Whilst on holiday I’ve been reading The Automatic Millionaire by David Bach. What I really liked about it is how well he talks about the importance of not wasting money. Of course spend it on things that make you happy (a holiday to Thailand?) but what about all the odds and sods that drain money out of your wallet?

He talks about ‘Big hat no cattle’. This is a saying that comes from Texas and it’s that person with all the bling but not a penny in savings or the mansion on interest only or the flash car on credit. For me the it’s Carry Bradshaw’s realisation that she has enough  shoes in her gorgeous walk in wardrobe for a house deposit!

David Bach talks about working out your ‘latte factor’. This is working out (honestly) what you spend on the meaningless ‘small stuff’. This was partly the inspiration for my decision to halve my splurge budget going forward.

He also tells a very inspiring story about a couple who are average money earners but by watching their small spending they manage to have two homes mortgage free by their mid 50s and enough money to retire should they want to. I have already ordered a copy of this book to give to my clients who are ‘big hat no cattle’. These clients have great intentions but do stray from my plan by keeping up with the Joneses.

I’ve been advising clients now for nearly 15 years and it’s so satisfying to see those clients who did ‘little and often’ reaping the rewards. There’s one of my favourite clients who through thick and thin stuck to the plan (making sacrifices where necessary) and last year we reached the school fees saving goal 18 months early and he has just upgraded to his dream house after sticking to my mortgage overpayment plan. If he hadn’t been so diligent things would be so stressful from this September onwards! He would have a huge mortgage and school fees all at once.

Here’s the link to The Automatic Millionaire

I hope it inspires you and I’d love to know what changes you make!

Lots of Love

Miss Lolly xx