The Fourth Quarter

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Forget living rich and dying broke.

The money game is exactly what it sounds like…….a game. But the rules of this game are a little hard to recognize.  There are so many moving parts it’s difficult to realize that you’re an active participant. However, in this money game, it’s different than most other games because you’re not playing until the very end of the game, you’re playing for the fourth quarter. Yes, there are still four quarters in this game but the game is a little different for everyone.  In the first quarter of your life, you have very little involvement with anything. You didn’t get to pick your parents, where you were born, where you went to school or who you are.

Everything is handed to you and you are pretty much told, ‘here, deal with it’. Some people in their first quarter will look around and realize their deal is pretty nice.  I can stay HERE!  There’s a pool in the backyard, Mom is pretty nice, and I can cry a little bit and get some food.  I’ve got a warm bed? Sweet!

Or your story could be really different.

You could be one of those kids who wake up with your brothers and sisters late at night.  All of you grab a shoe then turn on the lights real quick and try to kill as many roaches as you can. Whoever kills the most roaches wins!

Hey, some people get handed cheat codes at the beginning of their life. I am not mad at them at all. A, A, B, B, up, down, side to side, start……….*Poof* financial advantage. Regardless of where you start in this money game, in the second and third quarter, you will always have an opportunity to get ahead or to screw it up.

The first quarter is supposed to be about preparing you to manage your financial life without your parents. Elementary School, High School, and College are just practice.  You’re practicing problem-solving in order to make important decisions in your life and you’re able to look at different information to decipher whether or not the information is worth your time.

You are just approaching the scrimmage

You are still using some of the information that you gained through school and applying it to your life.  After all, most of the information you learned in school will not be used at your job.

I really can’t name all the capitols in the United States. Hey Google, what’s the capital of North Dakota? Honestly, I couldn’t care less.

In the second quarter, you are trying to get in where you fit in. You are talking and listening to anyone who will converse with you.  You are trying to figure out what it is that you want to do with your life and how you plan on supporting a family.  Hopefully, by the third quarter, you know what you want.  You have solidified yourself in your career and you are just fine-tuning your thoughts.

These first two quarters are the most important and crucial in this game making it different than any other game you’ll ever play. If you are reading this right now and you’re between the ages of 20 and 60, you’re right in the thick of it. If you play the third quarter right, the fourth quarter should be the easy part.

This game is a little backward compared to other games. Normally in any other game, the fourth quarter is when everyone starts to pick up their play.  In most games, this would be when you start getting aggressive and shoot that shot you wouldn’t normally take.

Maybe you go for that steal that you wouldn’t normally go for.

However, in the life game, you really want to be the team that crushed the competition in the third quarter and are now watching the scrubs, like watching your children play.  Look at our kids, screwing up America.  In our day…..we did everything perfectly.

Let me tell you what the second and third quarters are all about.

• Time to take chances
• Put yourself out there
• Switch careers
• Hone your skills
• Become a better person
• Try something new and try it often
• Invest in yourself
• Save for the future

Do you know what that time period is not for? Living Rich.

Living rich means different things to different people and there are deep levels to this.  I know some of you looking at me side-eyed like, “What-choo talking about Willis?” I got you and I hear you, but there are levels to this. You have to keep your eye on the prize whenever you are making a financial decision.  The whole idea of living rich depends on which level you’re on.  The biggest sin you can make is living rich for everyone else’s enjoyment instead of yours. Especially if you end up dying broke. Dying broke isn’t the worst thing about it.  It’s living broke when you are old that’s the worst part.  Nothing worse than watching my children screw up America as I hold tight onto their right legs and scream, walk daughters!

My Old Man Dreaming scenario is way better and I think life will be hard enough for them to navigate without having to worry about me too.

I would rather live broke and then die rich.

This is what makes this game the hardest and where you have to be truly honest with yourself.  For instance, I am not at Tom Ford Level.  I didn’t even know about Tom Ford until Jay Z put it in a song.  I thought to myself.  What is Tom Ford?  I guess I will go to the online store and check it out. Underwear for $65.00?!  Nope, I am not Tom Ford material.  I am more of a Fruit of the Loom kind of guy.  3 pack for 15.99. If you are wearing Tom Ford underwear who are you wearing them for and how is that helping you towards the ultimate goal which is to make your life easy in the fourth quarter?  I am being a little silly. Maybe you are not at the Fruit of the Looms level and there is ABSOLUTELY nothing wrong with that.

The problem is either people don’t know what level they are at, or they trying to be that little kid looking over the fence at the people they think are on the next level. Maybe you’re trying to impress someone with your Tom Ford Underwear.  I really don’t know why someone would pay $65.00 for some draws.  I am glad that I don’t get to try those things on because I might find out why someone would pay for them. They may be the most comfortable underwear of my life and I don’t want to be teased.

This is where ignorance is bliss, my friends.

To figure out what level you are actually at, the first thing you really should do is to get on a budget. If you are my client, you know my cash management system.  If you are not my client, I wrote an e-book about it.  I have to tell you, it is the absolute best way to figure out whether or not you can afford something. Some of you are just winging it. You don’t want to even know that you are overspending. Please don’t let me look at that credit card statement.  Damn it, I saw it.

The second step…..Dare I say it, is to hire a reputable financial advisor to help you actually define what retirement looks like. I am not saying it should be me, but it should be somebody.  This will really help you balance how much you should be spending and how much you should be saving.  This will put you in the best possible position to be on the bench in the fourth quarter and watch the scrubs screw up America.  Who really wants to live broke in the fourth quarter?

Let me say it one last time – Forget living rich and dying broke.

Photo by frank mckenna