How to Finance Your Dreams (Part 1)

In the movie “The Bucket List” blue-collar mechanic Carter Chambers (Morgan Freeman) and billionaire hospital magnate Edward Cole (Jack Nicholson) end up sharing a hospital room after both men were diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. Cole finds the bucket list which Carter had written and then cast aside after being told that he had less than a year left to live, and Cole persuades Carter to do everything on the list.

Of course, Cole being a billionaire and all, money was no object. The two men go on safari, they drive motorcycles on the Great Wall of China, they visit the Taj Mahal, and so on. But what if you’re not a billionaire, and you don’t know one who would be willing to finance your life-long dream to visit Paris, go skydiving, or see the pyramids of Giza?   In that case, read this post to discover how to finance your dreams.

Go On a Dream Diet

Christine Gilbert gave up her job as a manager in a Fortune 500 company in July of 2008 and became a digital nomad, traveling around the world as she pleases and making a small income as a freelance writer. She wrote an excellent series on her blog “Almost Fearless” called “30 Ways in 30 Days to Redesign Your Life and Travel the World“. The second post of this series talks about the travel diet, which is how she advises that you start saving money for your trip.

The travel diet consists of not buying anything unless it’s worth the amount of travel time that it represents. Are you admiring a chic leather jacket with a hefty price tag?  Is it worth three days in Rome?  Are you thinking of eating out for the third time this week?  Is it worth a day trip to San Gimignano while you’re staying in Florence? You get the picture.

We can substitute Christine’s “travel diet” for a “dream diet”.  That is, once you’ve identified the dream you’re trying to finance–whether it’s a six month sabbatical to write your novel, seed money for your startup, or participating in a workshop being led by one of your favorite artists–, before you spend any money ask yourself if you would get more satisfaction from putting that money aside in order to finance your dream.

Do Not Purchase Anything That is Not Relevant to Your Purpose

A different way to look at your “dream diet” is to look at it as “a partial restraint in some directions in order to secure greater abundance of life in other directions”.  The last phrase was taken from the essay “The Value of Voluntary Simplicity” by Richard B. Gregg.  In his essay Gregg uses hikers who climb Mount Everest, as well as athletes, as examples:

“For example, the men who tried to climb Mount Everest concentrated their thoughts and energies on the planning of that expedition for several years, and in the actual attempt discarded every ounce of equipment not surely needed for that one purpose.”

“The athlete, in order to win his contest, strips off the non-essentials of clothing, is careful of what he eats, simplifies his life in a number of ways.”

When you’re very clear on what your dreams are, you can begin discarding all sorts of things which are not aligned with your goals.  Just as an athlete refrains from indulging in junk food and sweets in order to be in optimal condition for the race, don’t spend your money impulsively on things you don’t really need and which will get in the way of your dreams.  In addition, just as those who are going to climb Mount Everest make sure that they only put into their backpacks the things that they’ll need for the climb, don’t buy frivolous stuff that will just weigh you down.

Spending Checklist

Here’s a spending checklist you can refer to before you make any purchase:

• Do I absolutely need or love this?
• Can I borrow this item from someone instead of buying it?
• Can I buy this used?
• Do I need it right now or can I wait for it to go on sale?
• Do I have something like this that fulfills the same purpose?
• Where will this item be stored?
• How often will I use this?
• Is there an alternative? (For example, instead of buying a book, you can go see if your library carries it.)
• Are there any additional costs associated with owning this object (additional parts that have to be purchased, it requires special care, and so on)?
• Is it sturdy enough to last for a while, or will it break down after a few uses?
• Is this item on my budget? If not, what budget category am I willing to spend less on this month so that I can buy this object?
• Am I buying this for superficial reasons, such as impressing someone else?
• Does another store carry it at a lower price? Is it cheaper to buy this online (taking into account shipping costs)?
• Is it more important for me to buy this product, or to put the money toward financing my dream?

Make It Sticky

Sometimes we know that something is good for us–such as exercising or eating nutritiously–yet we can’t seem to translate that knowledge into action.  When this happens it’s because the concept is not sticky enough (this is a term borrowed from Malcolm Gladwell and from the Heath brothers).

We have lots of things to think about and tons of things to do, and the thought of exercising or of stopping by the grocery store to load up on fruits and vegetables often gets pushed to the sidelines. The same thing can happen to our “dream diet”.

To make sure that we actually stick to our “dream diet”, we have to make it sticky.  Two ways in which to make something sticky is to make it concrete, and to add emotion.

You can make your “dream diet” concrete by setting up a separate savings account solely for your dream.  In the alternative, you can get a glass jar and physically place the money in the jar.  That way, when you decide not to stop by Starbucks this week and, instead, you opt for depositing your weekly coffee money in your dream savings account, or putting it in your dream jar, you can see and measure the results of your sacrifice.

You’re taking the amorphous “saving money”, or “spending less”, or “being frugal”, into the concrete:  “Look how full the jar is getting!  All that money is going toward funding my dream!”

The second way of making your “dream diet” sticky is to add emotion.  Cut out an image of the Fontana di Trevi–if visiting Rome is your dream–and carry it around in your wallet.  Look at it often.  Picture yourself sitting at a café near the famous fountain having a cappuccino or a gelato.

Think of how great you’ll feel when you’re actually living your dream.  That feeling will probably stop you from buying a new dress for the cocktail party you’ve been invited to when you have a perfectly good little black dress at home which you can wear. “See”, “hear”, and “feel” your dream whenever you feel the urge to buy something.

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(Sous le ciel de Paris (IV) photo is courtesy of Reinante El Pintor de Fuego).

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