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useful. It's comparable to the shop budget that has worked so well for me over the years," Roy explained.
"You see," James Murray took over, "most people, in-cluding most financial planners, have it backwards. They develop intricate budgets that cover everything from weekly gas expenses and entertainment costs to saving for retirement. Unfortunately, because most of us lack self-discipline, today's concerns receive the bulk of our financial resources. The hundreds of dollars that were supposed to be there at the end of the month to buy a mutual fund and to start up a retirement fund have shrunk or vanished. 'The damn budget's not working,' people cry. But, by following Roy's advice, we're taking care of financial planning first. We can be capricious with the rest of the money, or we can set aside so much for a trip, so much for a new car, so much for groceries—you know, save the way abnormal people like Roy do. It's really a matter of style. But, because you are paying yourself first and using forced-saving techniques, someday you'll be wealthy no matter how you manage your day-today finances.
"If a financial planner looked at the way Jimmy, Clyde, and I handle our daily finances, he would probably have a heart attack. We buy groceries at variety stores. We get our gas at full-service stations. We don't pay our credit cards off every month. We join health clubs and don't go. Our day-to-day money management is an embarrassment. But we sure look pretty in the big picture. In fact, our net-worth statements look great. None of us will ever have any real financial worries," James Murray concluded.
I was skeptical. "You don't condone this behavior, do you, Roy?"
"Of course not. Using some discipline and common