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May 02, 2003
Of all the financial wizards, it was Rusty that figured it out.
A lot of people put a lot of mental effort into figuring out how the system works and trying to beat it, but It was Rusty that figured it out. Who is this Rusty you ask? Some high powered financial analyst in Manhattan? A veritable captain of industry? Nope, he's none of these. He lives right here in Mammoth Lakes and doesn't work very hard. During this winter, he was bar-tending at Little Eagle a two or three days a week and managing at Angels Restaurant two nights a week. He usually gets 5 or more days a week to snowboard. So what did he figure out? He's achieved what few 'experts' and business leaders have... financial independence. He has no debt, and money in the bank for rainy days. He doesn't work a lot, but he ALWAYS puts money aside, never spends as much as he makes. He starts simple low interest funds like taking all the singles he got in tips in a given day and putting them in a jar. He's found he can make an extra $500-$1000 per month by putting away little bits of money like that. He does not worry about where the money for rent will come from.So what's his secret? Does he work really hard to make extra money? I wish I could say that was true. He has a good work ethic such that when he's AT work he works hard, but he doesn't work all that much. This summer he's gonna work his two days a week managing Angels, where he doesn't get paid all that much, and thats it! He's just working 2 days a week and still doing better financially than most LA bigshots! The trick is, he has VERY few financial commitments, and does not spend near what he makes. It takes BOTH of the above to be as successful as Rusty. Even if you spend less than you make, if you have a lot of monthly commitments, it only takes one or two dry months to find yourself in debt, increasing your monthly commitments. Eventually you will be in a hole you can't dig yourself out of. Indeed, many 'successful' people in the mid-90s who seemed to have it together as they were making a lot, but spending less, they lost it all when the well dried up and they still had to make their high monthly car, boat, house, etc... payments. On the flip side, if you do not have many financial commitments, but don't spend less than you make, it will catch up with you and you will find yourself in debt, with lots of monthly commitments.
In this way Rusty reminds me a lot of this guy I knew in high school named Jamie. We used to play hackie sack before, during and after school. I always had to go to his place because he didn't have a car. One day I asked him why he didn't have a car. He responded, "If I wanted a car, I'd have to get a job to pay for that car, and then I'd only be using the car as a means to get to work so I could earn enough to pay for the car." Even at 16 I knew he was on to something. He'd figured it out long before I had. I didn't really figure it out until I was 25!
Rusty is very frugal. Its not that he doesn't spend money, its that he only spends money on things that matter. He doesn't spend money on expensive food, or going out, or drinking. He goes on trips, saves money so he doesn't have to work as much, has a nice snowboard. He lives meager, but he's one of the happiest guys I know. He enjoys life, is good to the people around him, does not have an attitude, and almost never has money problems. A lot of the people who have lived in Mammoth for a while get kinda bitter. Bitter that they can't make more money, that they are surrounding by rich people who flaunt their money, that they have to snowboard with 'amateurs' who are new to town and not as good as them. Rusty does not seem bitter about any of this. He just enjoys life, people and riding.
Yup, he figured it out. Hopefully, in time, Sarah and I will find ourselves in a similar position. The most important thing is that we've recognized where we want to be, and we've begun the journey getting there.
Posted by wonko at May 2, 2003 12:04 PM
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