Going Cheap & Creating Income
Saturday, June 28th, 2008I’m constantly seeing people going cheap on themselves when they start on the raw food program. They try to find a way to create really good food by not having proper equipment. Here’s the thing.. create more income. Yes, I know, many have children to care for but, here’s a post where I would like to see how people have created more income so they can not only have what they want, but what they need.
When I look back, I remember struggling to share $750 a month rent and 1/2 the utilities with my former roommate. It seemed to me I was doing everything I could to come up with that money PLUS, I was training to do what I do now as a natural health practitioner, and that was costing me around $750 or so a month as well.
To pay that, I was working various jobs including at a chiropractor’s office during the day, delivering pizza in the evenings and delivering newspapers at night. I did what it took to create the income!
Now, the REAL challenge came when my roommate came and told me she was moving and what did I want to do? Keep the apartment, get a roommate or move? Uh, well, hmmmph. Can I have a few moments to think about this?
Well, I advertised for a roommate but there weren’t any takers who didn’t want to at least be able to drink in their abode so I went looking. I found this lovely apartment with a HUGE front room which I knew I could use to teach movement classes ~ if I could get the students. Problem was, the apartment was $650 and ALL the utilities. Yikes! Well, I made the commitment. (Realize this was almost 16 years ago). That was in November of that year. In December of the same year, someone gave me a brand new motorcycle. Well, I wanted to keep it and ride it which meant gas, upkeep and insurance. In January of the next year, my teacher’s prices went up. Until then, I’d been paying $10 per week for Monday night class. That went up to $25 per week. Weekly sessions went up to around $125 per and monthly workshops went up as well.
Like most people, the first thing my mind tried to figure out was what I needed to DROP in order to keep the apartment and ride the bike. Of course, the first things I thought of to drop were 2 weekly sessions a month saving about $250. Maybe monthly group sessions? That’ll save about another $350 per month!
Don’t you see that happening? The stuff that gives us the most benefit, we drop first. When I was teaching, I saw the same thing. People would come every week until something happened and class or session, which gave them an hour of sanity once-a-week, was the first to go. NOT the junk food; NOT whatever else they were spitting their money away on… they gave up what pushed their buttons and pushed them to be better.
Now, what’s this got to do with going cheap on oneself? When I was struggling every month trying to figure out how to pay my rent, get sessions, etc., my teacher went off on a weekend retreat. He came home with his vehicle filled with food processors, Vita Mixes and Dehydrators… top-of-the-line. Well, I’m standing there with everyone else, rolling my eyes and looking at my friend thinking “Oh crap, more money”.
Well, I wish I could tell you specifically how I did it but all I can say is, I committed to having. At one point when I was wondering what I could drop and still have ALMOST all of it, I had an epiphany which told me I can and will have it all! I didn’t drop anything; I didn’t add more work/jobs yet, money just came to me!!! It was the weirdest thing! I never had to scrounge for the rent; I rode the bike EVERY weekend a minimum of 100 miles AND I got all the sessions, classes and went to all the groups meetings! If I could bottle and sell that, I’d be even wealthier than I am now!
One thing that was really interesting. I did start a class in my apartment. I usually had about 6 (at times I’d actually had 10 but overcrowded the room) people yet, for a time, I had only two. They came religiously although, they almost always came late (they were a couple). Others would come and go, but never stayed. It was weird. One day, they came late and I addressed the issue that we started the class at 7 p.m. and I expected them to be on time. (she was the one who was always late. If/when he came alone, he’d always be on time if not early) She said if I’d start 1/2 hour later, she could be on time. O.k., I did that. She was still late and what’s interesting it was always the same amount of time ~ 7 minutes. Now, how can this be?
Anyway, I told her that coming late and keeping me waiting, was disrespectful. She told me that she thought I’d just go ahead and start the class. Now, remember she and he WERE the class, which I pointed out to her. Right after my talk with her, she called and said that another class she was taking was switching to the night my class was and she was going to stay with that one. O.k., now I’m down one student. No, I’m not! The following week, 3 new people came to class! HUH? How’s that work?
Now, a couple weeks later, I have to have a talk with him because he’s telling me how and what I should teach; what music I should play; whether I should have the windows open or closed so, I call him and tell him that if he doesn’t like what I’m doing or how I’m doing it, stay home. He did! Guess what? 3 more students show up!!! Now, I’ve got six!
I don’t know how this all works out but from then on, I had average 6-8 people (which was comfortable for the room size) every single week.
Final notes: What happens in our lives depends on us. In the first scenario, I committed to having what I wanted. It was just a mind change. That’s it! I didn’t take on anymore jobs/work.. just said “I’m going to have it all!” and I did.
In the second scenario, things got so bad that I just couldn’t take it anymore. My lil monkey-mind chatter said that IF I talked to them about their behavior, I could lose them and the money I was getting from them. HEY! That’s $50 a month!! Well, you know what? It came to a point where I told myself, I’d rather lose that than have two people mis-treat me on a weekly basis. I set the boundaries and the universe responded. I taught that class for YEARS; stayed in that apartment for 12; received weekly sessions and monthly group trainings for 16 years and am still going for Monday night class for over 22 years now.
So, what’s the point of all this? I started this after reading one more time someone saying they can’t afford a VitaMix, a good food processor or an Excalibur Dehydrator, etc. They’ve given themselves a budget and trying to go cheap. That $100 they want to spend on a cheap blender would serve them better if they’d find some way to create more income so they can get the VM. Cheap blenders and juicers are just that. They don’t last when one uses them on a daily basis. They’ll leak or break down after a few weeks/months and that $100 is gone. My suggestion ~ make more money. Find a way to create some income so you can be, do and have what you want! Don’t go cheap on yourself.
Oh yes, I can hear you saying “but times are tough right now!” Well, are they really or is it because the media is saying so? More people are becoming wealthier now than ever before. There are more ways of creating income than every before! Also, a lot of it has to do with mindset. As long as one keeps reading/watching the bad news instead of looking around to see what they can appreciate, then they’re going to believe what’s in the bad news.
Here’s a solution: Listen to my podcasts on Celebrating Your Potential where I have guests on who are uplifting! Go to the library and read books on people who have struggled and made it. Look here for uplifting books I recommend which have assisted me. Most of all, make a commitment daily to be, do and have what YOU want in THIS life! Do something every day to achieve that! People I’ve worked with are amazed at what they are currently doing. Things they never thought when they met me a couple of years previously, that they’d be doing now.
I’d love to hear from you what you’ve done to uplift yourself whether it was getting more work, creating and selling items… what keeps you going?
Injoy,