MONEY Master the Game: 7 Simple Steps to Financial Freedom by Tony Robbins Page A

percentage that you get to determine. Whatever that number is, you’ve got to stick to it. In good times and bad. No matter what. Why? Because the laws of compounding punish even one missed contribution. Don’t think of it in terms of what you can afford to set aside—that’s a sure way to sell yourself short. And don’t put yourself in a position where you can suspend (or even invade) your savings if your income slows to a trickle some months and money is tight.
    What percentage works for you? Is it 10%? Or 15%? Maybe 20%? There’s no right answer here—only your answer. What does your gut tell you? What about your heart?
    If you’re looking for guidance on this, experts say you should plan to save at least a minimum of 10% of your income, although in today’s economy many agree 15% is a far better number, especially if you’re over the age of 40. (You’ll find out why in section 3!)
     
Can anybody remember when the times were not hard and money not scarce?
—RALPH WALDO EMERSON
    By now you might be saying, “This all sounds great in theory, Tony, but I’m spread thin enough as it is! Every penny is accounted for.” And you wouldn’t be alone. Most people don’t think they can afford to save. But frankly, we can’t afford not to save. Believe me, all of us can find that extra money if we really have to have it right now for a real emergency! The problem is in coming up with money for our future selves, because our future selves just don’t seem real. Which is why it’s still so hard to save even when we know that saving can make the difference between retiring comfortably in our own homes or dying broke with a tiny bit of financial support from the government.
    We’ve already learned how behavioral economists have studied the way we fool ourselves about money, and later in this chapter I’ll share some of the ways we can trick ourselves into doing the right thing automatically! But here’s the key to success: you have to make your savings automatic. As Burton Malkiel told me during our visit, “The best way to save is when you don’t see the money in the first place.” It’s true. Once you don’t even see that money coming in, you’ll be surprised how many ways you find to adjust your spending.
    In a few moments I’ll show you some great, easy ways to automate yoursavings so that the money gets redirected before it even reaches your wallet or your checking account. But first, let’s look at some real examples of people living from paycheck to paycheck who managed to save and build real wealth even when the odds were against them.
    DELIVERING MILLIONS
    Theodore Johnson, whose first job was with the newly formed United Parcel Service in 1924, worked hard and moved his way up in the company. He never made more than $14,000 a year, but here’s the magic formula: he set aside 20% of every paycheck he received and every Christmas bonus, and put it into company stock. He had a number in his head, a percentage of income he believed he needed to save for his family—just as you will by the end of this chapter—and he committed to it.
    Through stock splits and good old-fashioned patience, Theodore Johnson eventually saw the value of his UPS stock soar to over $70 million by the time he was 90 years old.
    Pretty incredible, don’t you think? And the most incredible part is that he wasn’t a gifted athlete like Mike Tyson or a brilliant director like Francis Ford Coppola—or even a lofty corporate executive. He ran the personnel department. But he understood the power of compounding at such an early age that it made a profound impact in his life—and, as it turned out, in the lives of countless others. He had a family to support, and monthly expenses to meet, but to Theodore Johnson, no bill in his mailbox was more important than the promise of his future. He always paid his Freedom Fund first.
    At the end of his life, Johnson was able to do some beautiful, meaningful things with all that money. He