I am listening to a Dave Ramsey show this morning where a single mother called in saying she can’t afford her rent because the landlord was increasing her rent an enormous amount. Dave did what he did best and he asked the right questions. How much do you make? $70,000. How much is rent now? $1,000. What is the amount he is increasing the rent by? $200.
After watching this clip and doing the math it made me wonder. How does someone who generates 6k in gross monthly wages struggle to pay 1400 in rent? Also, why does someone who generates 6k gross per month in income RENTing in the first place. The only thing that made sense is that her lifestyle, poor money management and a lack of financial literacy is eating up the capital that will allow her to pay off the debt and save enough to buy.
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Lifestyle
If you earn 70k in income and you can’t pay $1400 in rent it is because you are taking vacations and going to every concert Tamika. Tamika wants to live life out of her working income and she is upset because the rent hike is going to cut into her gucci paper. I get it. That is why she makes 70k and is carrying around 50k in loan debt with very minimal housing expense.
If you make 6k in monthly income and you can’t find $200 for a bump in rent it sounds like you are just spending a lot of money. Now, Nairobi is baller capital. In Nairobi you have to stunt. That stunt costs you money. You have wear the flyest gear and the hottest everything. Its not that the rent is too high its that consumption is too high.
The problem with chasing lifestyle and consumption is that it never ends. After you buy one pair of shoes its old and you need another. After you get one car its old and you need another. After you buy one purse its old and you need another. You are trapped in the make it to spend it lifestyle and its going to leave you poor and complaining.
Now the problem with this lifestyle is a lot of times its promoted by the people around you. You feel the need to compete and keep up. Problem is that looking wealthy and being wealthy are two completely different things. A lot of people in Nairobi or Mombasa look wealthy. A lot of them are sleeping on floors, have no car or are borrowing things from their friends.
People will piece together a lifestyle with borrowed items, take 700 pics to get the right one and you will see it and be jealous. If someone like her brings in 70k annually and is still carrying around debt that is because she is using her money to “YOLO” when she needs to be using it to YOLF. Living Forever, not once. You aren’t supposed to spend it all while you are here, you are supposed to pass it down.
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A part of me felt sorry for Tamika
A part of me could empathize with Tamika. However, the more she talked and the more she complained the more she sounded like Social Justice Media. She sounded as it someone was out to get her and her $200.
The thing is though, even if someone was out to get her, the powerful thing is to going on the offense not whine and complain. So a lot of this reminded me of how SJWs respond to issues. When they get confronted they get emotional and seek justice. What she could have and should have done was seek home ownership so she wouldn’t’ have to worry about rent creeps. She could have saved enough money and pulled back her spending so she could afford the rent creep. She should have done something other than complain.
The whole time I heard her talk I was like “you can buy a home and the mortgage will be half the rent”. The problem is when you spend like Tamika you cant save for a down payment.
The problem is that the culture is full of Tamikas. People who stretch every cent to look wealthy out the paycheck with the inability to handle the bare necessities such as housing and debt reduction. Tamika makes great money but she struggles. Why? Because you can’t beat consumption and you can’t beat the lifestyle. Its impossible.
In order to win financially we have to cut back on the silly stuff for show. We have to cut back on the dinners, concerts, clothing and all that nonsense so we can take care of what is important, housing and debt reduction. Which then leads to saving and investing. Consuming and being flashy will not improve anything for anyone. It will only keep them being a victim. Stop that Tamika. Go on the offense. Stop spending money on dumb stuff, buckle down and handle business. Get ugly and get progress. Live like no one else in Nairobi so later you can live like no one else in Nairobi.
If you are interested in joining any of our clubs and taking ownership of your life we would love to have you. if you haven’t yet done your taxes and haven’t created an LLC to organize your hustle, do so now! Email trillionstony@gmail.com
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Be Great, Invest Well
Tony Trillions.