Winner winner, chicken dinner

I love when people tell me stories of their financial successes. I especially love the stories when people make great financial decisions. In the last week I have heard two great stories from two great clients.

Client #1. Let's call him Tim. Tim is one of the hardest working people I know. He has to constantly adjust his business model based on his industry's regulations. He is semi-retired, and has quite a bit of financial discipline. He asked me to dinner the other night to talk. I could tell something was on his mind. He was excited/nervous all night. He made sure we had a glass of wine on the table before he made a toast. He announced to me that he had just paid off his home. I feel hard pressed to find a time in my life where I have seen such pride on a man's face. He had paid off his 30 year mortgage in 18 years. I honestly had never even imagined paying off my mortgage. It seems so far out from now. Now if Tim plays his cards right, his financial life will benefit from this event for the rest of his life. Way to go Tim.

Client #2. Let's call him Barney. Barney is a young guy with a wife and two kids. He is a great client who has somehow been able to balance saving for retirement, college, and his other financial goals. He told me the other day that he had gotten a "compensation increase". I asked him if he meant "a raise". And he said, yes. I asked him what he was going to do with the extra money, and he went on to tell me that he already adjusted his 401k contributions to equal his raise. He didn't even let his pay check go up. He immediately made sure that he made the most of his "compensation increase". Way to go Barney.

Do you want to share a recent success? Post it in the comments. You need to take time to relish your financial successes; it encourages you to create more of them.