valuable. Leads me to number four. This is going to sound weird, but supportive. Durable footwear. Yeah. Shoes. Shoes. Now, my wife would be happy with this, but I'm not talking about high heel shoes. But here's what I know. I was backstage one time and I was announcing the speaker to stage. I was not wearing the right shoes to do what I was doing. I was bouncing around, I was jumping around, I was running backstage, I was doing things, and all of a sudden I felt like someone hit my calf with a baseball bat. And I ended up on my back in just screaming pain. So I finished announcing the person to stage, and then I ended up in the emergency room, and they thought I had torn my Achilles tendon. Now, good news is I didn't tear the Achilles tendon. Bad news is I badly strained my calf. Part of the reason was I wasn't wearing good footwear for the activity I was doing, which leads to why. Why am I saying shoes? Well, bad shoes can affect your feet, affect your knees, affect your back. And what does that mean? That means medical costs. Okay, so here I am in an emergency room. They want me to go see an orthopedic surgeon. I have to go through physical therapy, and all these medical costs came about because I wasn't wearing the right shoes.

Like it or not, I think it's a good. It's a good spin that. I'm not talking about luxury designer shoes. I'm talking about proper footwear that will prevent problems from. From a body standpoint. Okay, then that leads me to number five, and that is investing. And I'm using the term specifically investing in new skills and new certifications that can increase your income. We live in a value exchange economy. The fact of the matter is, the more valuable you are by virtue of the problems you solve, the knowledge you have, and your ability to serve people, the more you get paid, the more invaluable you become during uncertain times. The more skilled person, the more disciplined person that has knowledge, skills, and able to solve bigger problems is the one that will have more stability. Okay, so when you're low on income, one of the things that you can do is cut expenses. I get that. But the other thing you can do is raise your income. And one of the ways to raise your income is to become More capable, skill up, value up, as I wrote about in the book. And I think that when you invest in something, whether it's sales training or technical training or communication training, the key is to invest in it just like any other investment, with an understanding of what the outcome is. If it is sales training intended to increase your ability to sell at your job, then we need to see the fruits of that. That means that you have to apply it, you have to use it. Just studying stuff and getting certifications or getting skills and then never using them them doesn't do you any good. Or getting skills and certifications that aren't valued in the marketplace doesn't help make you more commercially valuable. And that's what we're talking about here, is that when you can skill up so you have higher value in the marketplace, you have more stability, you have more certainty in your income and you have the ability to scale your income when you start to develop high demand skills. Historically, data has shown that, that you earn 20 to 40% more over time. So short term certifications, skill development are huge, but only if you use them to escalate your income. And that leads me to number six. Number six is mental health support. I think we have a situation in our world where people are stressed. They're stressed by the media, they're stressed by social media, they're stressed by expectations, they're stressed by a lot of things. And our mind gets overwhelmed with things. And when you add to it, financial stress on top of it, and this is why one of the things that we try to do with the show is to eliminate financial stress. It becomes, it becomes challenging to just even function. And so you might need coaching, you might need therapy, you might need support, you might need an app that helps you meditate, something. But what we need to look at is how are we moving through and what kind of support do we need to move through? Uncertain, difficult times, mental health disorders right now from a global economy. The.

World Health Organization estimates that it's $1 trillion a year in lost productivity. Okay, I know for me, when I got wiped out in a Ponzi scheme, that was a very challenging time for me. Financial stress that I had to move through. Then when the cancer hit, it was, it was medical stress I had to deal with. And without the support of friends, without the support of professionals, without the support of meditation every day with a cancer, every day at 5 o' clock in the afternoon, I literally walked down to the beach, because we live on the beach. I would get in, I would record myself what I'm thinking what I'm feeling. And I would. So I was doing a recorded video journal of every day, what I was feeling and what I was going through. I would get in the water, in the beach for 20, 30 minutes. Then I would go up on the rocks and I would listen to some visualization on my AirPods and do about 20 to 30 minutes of visualization and then I will come back, do an infrared blanket and then we would have dinner and ultimately go to sleep. But there was costs associated with doing some of those things, but they were well spent money. And I think that if you have stress, if you're having mental stress or that kind of thing, this is money well spent. You don't need to suffer alone. Get, get support. Get, get things that will keep you moving forward. All right, leads me to number seven. Sounds odd, but kitchen essentials. Why? So you can cook at home? For two reasons. One, it saves money. Two, it's healthier. So you save money and you save your health. Now, I didn't realize and if you look at it like we used to doordash a lot, we don't anymore because the costs there, it's not because we can't afford it, but it's just astronomical. It doesn't make any sense. And quite frankly, my wife's cooking is amazing. So having the basic essentials so you can cook at home, whether it's cooking two, three, five, six days a week, one is going to save you a lot of money, especially with escalated prices now and costs. Two, it's going to make it healthier because you are cooking for yourself and you know exactly what's going into it and do it from that perspective. There's data out there that shows that home cooked meals average about four to six dollars a meal, whereas takeout is 20 plus dollars a meal. And so you could literally be saving thousands of dollars a year by simply cooking at home. Okay, you don't need a gourmet chef, you don't need to be a gourmet chef. You just need a plan and a pan and there's plenty of ways to get recipes and all that stuff. Okay, leads me to number eight. Number eight is books and courses that shift your mindset. I think perspective is a big deal. How you see the world if you are seeing the glass half full versus the glass half empty. Whether you see the world as pessimistic or optimistic is very different. And.

When I.

Didn'T have a lot of money.

It wasn't just my wallet that was empty. My perspective was too.

And reading the right books, going to the right seminars opened my mind up. Not because it gave me money, but it showed me how to think differently. It showed me how to show up differently. And I think self education.

We believe that, hey, I got a degree, so my education is over with. No, no, no, your degree process is over with. Your education never stops. And I think that we should always be trying to grow ourselves. Not because we're not content with where we're at, but I think that the human spirit craves growth.

It's why we need hobbies, it's why we need these other things. And so I think that making a commitment to find areas of your life that you want to grow in and getting books or courses or programs or podcasts and shows like mine, that will help shift your mindset, shift your perspective, give, give you a new direction from a self education standpoint is huge. And it's not about you guys having to read hundreds and hundreds of books. You just need the right one with the right message at the right time in your ears. That's it. Right? Number nine, safe place to live, even if it costs more. Okay? Your environment, if you feel unsafe, is going to cause stress, it's going to cause lack of sleep, it's going to affect your mental health, it's going to affect your productivity, it's going to affect your relationships, it's going to affect you financially, it's going to affect everything. So I would look at it through the eyes of making sure. Now, I'm not talking about luxuries, I'm talking about safety here. Living in unsafe areas will increase chronic stress and anxiety. It'll create long term health risks. And so having to pay a little bit more to be in a safer neighborhood, but maybe a smaller apartment, a smaller home is going to be better for you in the long run. Okay? You'll be more focused, you'll be more productive, you'll sleep better, your health will be better, and you'll find even more joy in the process. So I look at it and say, hey, find a safer place. Even if it's smaller and it costs a little more, but it gives you peace of mind. And then the last thing is this, and I do this and that is at home. Fitness gear. If you don't want to. I belong to a gym, but I don't go to the gym all the time. I have a gym here. And so one thing that you need to do first is that just commit to the fact that you're going to do fitness now. You can do it at home or you can do it at a gym, but, but at home you can buy the equipment once. You don't have to pay dues every month and admission fees, but you have to be disciplined to do it when life is busy. When we had the pandemic, I couldn't go to the gym, so I was working out here. I still do and primarily because in the mornings I get up and I take my dogs for a four and a half mile walk. And then when I come back from that walk, that's when I will do my workouts. And a lot of times I just don't feel like going to the gym. So I work out in the gym here and everything and I don't have a ton of expensive equipment. You get yourself some gym equipment and, and everything. But the point is, is that all of this is about keeping you healthy, keeping you productive, keeping you moving, keeping your mental state in the right place so you can live life fully. Fully. This is about living a rich life, having money in a bank account. But ill health doesn't get you anywhere. Okay, you don't need to go to a gym, but you need to move. You need to put resistance on your, on, on your bones and your muscles and, and, and eat the right things. That's why some of the things that I'm saying in here don't feel like they're financial related, but they are, they are because they impact your life, your quality of life, your ability to, to enjoy the events. Because, look, my mom at the, at the end now, she was older, she was 91, but she was six, six and a half years on dialysis. And that last year and a half was, was not great for her. She was not mobile. They'd had to lift her out of bed. Now could she have avoided the dialysis? Maybe. But she never went to the doctor. She didn't exercise, she didn't get checked, I don't know. But I, but I also know that I see people that are 90 years old and still moving, so I know it's possible.

So all I know is I, I look at things and say health is, is wealth. If I didn't have my health, it doesn't matter what I have in the bank account. And so Those are the 10 things that I would, I would look at and say, even when money's tight, I think that they're valuable investments in you, the quality of your life and your future. So it's tempting to just cut all expenses and think that expenses are the enemy when things are tight. But some of these things aren't expenses. They're truly, truly investments in your safety, in your well being, in your future, in your health, your income, your peace of mind. And I think these 10 things kind of satisfy that. They're not about status, but they're about strength. They're about survival. Right. I hope that this hits home, and I hope that you'll take a look at some of the things that you're prioritizing, and maybe this will shift it for you. I know that this was a little bit of a different episode, but it was on my heart to bring this to you because I've had some conversations with people that were just trying to. They were just taking them a hatchet to all their expenses and said, hold on a second. Let's. Let's not do that. If at. If at the. The cost of that becomes, at the end of that is the quality of our life. All right. All right, y'. All, I hope that this helps. I hope that you found value. If you have do me a favor, hit the like button, let me know, subscribe and stay with me on this journey. And if I can help you along the road, if you have questions along the road, do me a favor, let me know, all right? I'd love to help you. I'm on a crusade to light the path of financial freedom for a million families, and I want one of them to be you. All right? Till I get a chance to see you on the road to your financial freedom. As I always say, always, always strive. Live a life.

Thank you for listening to the affluent entrepreneur show with me, your host, Mel Abraham. If you want to achieve financial liberation to create an affluent lifestyle, join me in the affluent entrepreneur Facebook group now by going to melabraham.com group and I'll see you there.

And that's it for this episode of Building your money machine, where we help you learn how to master your money, eliminate financial stress, and live a life of choice. If you found this valuable or helpful to you, here's what I'd love for you to do. If you'd do me a favor, go to Apple, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you're listening to this podcast and rate and review the show. It helps us tremendously to keep us at the top of the list so we can continue to get this information and this message out to people. Because I truly believe that financial freedom is your birthright, and I want to help each and every one of you claim it. Thanks so much.