Walk With Money » Reminder

Attention whiny complainers: Why you STILL aren’t saving money

Robert Wilkinson — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 06:20:07 +0000

Attention whiny complainers: Why you STILL aren’t saving money

54 comments — written on January 5th, 2010

Reminder: Tonight (Wednesday January 6th), I’m holding live video Office Hours covering psychological barriers to earn more money. Join the live video Office Hours at 7pm Pacific.

* * *

Earlier this week, I announced that 2010 is the year where I want to help you earn more money. This is the “E” part of my CEO Model: Cutting costs, Earning more, and Optimizing spending.

I was really surprised with how much this struck a chord. You’ll notice 150+ comments asking for specific areas you want me to cover. Read closely: It’s not just tactics you want. Lots of you asked for help crushing your own psychological barriers.

I know you want me to jump right into the tactics of earning more money — how to turn your idea into income, negotiate higher rates, and scale your earnings — but I’m not going to yet. That’s because it’s critically important to understand your implicit barriers before you start tackling action steps.

And that’s what I want to cover today: Whiny people who don’t think they can save (and earn more money).

Let’s start by examining what happened about 1 year ago.

* * *

In late 2008, when the market was crashing, people stopped caring about investing and negotiation and just wanted to hunker down and save money. As a result, I launched something called the “Save $1,000 in 30 Days Challenge,” where I showed people tactical ways to save money using fresh psychological techniques. Thousands of people joined in and worked to save thousands and thousands of dollars.

Except a few people.

While most people were supportive, I was surprised by how many people were actually offended by the very concept of a “Save $1,000 in 30 days challenge” because they didn’t even earn that much each month, or they found my recommendations to be “too obvious” — even though I defined “saving” as cutting costs, earning more, and optimizing spending.

Here are some examples of their complaints, which I’ve categorized for easy reading:

Whiny complaint #1: “I don’t make enough money”:

Whiny complaint #2: “This is so obvious”

Whiny complaint #3: “You’re just doing this to make money”

These whiners miss the point.

Saving $1,000 in a month was eminently reasonable, but it was also an aspirational goal. If you couldn’t save $1,000, what about $500? $200?
More likely, the whiners expected personalized information to be spoon-fed to them.
The people who complained a year ago are probably still complaining about money, while many of the people who took the challenge saved hundreds and even thousands of dollars.

No more excuses, please. We all know friends who complain ...

Cancel Your Sprint Contract Without Penalty – Success Stories [January 2010]

Robert Wilkinson — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 01:20:06 +0000

This is just a reminder that as of 1/1/10, Sprint is changing their contracts to add a “Regulatory Charge” of 20 cents per month. Despite the name, this is nothing but an increase in your monthly plan cost, as it is not a consumer tax nor is it required by law. Because of this voluntary fee hike, you can now cancel your Sprint contract without an early termination fee (ETF). You must do this within 30 days of notification (check your billing statement).

After some early pushback, it appears that most Sprint reps are now aware of this legitimate out. Commenter Stephan also shared a handy script that has been used successfully by several readers:

“Hello. I’m calling about my current contract with Sprint and the new 40 cents per line regulatory charge that Sprint will be introducing this January. The latest Terms & Conditions contract I signed with Sprint was in [year], and under that contract, it specifically states that as a Sprint customer, I have the right to terminate my contract without paying an early termination fee in the event ...

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What’s Your Motivation?

Robert Wilkinson — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 21:20:23 +0000

As I sit in my office and look out the window, I can see a number of people and a few pieces of construction equipment busy at work about a quarter of a mile away. It just happens to perfectly line up that I can see the workers if I turn my head to the left from my natural position at work.

At first, the construction somewhat annoyed me. I can hear the construction noises throughout the day as I’m working and they, at times, can be a mild distraction. The workers are also building something that is going to sit right in my view out of my office window.

What are they building, you ask? A house. A very nice house, in fact.

A few days ago, while I was working on an article, I turned my head and watched the construction work for a bit when I suddenly realized something. The house they were building is not too dis-similar from the house I would love to build someday. It’s fairly isolated with plenty of yard space but also with access to the forest. If I understand the floor plan correctly, it has nice, large bedrooms and a nice kitchen, which are the two features I most like in homes.

Since then, whenever I hear that noise, it actually pushes me a little bit. That noise, instead of being an annoyance, is a reminder of my big goals in life. That noise tells me to keep doing what I’m doing, to push forward to big things.

It has been extremely useful to have such a constant motivator around me. It keeps my nose to the grindstone all day long. Whenever I look out the window, I see the work. Whenever I pause for a minute, the noise from the work comes in loud and clear.

In fact, I’m going ...

529 Plan Promotion: Couples Get $150 Jumpstart to College Savings

Robert Wilkinson — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 22:20:08 +0000

This is a reminder that the Ohio CollegeAdvantage 529 Plan is offering some excellent incentives for those looking to start putting some money aside for college. Open to residents of any state, the best part is that this is one of the nation’s best 529 plans for those looking for low-cost investment options and a good customer experience. Here’s an example of how a couple can earn a free $150 jumpstart on their college fund. While I use the term “parent”, this would work for any two people - grandparents, aunts, brothers, friends, etc.

Parent #1 opens a new Ohio 529 account using a referral from an existing user (details below). They list the child’s name as beneficiary. Parent #1 earns $25 incentive.
Parent #2 open a new Ohio 529 account as well, using a referral from Person #1. This account can also list the child’s name as beneficiary. Parent #1 earns $50, and Parent ...

Tax Return Filing Deadline

Robert Wilkinson — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 10:20:24 +0000

13;
0478#ff0478#p>It’s September 15th, do you know exactly precisely where your tax return is? (please chuckle or it’ll be uncomfortably peaceful in correct right here)

If you filed your taxes on April 15th, you can disregard this publish. If you >>>>requested a tax filing extension<<<<, permit this be a reminder that your tax return w d in precise 1on. tober 15th is the tax return submitting deadline for individuals who requested and had been authorized for a tax submitting extension.

Merely simply because I can see the lengthy phrase, I know that in some stage in the lengthy phrase someone will study this write-up and be questioning when all the numerous tax return linked deadlines are. Being the good man that I am, I’ll checklist them for your reference. Your tax return submitting deadline will depend enti on your tax situation merely simply because the extension provides you additional time to file, not additional time ...