($) Money’s too tight to mention ($)

What’s that you say? You can’t afford to save money? Your bills drain every last penny from your bank account every month?

Who controls those bills, those annoying debit orders? No, it isn’t your bank manager. Or your creditors.

Try again.

The bills are the result of previous decisions you made. Now it’s time to make fresh decisions.

Save a budgeted amount every month before you are tempted to spend that money on new shoes. AND manually transfer anything that’s left over after the ESSENTIAL bills have been paid.

This is where your attitude towards money is so important. You need to shift your focus, to see saving as a thing in itself, a goal to be achieved, rather than a byproduct of your income less your expenses.

So let’s adjust this equation. Let’s agree that Income – savings = expenses.

($)

Stop living from salary to salary. Achieve Financial Independence. Retire Early. Join the FIRE movement igniting the world.

Follow these weekly posts for solid advice on how to escape the rat race, covering material contained in Hard Money.

No obligation, no pressure – ever.

This is no get-rich-quick scheme. It won’t be easy. That’s why it’s called Hard Money.

Work while they sleep. Learn while they party. Save while they spend. Then live like they dream.

If you have a book you’d like to publish, chat to me to claim your 15 minutes of bestselling fame at No.1 on Amazon.

Anyone in Johannesburg who would like a signed copy (of any of my books) can have one delivered to their door by Big Bad Wolf Motorcycle Maniac Deliveries. No charge for delivery.

Also available at Inner Journeys in Edenvale.

♠ Wired for sound ♠

“Have you got any other wires on you?” Connor shook the girl.

No answer.

“Do you have any other wires?”

Gertie stared at him wide-eyed and whimpered a little.

“Answer. Quickly. I don’t have a problem strip-searching you, but if you don’t answer soon, that police patrol will be back here and blow both of our brains out.”

“The Drop will protect me. You’ll go to hell.” Gertie’s eyes were full of tears, but she held firm.

“Close enough.” He grabbed her by the arm and yanked her down a side street, as the sound of confused shouting and badly-maintained vehicles came from the direction of the police patrol.

Gertie resisted, tried to break free of his grasp, but Connor held firm.

“You’re coming with me. I’ve had enough of this shit.” Connor gritted his teeth.

“No!” Gertie yelled. Screamed. “Justin! Save me!”

Connor carried on. Just a block to go, get on the bike, take this crazy to Lanseria. Stow aboard. Get out of this toilet the city had become.

“Shut up!” Connor dragged the girl down an alley and across the next street.

“You can’t take me to that plane,” Gertie pleaded. “They’ll kill me.”

“You’re going to get us both killed if you don’t be quiet.”

Gertie tried to escape. Connor’s grip was too tight. She pulled away but there was no way Connor was letting her go.

“Yes!” The alley where he had stowed the bike. The police would be searching house to house down 4^th Avenue. Connor congratulated himself for leaving the bike off 5^th.

There was no light in the alley, except for the quarter moon above. Perfect. Darkness was the friend of the escapee.

They went around the burnt-out car.

“What? Where the fuck is my bike?”

⛥

Read Big Day Out in weekly installments on FaceBook or WordPress. Receive notifications via Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, GoodReads, or Amazon, where you’ll find the whole mad mercenary romp through the dystopian nightmare that Covid-19 might have become. Might still become, if we don’t keep our self-appointed leaders on a very short leash.

Download FREE sampler previews of all my books – and some complete short stories – from PCloud at www.bit.ly/FreeBurning. Or read them on Kindle Unlimited.

No charge. No obligation. No sign-in. Read for free. Share with your friends.

Anyone in Johannesburg who would like a signed copy (of any of my books) can have one delivered to their door by Big Bad Wolf Motorcycle Maniac Deliveries. No charge for delivery.

Also available at Inner Journeys in Edenvale.

⛥

For a different experience, listen to these weekly episodes as Spotify podcasts, Apple podcasts, or Google podcasts.

⛥

If you have a book you’d like to publish, contact me to claim your 15 minutes of bestselling fame at No.1 on Amazon. Find all the above details and links at www.amazon.com/author/burning.

In case you missed the link while listening to the podcast, that’s www.amazon.com/author/burning.

⛥

Cheers.

($) Save us ($)

Income – expenses = surplus/ (shortfall)

Simple enough, right? If you spend less than you earn, you will have cash left over. If you spend more than you earn, you will have a shortfall.

You may have noticed that I did NOT say, “if you earn more than you spend.” Spending less and earning more are NOT the same thing. This is an important distinction, critical to your new attitude.

Now that you have taken the decision to improve your financial situation, this is the next major shift in the way you look at money. Take a moment to digest this point. Don’t carry on reading until you’ve grasped the subtle but vital distinction between those two statements.

DO NOT focus on trying to earn more than you spend. Get that idea out of your head. Your goal should be to spend less than you earn.

We’ll revisit this in Chapter 9.

Happy with this first equation? Makes sense, right?

Okay, now let’s turn that concept upside down and adjust your attitude again.

Pay yourself first.

Save BEFORE you pay the bills.

Save as much as you can. Every month. Set up a debit order that runs just after you receive your salary, moving money into your savings account. You won’t notice this money was there, and you won’t miss it.

($)

Stop living from salary to salary. Achieve Financial Independence. Retire Early. Join the FIRE movement igniting the world.

Follow these weekly posts for solid advice on how to escape the rat race, covering material contained in Hard Money.

No obligation, no pressure – ever.

This is no get-rich-quick scheme. It won’t be easy. That’s why it’s called Hard Money.

Work while they sleep. Learn while they party. Save while they spend. Then live like they dream.

If you have a book you’d like to publish, chat to me to claim your 15 minutes of bestselling fame at No.1 on Amazon.

Anyone in Johannesburg who would like a signed copy (of any of my books) can have one delivered to their door by Big Bad Wolf Motorcycle Maniac Deliveries. No charge for delivery.

Also available at Inner Journeys in Edenvale.

♠ Revolution ♠

This was Connor’s cue to leap across the rooftop, wrap his arms around Gertie, and carry her with him over the wall, onto the sloping steel roof, and thence to the ground. Fortunately, behind the crossbow-wielding new arrivals.

Fortunate for Connor. Not for the new arrivals. Trapped in a crossfire for the few seconds it took Vihaan to run out of ammo and die – not necessarily in that order – the new boys jerked and jumped in a freakish dance that would have made Michael Jackson green with envy.

Then it was quiet. No shots rang out. Nobody screamed. The only sound Connor heard was his own laboured breathing. Had he been hit? Had he broken anything in the fall, trying to shield the girl from the worst of it? Or was he just getting old?

Gertie was out cold. Hopefully still alive. He had to work fast. Weapon holstered, he picked the girl off the ground and was about to toss her into a fireman’s hold when he noticed her Alice band. It had been knocked loose during the fall, and had broken against the concrete driveway. A loose wire sparked in the twilight.

He shook his head. Amateurs. Gertie had been broadcasting their position all along.

Connor knew the consequences of the gunshots. Only two types of people carried guns in a city on lockdown. The police and terrorists. Connor was pretty sure he didn’t fall into either category. Three types, then.

⛥

Read Big Day Out in weekly installments on FaceBook or WordPress. Receive notifications via Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, GoodReads, or Amazon, where you’ll find the whole mad mercenary romp through the dystopian nightmare that Covid-19 might have become. Might still become, if we don’t keep our self-appointed leaders on a very short leash.

Download FREE sampler previews of all my books – and some complete short stories – from PCloud at www.bit.ly/FreeBurning. Or read them on Kindle Unlimited.

No charge. No obligation. No sign-in. Read for free. Share with your friends.

Anyone in Johannesburg who would like a signed copy (of any of my books) can have one delivered to their door by Big Bad Wolf Motorcycle Maniac Deliveries. No charge for delivery.

Also available at Inner Journeys in Edenvale.

⛥

For a different experience, listen to these weekly episodes as Spotify podcasts, Apple podcasts, or Google podcasts.

⛥

If you have a book you’d like to publish, contact me to claim your 15 minutes of bestselling fame at No.1 on Amazon. Find all the above details and links at www.amazon.com/author/burning.

In case you missed the link while listening to the podcast, that’s www.amazon.com/author/burning.

⛥

Cheers.

($) Questions & answers ($)

Most financial questions don’t have quick and easy answers. “Where should I invest for the best returns?” “What if I want to double my money?” “Will I have enough to retire?” The answers to these questions require an understanding of the time you have left to save or invest, your investment goal, your attitude towards risk, the current state of the world economy, your monthly expenses, and various other factors that are beyond the scope of this simple book.

Nothing worthwhile is ever easy.

That’s why this book is called Hard Money. Because it’s hard work. It requires a major shift in attitude towards the energy known as “money.” But if you’re willing to make some sacrifices, applying these principles is probably your best chance of achieving some kind of financial independence during your lifetime. Just think carefully before deciding what you are willing to sacrifice along the way. Some decisions can’t be undone.

($)

Stop living from salary to salary. Achieve Financial Independence. Retire Early. Join the FIRE movement igniting the world.

Follow these weekly posts for solid advice on how to escape the rat race, covering material contained in Hard Money.

No obligation, no pressure – ever.

This is no get-rich-quick scheme. It won’t be easy. That’s why it’s called Hard Money.

Work while they sleep. Learn while they party. Save while they spend. Then live like they dream.

If you have a book you’d like to publish, chat to me to claim your 15 minutes of bestselling fame at No.1 on Amazon.

Anyone in Johannesburg who would like a signed copy (of any of my books) can have one delivered to their door by Big Bad Wolf Motorcycle Maniac Deliveries. No charge for delivery.

Also available at Inner Journeys in Edenvale.

♠ Shotgun blues ♠

The three men on the roof dropped back into their defensive positions, this time with no specific direction. They didn’t need to speak. Just a glance let them read one another’s intentions.

Connor crawled across the rooftop, heading for the top of the stairs. The other two spread out to cover opposite corners.

Had the convoy doubled back?

A crossbow bolt thudded into the wooden railing at the top of the stairs, inches from Connor’s face. Not the police, then. Before he could focus on who it might be, his train of thought was rudely interrupted.

“Justin!”

How dare she? There she was, jumping up and down, clapping her hands, while crossbow bolts rained down around him, forcing Connor to roll in a direction he hadn’t intended.

At least she wasn’t giving away their positions. No, these amateurs knew exactly where they were.

“Friends of yours?”

He’d aimed the question at the girl, but it was Bjorn who answered. “Must be… her… people.”

Vihaan’s eyes were wild. He rushed across the open area, making no attempt to stay low, and was rewarded with a bolt in the left shoulder. He screamed as he crouched beside his colleague.

“Bjorn? You OK, man?”

Connor looked over in time to see Bjorn reach up to the bolt in Vihaan’s shoulder. Then his arm fell and his eyes lost focus. Vihaan screamed again.

“Shit.” That was Connor, knowing exactly what was coming next.

Ignoring Vihaan, Connor rolled to his knees, then into a sprinter’s crouch, until Vihaan screamed yet again and started pumping bullets at everything that moved and many things that didn’t.

⛥

Read Big Day Out in weekly installments on FaceBook or WordPress. Receive notifications via Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, GoodReads, or Amazon, where you’ll find the whole mad mercenary romp through the dystopian nightmare that Covid-19 might have become. Might still become, if we don’t keep our self-appointed leaders on a very short leash.

Download FREE sampler previews of all my books – and some complete short stories – from PCloud at www.bit.ly/FreeBurning. Or read them on Kindle Unlimited.

No charge. No obligation. No sign-in. Read for free. Share with your friends.

Anyone in Johannesburg who would like a signed copy (of any of my books) can have one delivered to their door by Big Bad Wolf Motorcycle Maniac Deliveries. No charge for delivery.

⛥

For a different experience, listen to these weekly episodes as Spotify podcasts, Apple podcasts, or Google podcasts.

⛥

If you have a book you’d like to publish, contact me to claim your 15 minutes of bestselling fame at No.1 on Amazon. Find all the above details and links at www.amazon.com/author/burning.

In case you missed the link while listening to the podcast, that’s www.amazon.com/author/burning.

⛥

Cheers.

($) Equations ($)

This is not a university textbook. We won’t be exploring technical mathematical models relating to stock valuations.

These are just some basic formulas that you already know. If asked, you could list them yourself. But people lose sight of them, and complicate their own lives unnecessarily.

Over the years, many people have asked me to help them with their finances. After looking at their budgets and bank balances, I would advise where they could cut some expenses, juggle month-end payments slightly better to cover high-interest accounts first, maybe even consolidate their debt into a mortgage and save on interest. Sometimes, they would tell me that they NEEDED their DSTV. The kids HAVE to go to that private school. Give up the PORSCHE? AND the holiday home? AND skip the annual cruise around the Mediterranean?

I’d be frustrated. They’d be frustrated. Nothing would change.

So to kick things off, let me state clearly, at the risk of repeating myself, that THERE IS NO MAGIC FORMULA THAT CAN INSTANTLY FIX YOUR FINANCES.

Nowhere in this book am I going to reveal the secret investment fund where wealthy people achieve astronomical overnight growth with no risk. This fund doesn’t exist. If that’s what you were looking for – please refer to Chapter 1.

($)

Stop living from salary to salary. Achieve Financial Independence. Retire Early. Join the FIRE movement igniting the world.

If you have a book you’d like to publish, come chat to me to claim your 15 minutes of bestselling fame at No.1 on Amazon.

Follow these weekly posts for solid advice on how to escape the rat race, covering material contained in Hard Money.

No obligation, no pressure – ever.

This is no get-rich-quick scheme. It won’t be easy. That’s why it’s called Hard Money.

Work while they sleep. Learn while they party. Save while they spend. Then live like they dream.

Anyone in Johannesburg who would like a signed copy (of any of my books) can have one delivered to their door by Big Bad Wolf Motorcycle Maniac Deliveries. No charge for delivery.

♠ Blow up your video ♠

The column of police was just metres away. Connor, Bjorn and Vihaan ducked down beneath the wall and waited. The engines didn’t stop, there was no gunfire and their would-be attackers passed without incident.

“A routine patrol.” Connor breathed a sigh of relief. Back to the matter in hand. Lanseria or Rand airport?

“How did the twelve of you plan to get back to Rand airport?” asked Connor. “And what happened to the other nine of you?”

“Dead.”

“Yeah, I guessed that much. How? Where?” Details were important to avoid high concentrations of government forces.

“They dropped us in two nights ago. Travel light, as few supplies as possible. Two days to extract the girl and get her out.”

“Where are you taking her?”

“That’s above our paygrade,” snorted Vihaan. “Intelligence put her in the female prison by Fordsburg. It was too densely populated so we were dropped ten k’s out and made our way in.”

“Her DNA holds the key. It might lead to a worldwide vaccine, ending the misery and oppression,” Bjorn added.

“If she wants to. She’ll be no more than a lab rat to you guys, subjected to tests, cut up, analysed.”

“For the greater good,” Vihaan insisted. “Don’t you want your country to be free of this tyranny? Without the disease there would be freedom.”

Young, idealistic, possibly a moron. Connor analysed the wide-eyed soldier in front of him.

“Couldn’t you negotiate with the government?”

“We don’t negotiate with terrorists and oppressive regimes,” Bjorn spat.

Bwoomph!

Explosions could replace full stops as conversation-enders. This one did its job perfectly.

⛥

Read Big Day Out in weekly installments on FaceBook or WordPress. Receive notifications via Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, GoodReads, or Amazon, where you’ll find the whole mad mercenary romp through the dystopian nightmare that Covid-19 might have become. Might still become, if we don’t keep our self-appointed leaders on a very short leash.

Download FREE sampler previews of all my books – and some complete short stories – from PCloud at www.bit.ly/FreeBurning. Or read them on Kindle Unlimited.

No charge. No obligation. No sign-in. Read for free. Share with your friends.

Anyone in Johannesburg who would like a signed copy (of any of my books) can have one delivered to their door by Big Bad Wolf Motorcycle Maniac Deliveries. No charge for delivery.

⛥

For a different experience, listen to these weekly episodes as Spotify podcasts, Apple podcasts, or Google podcasts.

⛥

If you have a book you’d like to publish, contact me to claim your 15 minutes of bestselling fame at No.1 on Amazon. Find all the above details and links at www.amazon.com/author/burning.

In case you missed the link while listening to the podcast, that’s www.amazon.com/author/burning.

⛥

Cheers.