Most agents begin their real estate career with the hope of gaining financial independence. They are attracted by the possibility of earning large sums of money. Even when agents make more than a six-figure income, the vast majority have not dramatically improved their financial balance sheet. After looking at hundreds of agents’ Profit and Loss statements and personal spending habits, I’ve determined that real estate agents are poorly prepared for financial independence. Why should real estate agents be any different from the American population in general?
According to the Social Security Administration, statistics indicate that out of a randomly selected one thousand people from age 25 to age 65:
• 190 would have died – 19 percent
• 150 would have incomes over $30,000 – 15 percent
• 660 would have incomes less than $30,000 – 66 percent
Let’s look at these numbers. There are more people deceased than earning something close to a decent quality of life. Of the people still alive, 66 percent of them exist on less than $30,000 per year. My question is: Which group do you want to be in? Which group are you heading for based on your financial plan, investment choices, and savings plan?
These are the top three reasons people fail in their finances:
• They never create a financial plan.
• They make poor investment choices.
• They put off starting a savings plan.
Let me share with you a few simple rules that will ensure that you don’t join the 66 percent of the group. I have used these rules with hundreds of agents to transform their financial picture in a short period of time.
Track your expenses, both business and personal
You must know where the money is going. Separate your business from personal expenses. Establish a business checking account and pay all business bills through it. Too many agents co-mingle their business commission checks and business bills with personal and household expenses. It is more difficult to control your money when you can’t track it. Enter all your expenses and revenue in an accounting software program. I think the easiest is Quicken. Quicken will allow you to accurately track your costs to run the business, then you can run a monthly Profit and Loss statement to see where you are spending your money. The money you earn in real estate can come in bunches. It can become very easy to spend that large commission check that’s burning a hole in your pocket.
When we have money, a want looks like a need because we have the ability to buy it. We begin to rationalize our wants into needs. For most of us, a want that our neighbor already owns becomes a need.
Adjust your lifestyle
Spending less than you earn makes up 90 percent of financial planning. The premise involves saving money and making sacrifices. The ability to pay now in the form of adjusting your lifestyle and saving the difference will allow you to play later. To play later you will need more than the $30,000 per year. Thomas Stanley, who wrote the book, “The Millionaire Next Door”, summed up how the vast majority accumulated their millions: “They lived well below their means.” Living beyond our means is a national epidemic. Consumer credit card debt in the United States is in excess of $528 billion.
Roughly two-thirds of Americans who have credit cards do not pay off their monthly balance. We are clearly living beyond our means. Take a close look at your monthly obligations and evaluate where you are spending your money.
Aggressively reduce your debt
There is an old Proverb that speaks of a borrower being a servant to the lender. The weight and pressure of debt can be crippling. I have seen this happen to agents for years. I have even seen it manifested in my own life. I have not always made the wisest choices with my money. Fortunately, I have made more wise choices than foolish ones.
If you have credit card debts, make a decision to pay them off. Start with the highest interest rate credit card first. Decide on a monthly amount that you can commit to reducing your debt. If you stretch, you will be able to find a few hundred dollars per month to pay towards your debt. Most credit card companies require you to pay 2 percent of the balance owed monthly.