Merriam-Webster defines margin as “a spare amount or measure or degree allowed or given for contingencies or special situations.”
In layman’s terms, margin is the space outside the chaos. It’s spare time and resources. It enables us to slow down, focus on the present, and observe the world around us. But it has been seemingly lost in the fast-paced, high-pressure, little-to-no-rest world we operate in, leaving people checked-out, burned-out, and mentally and emotionally exhausted.
Margin feels elusive, especially when you see what is considered one of the wealthiest nations in the history of the world with its 331 million people who in large part do not represent this status. Many Americans look good on the surface, but their lack of margin paints an entirely different picture. The proliferation of social platforms, in my opinion, has exacerbated this issue in pushing people into a constant state of discontentment that then fuels spending, debt, lower savings rates, and ultimately less security. I know that money is a taboo topic to talk about, but I believe that’s mainly because you and I learned to figure it out on our own with little guidance from schools and little communication around how we should handle our money. Let me explain further.
Nearly 80% of the population is currently living paycheck to paycheck. Yes, that’s almost 265 million people, based on the estimated population.
Not all people live paycheck to paycheck or hand to mouth, but when you look at the savings rate hitting a low of 2.2% in July 2005 to just 7.6% in January 2020 (pre-pandemic), there’s no surprise as to why that would be the case. Although we have improved our ability to save since the last recession, we are still in a predicament with over 60% (199 million) of Americans unable to cover a $1,000.00 emergency without going into debt. 44% (146 million) could not cover a $400.00 emergency. The appearance of wealth is just that: an appearance. With over ⅓ of people experiencing a crisis of this caliber in the last year, the statistics are concerning. I might add that the likelihood of an occurrence like this has increased significantly with the recent layoffs, furloughs, natural disasters, and health emergencies of the past year. You see more and more people finance their emergencies with debt, therefore enacting a compound effect in a negative direction. You can’t climb out of a hole by digging, but often this is exactly what we see Americans do; they are enacting a personal bailout funded by debt for which they’re on the hook. Personal loans, home equity lines of credit (HELOC’s), cash-out refinances, balance transfers on credit cards, pummeling retirement savings, and the like push people further into the trap of life-long debt obligations. Although building margin will not necessarily prevent the emergency, it will allow for you to better focus on the problem with a clear mind and proper decision-making when it does occur.
So with this reality check, why [Margin]? Why not simply lecture on personal finance?
Personal finances are just that: personal. Everyone has their preconceived ideas about money and their finances, but money isn’t the issue. What money provides is ultimately what people are looking for, which is options. People relate emotional ties (positive or negative) to money, but money is just the fiat currency that people have agreed upon. We have these preconceived ideas about money being good or bad, but money is just a tool; it is neither moral nor immoral. More of it makes you more of what you already are. That’s why I decided to focus on the heart of the matter, which is the need for [Margin].
There is a quote by Howard Thurman that says, “Don’t ask yourself what the world needs, ask yourself what makes you come alive, and then go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” I am passionate about helping people build margin in life. For years now, I’ve met with people on an individual level to help them figure out where they are, as well as how to build a plan for their spending, streamline expenses, increase income, and ultimately align their life vision to their goals by automating their finances. I soon realized that it was unsustainable for me to spend all of this time at an individual level, so I created [Margin].
I have structured [Margin] to have weekly themes to provide short, succinct daily content on building financial margin in life. Over time, I plan to add a deep dive of sorts to help a reader work through their specific situations. Each month, there will be an overarching action item to address one of the key areas of your financial journey. The purpose of this action item is to build not only consistency of growth but develop your rhetoric for the “why” behind building margin in your own life. You win at what you focus on, and I believe that this strategic approach will add tremendous value in us charting this territory together.
Most of us review what’s called “lag indicators” of our finances, telling us how we did. These indicators answer questions like, “Did we spend our resources on what we needed to?” or “How much income came in?” However, “lead indicators” focus on the action steps to produce a particular outcome. Both are important, and both will ultimately enable you to have consistent accountability in your journey to build [Margin]. Although the topic of money is often “off-limits,” addressing your finances in this way (on an individual level) will make a huge difference, even if you keep your progress to yourself.
My methodology for personal finance is simple:
- Establish what you’re aiming at or the vision for your life. What do you want to accomplish, what do you want your lifestyle to look like, and who do you want surrounding you?
- Back that vision into goals or benchmarks. This step will allow you to evaluate your current lifestyle regarding those benchmarks, leading you to be more intentional in reviewing where money is coming from and where it’s going. This analysis will allow you to make adjustments in the areas that are mainly out of sight and out of mind. You then remove the areas that don’t make a great deal of a difference in your quality of life, which lessens your overhead.
- Intentional spending will reduce your burden, increase your savings and investing, and ultimately prevent you from mortgaging your future and moving you away from the vision you’ve set forth.
Creating [Margin] is not a diet; it’s a lifestyle plan to help you avoid looking at the temporal and simply doing what is satisfying without seeing the long-term ramifications of those decisions. Once you become holistic in your viewpoint of finances as a resource that feeds into your life’s vision, you will realize the importance of being future-minded. Your legacy depends on it!
(This methodology will be outlined in actionable steps.)
