Revelation - Financial Management

Financial management is a complex subject, and it's often hard to put yourself in another shoes because everyone's circumstances are so different. It's also a topic where you can easily 'offend' other people and receive tons of backlash.

"How dare you criticize/judge me for not saving? You don't give as much to your parents."
"You are single while I have families to raise. It's not possible to save."
"You earn more than me blah blah blah..."

Etc... you get the idea. Of course I think there are really genuine, serious cases out there of people  struggling to make ends meet. Their income is not enough to suspend bare necessities. What I am describing here excludes them.

Anyway, here are my observations:

I've known people who have worked for ~10 years or more, and doesn't have >3months salary worth of savings. I also know people who prefer to drag their school loans for as long as possible, paying the minimum each month and pay an additional god knows how much in interest. Then there are people who have no qualms about splurging on expensive vacations then claiming they are poor. This is something I am totally unable to comprehend.

These are views that I keep to myself, because you can see how easily they can be offensive to others. I have no business meddling with how they wish to spend their money.

I see people around me claiming they don't want to work until they die, yet they're not even saving/investing at all. What do you expect? Strike the lottery 'someday'? If you can't save now while you are young, do you think you can save later when you've got families, aging parents, worsening health, more commitments? 

To me, I am very clear on my financial goals and my strategy to achieve them. There are more than one way to Rome, and I don't claim mine is the best. Some people work harder to increase their income, some live frugally to cut expenses, other choose to start their own businesses. It is just what you choose to sacrifice, and I stood by my principles and beliefs.

Still think it's impossible? Again, you can look around the financial blogosphere for inspiration. Take a look at "Budget Babe", who saved $20K a year on a $2.5K salary. Or "Dividend Mantra", who had nothing at 28 years old (2009), and in 6 short years has built up a portfolio generating $5000+ per year. How about this janitor who amassed $8 million dollars by simply saving and investing over 65 years?

You might be thinking that's stupid cause there's no point being the richest man in the graveyard. Well, I don't plan to wait that long either. And we don't have to.

I think most of us here earn more than the janitor. If we just practice a little delayed gratification, avoid bad debts and big purchases that will lead to financial ruin, it is very possible to achieve financial security in 10 years, and financial independence in 20 years. All these without "going overboard". By that I mean still enjoying life in the process, not de-voiding yourself of all pleasures of spending.

Most of us are not lucky enough to be born with a silver spoon or blessed with a super high paying job. We need to plan the first half of our lives carefully to escape the rat race. The goal is not to amass mountains of wealth to show off or compete with others, but to generate your personal income stream so that finances no longer becomes a factor in the future. You can finally afford to choose a job you love without consideration of the salary. You can finally sleep in peace knowing you are prepared for any emergencies.

If you look far in the future, you will see that starting today is definitely worth it.