Margin – Part 1

Welcome to the latest series of JosephSangl.com – “Margin”.   This is a series where we will focus on the real and emotional effects of living life WITH and WITHOUT financial margin.   As part of this crusade to help people accomplish far more than they ever thought possible with their money, I see so many people living life on the edge with no financial margin.   Lack of financial margin leads to lots of issues.   Through this series, we will be discussing the benefits of establishing and keeping financial margin.

Part 1Less Stress

I remember the day that my family first established financial margin.   It was in February 2003 when we received our tax refund.   Instead of applying this money toward the tax refund, we put it into our savings account.   This meant that we were not able to attack debt with this money, but our eyes had been opened to the absolute need to establish financial margin.   Depositing the check into our savings account was incredible, but it was the emotional feeling that surprised me!   We were able to breathe in a way we had never breathed before.   I’m talking about literally being able to breathe differently.   With that one key decision, we eliminated a load of stress that we did not even realize was there.

Gone were the days of fearing the question, “What will happen next?”   Over were the days of stating, “How in the world will we pay for THAT?   Instead of dreading the clunking sound coming out of the dryer, we could simply say, “Appliances break.   Let’s purchase a new one – with our financial margin money.”

As part of this crusade, we are privileged and honored to help people 1-on-1 in developing their financial plan.   STRESS is the #1 reason most people say that they wanted to meet with a financial coach.   The stress of living with no financial margin can lead to a lot of effects:

  • Fear
  • Depression
  • Feelings of dread
  • Marital discord (or even divorce)
  • Anger
  • Combativeness
  • Snappy responses
  • Impatience
  • Frustration
  • Feelings of scarcity/lack
  • Craving
  • Unfulfilled

Having money is certainly not the answer to all of life’s issues, but the establishment of some financial margin certainly goes a long way toward easing many of the struggles of daily life!   I definitely know that is true in my own life.

With all of the negative consequences related to living life this way, is it not worth the effort it will take to establish some financial margin?   We recommend $2,500 as the first financial margin goal with the ultimate goal of having saved a year’s worth of expenses.   It won’t happen overnight, but it can happen faster than you ever thought!

Read the entire series (available after 6/8/2011)

Read recent posts

Leave a Comment