This is one of only three posts that I mention on the Earn More Spend More Group home page  links; the rest of the links are regular pages.  The two reasons that I feature this post are; people like stories, so—just sit back and relax as you read…and…One of the key components of the Earn More Spend More Group plan is goals.  This is the only post where I feature a key component of goals, which is—you must really want your goal to make it happen.   

No Bike For Charles

When he realized he wasn’t getting a bike for his sixth birthday, big tears streamed down Charles’s cheeks.  He ran to his bedroom.

Charles had been told that he wasn’t getting a bike.  But, surely his mom and dad would give him a bike for his birthday.  Bill, Jack, Linda, and Tom had all received bikes at their birthday parties.  But he wasn’t getting one!

Next day he told me he was going to get a new bike, and his goal was to earn the money to get  it.  I thought that his parents were so mean — how could his mom and dad make Charles earn money for a new bike when everyone else got their bike for a present — Charles’s mom and dad could afford to buy him a bike.

Charles Earns His Bike…And More

A new bike would cost Charles $24.95 — $25.95 with tax.  (This was in the 1960s).  He would earn $.25 an hour for helping around the house — so he had to do more than 100 hours of work to get his bike.  Sometimes, he chose not to come out and play so he could help — in the garden, doing dishes, or cleaning up around the house.  He was always helping somewhere.   It was spring, and he had a goal — he had to have that bike —  he had to make that bike his bike by summer!!!

But Charles didn’t earn all his money at home.  Pretty soon, word spread that he was a dependable boy and he began working for the neighbors.  He watered Mrs. Olson’s garden when she left to visit her sister.  When Mr. Pierson went away on a two-day business trip, Charles was feeding and walking his dog.

It was the middle of June when Charles got his bike.  As he enjoyed his new bike, Charles lost interest in making money — for about a week.   But soon, he wanted a nightlight for his bike, so he could ride after dark.  Then…Charles found other things he wanted; so he started earning money again.

When Charles and I were 10, I got the chance to watch the Gunderson’s lawn for a month while they were on vacation.  (Charles was mowing three lawns at this time).  I mowed it twice, and watered it when it got dry.  I was ecstatic when they paid me.  Moments later, I aimed my bike for Bellaire Drug and proceeded at warp speed — to get as many baseball cards as I could.  As a 10 year old, baseball cards were at the top of my want list.  Three of my friends and I had big collections.  When we showed Charles our collections, he thought they were neat.  He wanted some.  So, he went and bought some — more than my three friends and I had altogether — in one purchase.  I was mad!!!  But I couldn’t stay mad long.

The Entrepreneurial Spirit

Charles had developed a habit, from the time he was six, that would serve him well throughout life.  He had the entrepreneurial spirit.  He set goals and achieved them.  The driving force pushing him to success — the reason he could earn more than any of us, was his goal — his powerful goal, fueled by a strong desire to buy a bike; and later, other things.  He probably would not have developed the habit of earning money; had he not wanted that bike more than anything else in the world.

Making the Earn More Spend More Group Plan Work; Yearn for Your Goals 

How does this relate to the Earn More Spend More Group plan?  To make it work for you, you must set your goals every month for both earning and spending.  You must believe in these goals, and find a way to achieve them.  If you have had a long hard week, you must focus, anyway.  If a goal is real in your mind, you will find ways to achieve it — even when you are tired.  If a goal is not real, it will readily yield to fatigue and excuses.

Let me tell you a secret.  To really make it work for you, you must yearn for your goal.  If you want it as bad as Charles wanted his bike, there is no one on this planet who can stop you.

The Earn More Spend More Group plan is about setting goals, achieving them, and sharing your story with other members.  To turbocharge this plan, you must really want your goal – just like Charles wanted (or any kid wants) a new bike.

6 Months using the Earn More Spend More Group plan

(earning the minimum raise to be an active member)

Month one:  $100 earned….all discretionary or spending   money             

Month six:  $600 earned;  $100 spending, $500 banking money

To be an active Earn More Spend More Group member, one must have earned a raise of at least $100 in the previous month. Active members spend that $100 raise as discretionary income, to enjoy their raise and motivate themself to pursue future raises. No money is banked the first month, but by 6 months, the amount banked is becoming quite substantial.