Ever wish you were capable of something, thought of all the experts out there, and quickly lost faith in yourself? I know it happens to the best of us. But I also think that the only difference between those experts and our amateur selves is dedication and experience.

When a professional figure skater always falters in a footwork sequence, she keeps working and working until “always falters” becomes “never falters”. I grew up with skating lessons and dreams of the Olympics; I didn’t have the dedication to ever take me to the Olympics, obviously. I found myself practicing the footwork sequences that I could do best because I liked them, I looked good on the ice, and the moves were easier.

Most of us practice the things we’re good at, and we avoid what we’re not good at. We stick with what’s easy and comfortable. As a result, we’re forever average.

Richard Restake quoted in his book, The New Brain,
For the superior performer the goal isn’t just repeating the same thing again and again but achieving higher levels of control over every aspect of their performance. That’s why they don’t find practice boring. Each practice session they are working on doing something better than they did the last time.

What matters isn’t how long you work; it’s how well you work. Did you brush every tooth before bed? Is the math problem correct?

Thinking of all the things we want to be great at is easy. You could probably ramble off a handful right now. What are they?

Then the depressing part… how are you working toward becoming an expert at these things? Sometimes, amateur skill is enough. We’re content where we are. We could make lists and lists of goals, yet when it comes down to doing the things that count, we change our minds or forget.

Block the obstacles in your mind. A local business man sells worldwide tours through the internet. He told me, “If I had known the competition out there, I probably wouldn’t have had the nerve to try this business.” He went from amateur business man to a booming expert, and he’s dedicated to keep working toward his goals of furthering his business. He’s become the expert.

The path toward financial freedom requires some pretty heavy planning. Todd and I seldom divulge much about our personal lives, yet with the decisions that my husband and I have been making, I feel like readers could benefit from some of the ideas we’ve been implementing. As a bonus, Todd can’t argue, “You didn’t tell me that!”

Our idea of money freedom requires:
• Setting goals
• Creating behaviors
• Discussing our plans, progress, and reasons for working so hard

1. Setting goals

The most important factor is that my husband (age 27) and I (age 24) hold the same idea about money. I’ve often read that wealthy men become wealthy through two positive attributes: their spending habits and the even more frugal spending habits of their wives. Am I trying to boost my ego as a wife? No—but I think that we all want to splurge sometimes. You need someone who can remind you that you don’t need that pair of shoes or new computer right now. A spouse with common goals will discourage bad habits and unnecessary desires. Meanwhile, a spouse who acts nonchalant or encourages abundant spending habits could quickly spell disaster.

My husband and I go to coffee shops to compile our thoughts on work, school, and schedules. We love the youthful environment. My husband announced his resignation at work; detailed ideas of how we’re going to financially support ourselves and our projects without his income are crucial. We’re heading to the coffee shop more often now. Can’t believe I’m going to be the breadwinner for a little while!

Record your finance goals and keep them updated. We update an excel template every month to show our net worth. You need to see where your money is going, areas that are growing, and roughly how much money you need to cover yourself. When one of our rental properties is vacant, we have to cover all those expenses—utilities, mortgage, insurance, taxes—until the property generates income again.

Track your long-term goals. I made a progress chart for us to color each $10,000 growth mark to $1 million like those United Way boards. Every so often, we can fill in another tick when we know it’s stable. Beside our chart is an estimate of how much our net worth needs to grow every six months to keep in target with our final goals. Your estimates will never be exact, though you build something to dream off of.

2. Creating behaviors

I’m surprised at how easy it has been for us to get into some great habits—biking as much as possible instead of driving. My husband even has studded bike tires for his winter commutes; he’s pushing it more than most of us could handle, yet this savings means we don’t need two cars.

The easiest behaviors to change (the ones I prefer most) are the ones you can do once and not look back, like electric bills. Even though we rent a house, my husband replaced the thermostat with a programmable thermostat. We switched to energy efficient light bulbs. When our lease ends, we’re taking our energy efficient items with us to save at our next home. Doesn’t it make sense to cut back on the things you don’t need/use anyway?

Other temptations, however, aren’t so easy to forego—especially eating out when we don’t want to cook or managing our unproductive time during the weekends. No one is ever perfect, and it’s so easy to see how other people aren’t perfect. The hard part is recognizing bad (i.e. expensive) habits that we have and transforming them. You’ve probably heard of the latte factor, which is a great thing to cut, of course… but what if you don’t have a latte factor habit that you know of? Again, a spouse will let you know… unless he holds the same habits.

3. Discussing plans, progress, and reasons for working so hard

My husband and I work seven days a week, five for someone else and two for ourselves. A quarter of our income transfers hands to another person working on our real estate development. Gaining financial freedom is a process. Quitting would be so easy! For that reason, we constantly talk about our plans and ideas. Don’t put your goals in a time capsule to pull out in ten years and say, “Well, looks like we didn’t quite meet our goal, honey.” We’ve got reminders everywhere in the house… short of the bathrooms, I guess. And the reminders are working.

Either you love what you are doing or you don’t. So where’s the opportunity to land what you really want?

Our parents raised us to think, “Where’s the opportunity?” But with the skill set that you have, you shouldn’t be shifting to hot industries that don’t interest you. Focus on what you really are. I wonder how many of those dotcoms that survived did so because the founders’ goal wasn’t only the quick buck; they had passion for the work they did. The opportunity already lies within you. The challenge, of course, is finding that ability and fostering it.

Focus on qualities that you already have

I think that the opportunity is right here. Instead of focusing on what’s next in your life, try thinking about what you have right now. What avenue of your life do people come to you for help and advice? I think that you can find a niche here.

My good friend dislikes his job and doesn’t find his situation fulfilling. (I think we can all relate.) He started to think about how he’d really prefer to spend his time creating wealth. He’s taken his skill set of electronic know-how to other people to present his ideas, and now his thoughts are fostering into a business plan. The opportunity is already within him. His specific target has shifted at least a dozen times, and he’s made some mistakes along the way. Yet each shift seems to make him happier.

Happiness is what counts. People don’t win at business because they hate what they do. People make money when they engage themselves and create a service/product that engages hearts and minds of their clients.

Shift your focus to where you want to be

If you can shift your focus from what you have to do to what you really want to do, I think you’ll find a spark within yourself. You’ll be the envy of your friends. How many of them love what they do? Doing only something that you hate is ridiculous in today’s society. No one is requiring you to be a 10th generation blacksmith. You have the opportunity to choose your career, and more importantly, the opportunity to choose your purpose.

See yourself changing… in the wrong direction?

Before I started working from 9 to 5, I recall being more enjoyable person. Have you noticed a negative transformation in yourself that accompanies your dream to liftoff? That “real world experience” hoopla is important. But how much of it?

Some experts say that a successful startup needs $10,000 to get off of the ground. So should you and I start pushing ourselves a little harder so that we can fund our ideas? You know, pay our dues?

Gaining the financial ability to walk away from our current situation seldom results in walking away. Like I said, work changes you. Money changes you even more. You’ll become so attached to the situation that you realize the sacrifices of starting your dream aren’t worth it. You don’t want to dump that security. Living on less is scary.

You have to find a balance between escaping the situation you’re in and doing what you love. Are you devoting yourself to the greatest good of all? Of yourself? Your vision of becoming something more can drive you to work harder. The drive won’t give you the vision, though. Focus on what you want to be.

You can’t achieve anything if you’re just standing still.

Along with food and clothing, shelter is an absolute requirement for human survival. And you’re going to reach a point where renting an apartment doesn’t suit you. You want something you can claim as your own. Home ownership is the American Dream! But where do you start?

Decide what you want

Your first house isn’t your dream house, so don’t expect to find something as nice as the house you grew up in. People rarely live in the same house for the rest of their lives any more. I think that your first house is a starter house. It’s modest.

Your greatest asset isn’t your money right now; time is. Use that sweat equity to remove those metal cabinets from 1970, paint the place, and save the yard.

When we went house hunting last year, my husband led me into a house. I looked around and almost died–the place smelled like cat pee. The walls and carpets looked disgusting, and in our case, we didn’t have to remove the antiquated cabinets. The previous owner already did!

Imagine what you would want for the next three or four years: number of bedrooms, yard, general location. You can upgrade to a newer, more expensive house in a few years. I think that the first goal is to get a house.

Set a budget

The coolest things about buying a house are:

Leverage means that you get to use someone else’s money to invest. The goal is to sell your first house for more than you bought it. To determine your purchase budget, use the standard mortgage formula, the 20/28/36 rule:

A lender will offer you more leverage: don’t take it. We all like to think that we can get by for a year without an entertainment budget or new clothes and household goods. But we can’t. What’s the point of a great new house if all you can do is sit around in it with no money because all of your money goes to your monthly mortgage payments?

The second cool thing about home ownership is the tax advantage. The interest you pay on a mortgage is tax-deductible. You can claim a deduction for your property tax. And after you’ve lived in your house for two years, you can defer the capital-gains tax if you buy another house worth at least the same amount of money. Keep track of all home improvement expenses like cabinets because you can use them to reduce your capital-gains upon sale. How cool is all that? Plus you get to pick the colors of your walls when you own the house.

Find someone to help you

Get in touch with a local real estate agency. From what I’ve seen, “For Sale By Owner” tends to mean “over-priced and under-experienced”; I’d keep clear. You want to find an agent who represents you. He will be the guy that shows you houses around town. Do NOT contact the agent selling a particular house and ask to see it; she can’t help but have a priority other than your personal needs. If she can convince you to buy a falling apart, over-priced place, I hate to say it, but she might! She gets her percentage off the top of the sale.

Yes, the agent that represents you might be tempted to do the same, but I have three theories to prevent this scenario:

1. Hire the dumb guy. The top agents want to make money from the top houses. You’re more of a hassle with your small budget. But the dumb guy? He’s not making as many sales. He wants to work for you (especially if he knows you want to upgrade in a few years and will need someone to sell your house and take you out to find a new house). Yet the greatest reason for hiring the dumb guy? He’ll have the inside story on everything. He’s made it to where he is through his people skills. Other agents don’t take him as a serious threat; they look at him as a friendly guy. He’s the one to share a beer with. He’ll joke about beating up cops. Other agents tell him anything. Sure, his words might embarrass the heck out of you. Yet your agent could be the one who accidentally took the key to the new house with him on vacation, so no one else could view your prospective house. Other agents will just laugh at his slip. What a silly guy! Then they might give him some hot tips because “what’s he gonna do?”

2. Make him work for the money. Ask to see gobs of houses. (Make sure he is a member of the local Multiple Listing Service, “MLS”, where other salespeople list their properties.) Get the statistics on houses from him. A tycoon once told me, “Get on them, and get on them often.” It’s true. Call for new listings. Call for information. Heck, keep calling.

3. Don’t YOU be the dumb guy. A lot of people get pushed around by real estate agents because people don’t know any better. Why let the agent pick where you’re going to live, though? First know how to interpet property descriptions. I’ve written about how disgusting homes suddenly sound “charming” or “cozy”. Know the market. A local broker posts information online. I get e-mail updates of houses in my price range even though I’m not his client. Know about the local economy. Your goal is to know enough about the housing market that when you find the house you want, you know exactly how much its worth. The asking price will be merely the seller’s perspective. You bid what you know is right. The best ways to learn? Read the paper, check out many houses, and see what’s selling and what’s not.

Examine the house

Don’t be afraid to take a flashlight with you on house tours. Poke into the crawlspace. Shimmy into the attic. You’ll find it hard to examine a house beyond the stains in the carpet or the broken light fixtures and cute doll collection. Those things can be changed. In fact, their furniture won’t be your furniture, so don’t waste your time looking there. You can fix almost anything. But you can’t fix the actual structure. Is the add-on sagging? Do you see huge cracks in the foundation? How’s the roof–a horrendously expensive repair if you find troubles.

Hire a home inspector to take a look. He’ll test every plug in the house and present a detailed report of every flaw. The inspector we hired even included photos of a ripped screen window. Most people stop at the report. Don’t! You’re paying your home inspector upwards of a week’s salary at our age. Talk to him. Ask him about crucial areas that he has noted, thing he doesn’t see as a problem, and most importantly, how much repairs will cost.

Now I jumped the gun a wee bit here. Before you can hire a home inspector, you have to put a bid on the house. A bid is pretty self-explanatory. Your elated agent will walk you through the process. The cool thing? Your home inspector found something bad about the house. Repairs will cost thousands.

What do you do? Ask for a reduction in your bid. The inspection resulted in a loss of value to you. The seller might try to haggle a little. Though the truth is that this problem is going to decrease any prospective buyer’s interest and price. Nothing is cooler than getting the house AND getting a chunk of the price knocked off, especially if you can do the major repair yourself for less.

1. A degree doesn’t mean you deserve the job

The unfortunate truth is that while you were busting you butt to learn anthropology, science, and statistics, many of your peers were getting jobs. A degree will help land you the interview. But a few years of work experience will probably land the other guy the job.

The textbook rules I learned in my human resources course are nothing like the procedures of most businesses. In fact, most businesses don’t have written procedures. School is nothing like the working world. No one at work revolves around you. In fact, you’ll find that success means you have to revolve around them (and it’ll drive you crazy!).

Your job won’t be glamorous.

My poor cousin dreamed of saving dolphins and marine life, so she went into environmental engineering. She was hired by a huge engineering firm that specializes in treatment plants. Can you imagine being the low man on that totem pole? Talk about the s_its! All she wanted to do was save animals.

But just because she earned the degree doesn’t mean she–or you–is entitled to a corner office with a huge salary, a month of vacation, or an amazing retirement plan. Work hard, and you’ll eventually earn those positions. The problem is that most of us college grads walk in with a sense of entitlement. Some day my cousin might be able to land her dream position, and you will, too. Just know that no one will hand that opportunity to you on a silver plate.

How many people do you know that are getting degrees at the same time as you? How many people are getting degrees at your school this year? Now how many new college grads are there entering this country’s workforce along with you?

You’ve got to prove why your lack of work experience makes you better than (a) everyone who didn’t go to college and (b) everyone else who did go to college. Why should an employer pull your name from the hat?

For me, the edge came from one thing: my senate internship in Washington D.C.. Know your edge over the competition, and push it.

The experiences have to set you apart. Working at summer camp is a blast, but if you’re not going seeking a profession with children, you’ve got to reach a point of saying goodbye to summer camp. Do internships, make contacts, and try different things. What makes you stand above the line of other applicants?

2. Make it a job you love

Many people develop a professional skill set by accident. Art students run pet shops. Women’s studies majors become construction management experts. I think it’s pretty hard for anyone to know exactly where he/she is going to end up. And the people who know from age twelve that becoming a doctor is the perfect profession often find themselves hating their work. After all, a 12-year-old chose their career.

So now you’re walking from that stage with a diploma. Where do you go? My dad always told me,
Katie, make sure your first job is one of two things: something that interests the heck out of ya or something that provides the stepping stones for the career direction that you want to pursue.

I didn’t take his advice, of course. My first job looked like a dream to most people with some great perks–four days a week, flexible hours, discounted international travel… The job didn’t strike me as fascinating, and it certainly had nothing to do with my self-vision twenty years from now. But I pushed to land the job. I nailed all three interviews and won the job over 300 other candidates. I felt so proud… I also felt so miserable.

You have to find a job that you love… or at least like enough to give your best. A full time job is nothing like school or a summer job. Every day for eight hours a day is a lot. It wears you out. And your boss isn’t going to let you leave early to go camping with your buddies.

Don’t pick a job because it’s secure, because you’re parents think it’s great, or because you’re afraid you won’t find another job. You’ll hate getting up. You’ll hate working. And worse of all, you’ll ruin your spirit. You won’t want to do anything but mope during the evening.

3. Make a million dollar money plan

The worse part of life after graduation is all of the bills. You can’t stay on your parents’ insurance, student loans have to be paid, and you’ve got expenses like garbage pickup that you didn’t even know existed. Your friends will be trading in their cars, buying new furniture and houses, eating out more, and spending gobs of money. Live as frugally as you can. And remember this:

if you want to make a million dollars, you have to put in a million dollars worth of work

Life is only going to get more expense as you grow older, so you need to have a plan. Do you want to work six years or 60? Most people chose to work sixty, relatively easy and relaxed years. They’ll patiently work for vacation days and save until they can retire.
You, however, are reading Aridni, which leads me to believe that you’re willing to work like crazy for six years. You’ll give up your weekends, evenings out, and most free time today. You’ll probably collapse into bed most nights. But isn’t it better than 60 slow years? When I work weekends on my own projects, I often want to quit because I feel so tired. Then I think, “If I want to make a million dollars, I have to put in…”

You don’t need to update your net worth every month. But if you really want out of that rat race soon (and believe me, once you enter that race, you’ll probably want to leap out as soon as you can), figure out what money means to you. What do you want money for? Who do you want money for? And what do you want with your time?

4. Think about today.

My last tip is something that I try to ask myself every day:

What can I do better tomorrow to reach my goals that I learned from today?

When people have to cut a few bucks on their construction budget, the number one answer is always the same: spend less on the exterior.

I’m not only talking about crappy landscaping jobs. I’m talking about the money invested into the building itself. Cheaper bricks, stucco spaces as shortcuts, fake brick and stones, vinyl siding… the list goes on, and the appearance shows.

Curb appeal has huge influence. If two accounting firms build side-by-side, my guess is that more potential clients will walk into the more attractive building. It’s human nature; we like nice stuff!

Have you ever seen a real estate advertisement that only shows the picture of a lobby? There’s a reason the image is the storefront.

Drive through new commercial areas, and you can see what I mean. Sure some business types don’t need an elaborate exterior. But would you go to a homebuilder who works from a shack and ask him to build your dream home?

The companies that invest an additional $5,000 to the exterior of their buildings will increase their mortgage around $14.00/month in a 30 year loan. If you’re the more attractive accounting firm, I wonder how much extra business your exterior attracts. More than $14.00/month?

Either way, the resale value is much higher.

Now think in terms of your own home. Click here for a potentially useful site that really shows how much a bit of fresh paint and other outdoor details can spice your place up. Don’t forget landscaping. This summer, Money magazine reported that attractive landscaping can allow you to recover 100 to 200 percent of your investment when you sell.