Start Where You Are
Start Where You Are
by J.D. ROTH 1 January 2021 – Get Rich Slowly
How to Start Where You Are
Start where you are quote by Arthur AsheClearly, this is easier said than done. It's one thing for me to sit at my desk and type out pithy advice; it's another to actually deal with the situation day-to-day in real life. But here's the thing: In order to get where I am, I had to start where I was. In order for other Get Rich Slowly readers to get where they are today, they had to start where they were.
When I say “start where you are”, I mean that you should accept that who you are and what you have today is, essentially, your starting hand. Don't beat yourself up for past mistakes. Don't blame others for getting you into this situation. These are the cards you've been dealt (even if you've dealt them to yourself), and it's now up to you to play them as best you can.
How do you do this?
First and foremost, take care of yourself. Pause. Breathe. Prioritize your physical and mental health, even if that means spending a bit of time and money. Exercise. Eat right. If you need the help of a therapist, see a therapist. Money spent on self-care is never wasted.
Next, take stock of your situation. Figure out exactly where you are starting from. Set aside a Saturday morning to perform a “financial inventory”. Ideally, you'd take the time to begin tracking your money with a program like Quicken or YNAB or Personal Capital. At the very least, calculate your net worth and list all of your debts, bills, assets, and income. You need a snapshot of your current financial situation so you know what you're working with.
Figure out where you want to go. It's great to decide that you want to change, that you want to improve your financial life, for instance. But you'll have greater success if your reason for change is specific, not nebulous. Craft a personal mission statement, and maybe use this to set up a series of smart goals to act as waypoints along the road to your destination.
If needed, restructure your life. We all suffer from “financial drift”. We become complacent and lose sight of our larger goals from time to time. When you press the reset button, when you start your financial journey, it's the perfect time to make changes, large and small. Analyze all of your spending. Cut the crap you do not need. Consider changing jobs. Ask yourself if it might make sense to move to a cheaper home — or to a cheaper city or state.
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