Financial Consistency - Pay Yourself First

Paying yourself first is a concept that many have heard about, but few know what it actually means, let alone apply it in their lives. What it comes down to is this: 

Every month, put aside a set percentage of your income into a high yield savings account - your "wealth account".

And do this before you do / pay for anything else. If you make it automatic, then you will not even miss the money. But what it does is build up a head of cash that will allow you to start investing. And that is what you do with the money that builds up in your wealth account - you use it to buy assets, namely things that either bring in money, are appreciate in value. It is not there as a rainy day account, or a buy something fun as a reward account, or anything else. You use it to fund your investments, and you use the time it takes to build up to learn about what to invest in (we will cover this in another post, or check out the investment portion of Monthly Money Management For Actors).

So there you have it. Paying yourself first is the fundamental building block of every financially successful person - something without which no - and I mean no one - can build wealth, let alone the stability that we all need as actors and artists.

Do you already do this? If you do, what lead you to it? If not, what are your thoughts on the concept? Please comment here, and I will do my best to answer your questions promptly.

Have a fabulous week.