HOW TO MULTIPLY YOUR FINANCIAL STRENGTH
Do you feel hopeful where your money is concerned? Or does it seem like your home finances are running wild and there’s nothing you can do?
If you’ve tried to prosper in your home, but it feels like you’re taking one step forward and two steps back, here’s a solution.
You need a force multiplier—a way to increase the strength of what you’re doing as you try to advance in your prospering home.
What Is a Force Multiplier?
A force multiplier is a device that reduces the amount of force necessary to move an object. The simplest force multiplier is a lever. I could try to lift a thousand pounds by myself, or I could use some kind of tool that makes it possible for me to lift a thousand pounds easily.
In this context, the heavy object we’re trying to move is our financial success in the home. Whatever you are hoping to succeed in—getting out of debt, building retirement or savings, or leaving an inheritance for your children—a force multiplier will increase your natural strength and enable you to move forward more easily.
16 Ways to Change Your Home Finances
My force multiplier is a tool I call a 4x4 Sweep. Much like a truck with four-wheel drive, this tool is designed to help you get over the obstacles set in your path. It’s a system of thinking that allows you to approach your financial goals from multiple angles.
To understand this tool visually, picture a 2-columned table drawn on a piece of paper made up of 4 squares. Each square represents 1 of the 4 areas (or quadrants) where we’re applying our force multiplier:
Spending: the outgo or “leak” in our financial bucket (how we live, give, and save)
Income: the inflowing stream from our economic motors (active, passive, and value)
Assets: what we own
Debt: what we owe
Here’s how the 4x4 Sweep works.
We look at each of these 4 quadrants—spending, income, assets, debt—and write down 4 ideas under each of how we’d like to increase or decrease the money flow in that area. This will give us 16 very specific, tactical ideas on how to strengthen our home economies.
Here are a few examples of what this could look like for a person’s home. Keep in mind these are just suggestions and are hardly a comprehensive list:
Ideas for Decreasing Your Spending
Use coupons whenever possible - keep an eye out for discounts; avoid paying full price.
Cancel a subscription - see if there are any streaming services you no longer use.
Say “no” to purchases you don’t really need - ask yourself, “Do I really need this?” before buying.
Make your own meals at home - save money by dining in, not out.
Ideas for Increasing Your Income
Work extra hours if you’re an hourly worker - don’t be afraid to onboard some extra hours, even if just for a temporary season.
Sell something online - see if there are any clothes, appliances, or other assets you can sell online.
Explore programs/courses that can build up your resume - find ways to increase your skills/knowledge.
Add a new passive income stream - this can be as simple as opening up a savings account that earns interest, or creating a book or e-course to sell.
Ideas for Increasing Your Assets
Save $25 (or another amount) every week in your savings account - this is a great way to build up your savings and protect yourself from unexpected events.
Start an IRA and put money away for retirement - set aside a small amount of cash each pay day to build a nest egg.
Start a blog or write a book - think up ways to market your intellectual property.
Wash your car - maintain the assets you already have.
Ideas for Decreasing Your Debt
Calculate a debt grinder - build a plan for reducing debt.
Boost your principal payment on at least one of your credit card balances - maximize your payments so interest charges don’t add up.
Run a free credit report to see how you’re doing - many free services will trade you a reliable score in exchange for an email.
Use cash instead of credit when making a purchase - it is statistically proven that people will pay less for an item or service when they use cash.
How This All Works
It’s okay for the ideas you jot down to be rough in the beginning; it’s also okay for them to be simple.
Brainstorm some ways you can lower your spending, increase your income, harness your assets, and decrease debt. Search online. Chat about different ideas with your friends and family. This is the kind of research masters of money do when protecting their homes.
In the coming months, execute everything on your list. Revise any items that need to be revised, and execute this list a second time. Travel around each “square” again and again. When all 4 quadrants are working, this force multiplier will add power to your finances.
If you want to hear more about increasing the finances in your home, check out my Prosperous Home Master Course.
