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A Multi-Millionaire’s Advice on a Spending Plan

Tim Robinson with King5/KongTV (NBC affiliate) interviewed me about some Tips for Financial Health.   Check out the video! 

It was really interesting to see how things get chopped and edited down(logically and necessarily, because they are NOT going to run the whole 20 minute interview!  Not even mass murders get that much time!)

I love to “give credit where credit is due,” and I must say (as I did in the interview, but it was edited out!) – the “Play Fund” suggestion is one I got from T. Harv Eker, creator of the Millionaire Mind Intensive.  Harv recommends dividing your discretionary income equally among several categories, such as:

• A Give Fund for your favorite church, charities or other organizations or causes that you wish to support.
• A Financial Freedom Account of money that you invest until you are Financially Free.
• An Education Fund to support your own learning and growth.  This could be college, personal development courses, or, as Harv hopes, Peak Potentials business and self-improvement courses!
• A Savings for Spending Account in which you save up for special purchases or perhaps a down payment on a home.
• A Play Fund, that you get to spend on WHATEVER YOU WANT without ANY guilt!
• The Rest goes to pay your Necessities: your mortgage or rent, your food and gas, your insurance, bills and other necessities.  The goal is to increase your income until your Necessities are only 50% of your income (or less!)

The Key with the Play Fund is to work it into your whole Spending Plan.  It is not unconcious, compulsive “spending binge” money – you’ve planned for it and budgeted for it!  It is simply money that you have “planned” to spend on… whatever you like!

Healthy Spending is like Healthy Eating!

A healthy Spending Plan is very similar to that of a healthy Eating Plan.  You eat from several different healthy categories, taking care to get your fruits, vegetables, proteins, healthy fats and whole grains.  You make sure your eating plan is balanced and your bases are covered.

And then… you allow yourself a limited amount of splurging.  Some chocolate here, a glass of wine there, a bowl of Italian gelato (while in Rome…), or a piece of cake on a special occasion. 

Because a healthy eating plan is NOT about deprivation and control!  It’s about health, balance, and developing a sustainable way of life that gives you JOY and PLEASURE, while also supporting your highest goals of health and wellness. 

A healthy spending plan is no different!  It must be sustainable, and it should allow for joy and pleasure, while at the same time moving you towards wealth and financial freedom. 

And Speaking of Healthy Eating…

Are you getting hungry reading this!?  I am!  And all this talk about yummy healthy food is reminding me of my friend Jill Hendrickson’s soon-to-be-released book, Weight Loss Italian Style: Ditch the Diet, Pass the Pasta, and Drop the Pounds Forever!  (And if you doubt that title, you must check out the picture of Jill.  In her young 50’s, she looks like a slim teenager!)

I got a chance to read her manuscript and just loved it!  It’s not your usual “diet” book.  It’s not a diet book at all – it’s a book about health and lifestyle, in which Jill shows us how living (and eating) more “Italian” and less “American” will bring us more enjoyment… and fewer pounds.

Jill’s approach to food is like my approach to money – let’s cut the guilt, the shame, and all the stuff that doesn’t work.  Let’s enjoy the best of life, AND… do it in a conscious way that truly supports our highest and best. 

Thanks to this book, I rediscovered my childhood love of spaghetti, along with Barilla’s great whole grain pasta! You can pre-order Weight Loss Italian Style on Amazon now, and it’ll be at your doorstep before you can book your trip to Tuscany!

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