These pictures are from my first powerlifting competition. While I’m training, people have asked if I’m juicing. In other words, people will ask if I’m taking steroids. They’re waiting to hear how I cheated, took short cuts, etc. because I weigh 187 pounds. They’re shocked when I say no. They don’t see the discipline when it comes to my lifting routine and my meals. They don’t see what’s behind closed doors or all the literal sweat I’ve put into it. Thankfully no blood was spilled, but there might’ve been a few tears from time to time over the last ten years of lifting. Some of those years weren’t great, I didn’t know then what I know now.
My weightlifting journey has a lot of similarities with my finances. My wife and I owe roughly $61,000 on our home. That’s the only debt we have left to our name. We have worked long hard hours while raising a family, even just starting a family. As of this month, we are 4 years into this journey, and we started at a little over $201,000 in debt. People ask how we do it, and one of things we tell them is we stick to a budget. They’re shocked. They’re expecting to hear money was given to us or hear some magic bullet trick. Here is the thing. We did tell them the magic trick. It’s just not the one they wanted to hear. Some keys are discipline and commitment to the long haul when it comes to financial freedom.
So now that the trick is out of the bag, what are you going to do? Are you going to stick with it day in and day out? Even when it gets hard? Are you going to believe the lie rather than the truth?
There is no magic bullet, and you definitely can’t juice your budget with steroids. Roll up your sleeves. Commit. Stay disciplined even when it gets rough. It’ll require some blood, sweat and tears. What you really want is on the other side of it all.
Here to serve,
-Tyler Plageman
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