Hello to my friends, fans and listeners.
Today I talk in my podcast about the stages a person goes through in treatment and some of the ways any person can manage their life and their finances. Though it was very difficult, one of the first things I did to get control of my finances was to quit smoking. Cigarettes were ruining my health, costing a great deal and generally lowering my quality of life. Thanks to a program at the clinic I go to to see my psychiatrist and nurse, I was able to stop smoking. One of the unfortunate things about this experience though was that I didn’t keep track of what I was spending on smoking. It would have been a great idea to know how much smoking cost me and then I would have been able to put away that amount for a rainy day.
So much has changed for me since I started a savings plan as outlined in “The Richest Man in Babylon.” Years ago, I thought nothing about saving. Perhaps the most difficult thing I went through was that I would spend my disability money and then have to find difficult, dirty and low-paid work in construction through a Temp agency just to pay bills and get through the month. Living with debts I couldn’t pay and almost no money either set aside or for my daily expenses was horrific. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.
One of the most important things that happened to me to change me from a spender to a saver was to meet my mentor, bestselling author Richard Van Camp. Richard is an incredible human being with great compassion for people and he taught me so many ways to level up my writing career and to earn more. This did me little good for the first while, but after I was able to build up my name and my abilities, it has allowed me to have everything I need and with very little stress. Having less stress in my life has benefitted me greatly because now I am able to take on more work and do more things.
I think I always had the mind of an investor, I just didn’t know a lot about it. My earliest investments were in a comic collection as a boy, but sadly all of my comics were stolen before they could ever be sold for their increased value. As an adult, largely due to my friend and mentor Richard, I started collecting comics again and when I sold my collection the money from that plus the sale of a car I owned helped me to start building a nest egg for retirement.
Many people will read this and say or think that they could never be able to save, but if you follow some simple principles, you just may be able to do it. I often worry how friends in the US get by, with rising prices, little financial supports available, and out of pocket expenses for medical supplies and medications. What I suggest is becoming as frugal as you can, and then taking 10% of what you bring in and put it away where you can’t touch it. Eventually you will want to put this money in the bank, but there are other alternatives. You may want to buy silver coins to save, if you feel the price of silver will go up. I suggest if you look at building wealth through valuables that youb keep everything in a fireproof safe or safety deposit box.
Of course, many simply can’t put that 10% away, but if you look at the long-term, and plan carefully, there may be ways you can still do it. I suggest doing a couple of things, which can include first taking a life skills course that helps you with social skills and communicating. I also suggest once you have this out of the way that you consider volunteering. This is a great way to gain experience and ability, and it could possibly lead to a much better job. I know people (me included) who love to work with seniors. For a time, I volunteered at an extended care hospital and they would have been delighted to hire me though I never pursued it. It did look really good on my resume though, and I met some wonderful people.
After volunteering for a while, it may be time to find a regular job. Being a volunteer could help you do this because after you volunteer for a while you will not only have skills, you will be more used to waking up on time and interacting with people. I feel there is another way you can prepare yourself for the rigours of employment, it is through sports and fitness. There are many ways people can keep themselves fit. Lift weights, walk long distances, ride a bike. All of these things will benefit your physical health, and will lower your daily stress and benefit your mental health. Exercise will also help prepare you for the demands of a regular job.
One of the things a person may have to consider if they are trying to find employment is to find a way to live closer to where there are more jobs. I have a vivid recollection of living in a crowded, impoverished downtown community and there was a gas station nearby. I had worked for a station within the same company for a while and went to apply for a job. I was told they had a stack of applications and that there was nothing too special about me that would make them want to hire me. What I ended up doing was to get temporary work in factories and warehouses. The money wasn’t too bad, but it seemed there was always a lot of travel involved and it cut into my down time and sleep time. This is where a decision has to be made, is it to your benefit to have a car? There are many benefits to vehicles, perhaps most of all simply the pride and happiness of ownership. I have a car now, but I walk as much as I possibly can, and try to use it only for work. By keeping car expenses low, more of my money goes into savings, yet the car is there when I need to earn more.
Moving closer to where jobs are can be tough. My suggestion is that you advertise for a roommate in your area. One extra benefit you may want to consider is moving near a university and putting a notice up for a psychology student to be your roommate. If you find a nice one, they may help support you with your mental health issues while sharing the rent. The other benefit is that near the university, there are many jobs available, though most of them in food service or grocery service. The reason for this is that university students are very busy while school is in and are not able to work jobs such as cooking or serving fast food so the job are ripe for the picking.
Try not to worry as much about making great amounts of money, but instead focus on how you can treat yourself well enough to keep working. I once had a job that paid me much more than the Schizophrenia Society pays, but the work difficulties and stress were so high that it just wasn’t sustainable. I have learned now to limit my expenses and maximize my savings so even with a 50% reduction in pay I am still putting away more towards my future.
Well good readers, this has been an enjoyable post and podcast to work on. I hope I have given some suggestions that benefit you. I encourage you to give me feedback and comments, and anyone is welcome to contact me if they have any specific questions. Take care!
leif.n.gregersen@gmail.com
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