Now it’s time for a budget! The first things you won’t be able to afford are: holidays, clothes and beer (bring on the homebrew) – and once a month you’ll be able to splash out and dine at La Porchetta.

Screw that!

This is where most personal finance gurus lose me. Go to a bookstore, flick through money management books and you’ll see they all follow the same path: go on a (severe) budget, stop spending, and invest for a rainy day.

Who the hell wants to do that?

The Anti-Budget

Few of these gurus talk about the alternative: Earn. More. Money. Now.

The idea isn’t simply to increase your income, but to turbocharge your resolve – amping up your motivation so that you’ll get off the treadmill, sidestep the rat race, and finally commit to your goals.

I’ve coached thousands of people and I’ve found that it isn’t until you make this decision, to do whatever it takes to become financially free, that sustained change happens.

Here’s a range of actions that other people who’ve been in your shoes have taken:

• Sold stuff they don’t use on eBay (and some stuff they did)
• Delivered pizza at night till their credit card was paid in full
• Started a small internet side business to get another form of income
• Talked to their boss about getting a raise (Barefoot rule: ‘Don’t ask, don’t get’)
• Became conscious of every dollar they spent (not in penny-pinching way, just being aware of how easy it is to spend it on crap)