Several people have asked me about the greyhound we bought our daughter Emma for her birthday – and basically she (the dog, not Emma) is a racer, kept in kennels and we have done a fabulous financial deal (too long to go into here) where she is effectively paid for and we get a free racing puppy at the end. We also have the potential upside of her winnings – which look promising as she has won all her trial races to date.
In addition to her costs being covered, we also get free entrance to the local track as owners – where we can go as a family and have fun.
So I was explaining this deal in detail to my dearest friend Nicola (Cairncross) and she laughed at the thought that everything we do in our house has a financial implication and kick back. So in this case, we get something for nothing at the end of the day plus we get a free hobby for a couple of years to enjoy as a family, and Nicola made me realise that I have always done this ‘combining’ in my life, which has resulted in more money.
When I first started out my working life I had a normal day job, but in the evenings I always worked in pubs, or leisure clubs – because that way I got my social life for free. People bought me drinks; somebody would always take me out for a meal afterwards; I had plenty of friends – and the pub or club normally paid for my taxi home. By living like that for a year – basically having the time of my life – I managed to save my entire years salary from the day job – which I put down as a substantial deposit on my first house when I was 19.
I realise now that many things have contributed to my financial well being during my life – but this life+money combining has always served me well. Sadly most people don’t do this because they have a negative feeling about money which means that they deliberately separate off their financial life from everything else – so that they ‘feel’ better.
Its one of those chicken and egg situations: they separate off their money, so it then becomes alien and so they don’t make money because finances are alien – shame.
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