Kamala Chambers

On this episode, we’re going to be talking about how you can achieve your dreams on a budget.

Hey, Thriving Launchers. It’s just going to be you and me today, and I’m excited to talk to you about living your dream life and doing so on a budget.

Now, if you’re dream life involves Ferraris and Gucci bags, I recommend skipping this episode. Because that’s not what we’re going to be talking about. We’re going to be talking about those big dreams. Those are the dreams that stir you to the core of you are and the things that you want on a fundamental level, and maybe that’s freedom. Maybe that’s a sense of unity, or something else.

Whatever your big dream is, I’m going to invite you right now to just think about it for a moment. What are the things that you want to create in your life?

Is it more time with your family? Is it being able to travel the world? Is it buying or building your own home?

Kamala Chambers

Whatever it is, I just encourage you to look at what that big desire is. Because when you know what your big desire is, then you can start to weed out some of the smaller desires we spend our money on and keep us from saving our money to get to our big desire.

An example of this is maybe you want to buy your own home. That’s your big dream, but you also have this desire to go out drinking every weekend, and you end up spending a lot of money doing that. So, you could see how those small desires you have are taking away from your big desire.

In order to achieve your dreams I just want to encourage you to get clear on what that big desire is.

Kamala Chambers

Now, maybe your dream life is to just spend money without a care on everything at every time. That’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about being able to work towards something that you want.

To work towards something you want, you might have to say “No” to the smaller things you don’t want in the big picture.

Now, I have to say I’m really good at this and I’m going to tell you a little bit about why.

Kamala Chambers

When I was 15, I started hitchhiking all around the world, and I did so with very little money. That was my big dream. I wanted to be able to travel the world and see what was out there.

That’s why I hitchhiked because it was the cheapest way to get around. Sometimes, people even gave me money because I was moving along and they saw that I had my backpack and I was a little dirty.

Sometimes they are like, “Here’s 20 bucks. Get yourself a hotel and take a shower.” Not to say that I was stinky or anything. Anyway, that’s besides the point.

The point is it’s what I really wanted to do. So, I knew that I had to save up money.

One example is when I went to Europe. I was 17. I wasn’t living with my parents anymore, and I was working at this little bagel shop. That whole year, I basically lived off of bagels that I was able to take home after my work shift was over.

I basically lived off of bagels. I rode my bike everywhere, and I barely spent any money. I didn’t buy anything I didn’t absolutely need, and I was able to save up enough money to buy a one-way ticket to London. Then, I had money to go off of.

I got to Europe, and I already knew I was going to be there for about three months and I had $500. It sounds like that’s nothing to live off of for three months but to me, that was so much money. I budgeted it out that I could spend about $15 a day.

Kamala Chambers

I have to admit, I got to the end of the trip, and I had one week left. I knew that I needed to eat and I went to a little store and looked for the thing with the most protein that would sustain me the most that I could buy for the next week of food.

I bought five cans of tuna fish, and on each day, I open one can. I ate half of the can for breakfast and then the other half for dinner. I was able to survive because I had that.

I want you to know that the point you can create whatever your dream life is. Maybe your dream life isn’t to hitchhike around the world like mine was.

Your dreams are very doable when you focus on what you want and don’t spend money on the things you don’t absolutely need. Focus on what you want to achieve your dreams.

Kamala Chambers

Now, another tip on how to achieve your dreams is spending a little bit extra time shopping around.

For me, I’m going to use the example of travel because that’s always a big dream of mine. I love traveling. Luis and I traveled for eight months last year, and we have another big trip coming up. I love that we get to do that. We have plenty of money to do that with.

Even though we have the money, I still don’t want to go off and spend it all because I have bigger dreams than traveling. I have bigger things I’m working towards.

Spend a little bit extra time looking for those airline tickets. You don’t have to go with the first thing you see. Shop around for the best hotel prices or look for Airbnb or places that are like vacation rentals and places with kitchens.

You can actually go out and shop for food, and you don’t have to spend money in restaurants every time you want to eat something.

Also, when you’re in a different place when you’re traveling, look for where the locals are shopping because you’re going to find food that’s much cheaper.

I encourage you to set a big goal for yourself to achieve your dreams. What is it that you really want to create?

Kamala Chambers

Maybe it’s that dream vacation you’ve been putting off or buying that house or that car, or whatever it is.

Look for getting in touch with that big, “Yes” of yours, that excitement for getting that thing. Because then, every day, you can compare, “Do I want this little desire to be fulfilled right now, or do I really want that big desire?” Every time you say “Yes” to a little desire, you’re actually saying “No” to the big desire. Unless those little desires are working towards the big desire and help you achieve your dreams.

I encourage you to do light of God shopping. What I mean by that is only buy things that when you see it, there is like a light of God shining on it and it’s like, “Ahhhh!” and you feel like, “Oh my God. This is it. This is the thing I absolutely need and have been looking for forever.”

I guarantee you, most of what we buy, we don’t actually need and we don’t end up using it. There are places also where we don’t need to cut corners.

I’m talking about spending on a budget, but you don’t want to cut corners on certain things. For me, I never cut corners on things like food. I didn’t cut corners when it came to building my house.

When I wanted to build my house, I bought things that I knew were going to last, and that was actually saving me money in the long run. I spent extra money on sustainably grown lumber from the island that I lived on, instead of buying this manufactured lumber that was just being cut to the mill. I looked for those things that are sustainable.

Kamala Chambers

Also, you can buy really good quality food. For me, buying good quality food is actually a long-term thing. It’s going to save money on medical bills if I eat well and eat organic foods. You can buy good quality food without having to buy the most expensive stuff. Look for where there are sales and watch when you’re at the checkout line.

I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve been overcharged for things. You would think that it’s in their system, but it’s not. So, look for what it says on the price tag and pay attention at the checkout line as well.

I just encourage you to look for the thing that you really want to create in your life and say “Yes” to it every single day by saying “No” to the things you don’t need in the long run, that aren’t actually going to fill you up for that big desire and dream life that you want to create.

Thank you so much for tuning in everyone. I encourage you to get clear on what your big dream is, go after it, and start saving money towards getting that. Keep thriving everyone.