He works in the same company as you do, same division – in fact, you even know for sure that he gets the exact same salary package that you do, yet you simply cannot help but suspect your colleague is secretly moonlighting as a drug dealer, or something. It’s not just that he drives a car for which your salary could never sustain the monthly instalments, but it’s his expensive car in addition to a whole number of other things which raise suspicion.
He takes every opportunity to show you his epic photo collection of himself in exotic holiday destinations and weekend escapes, and his house…oh his house just gives it all away… There’s simply no ways your co-worker isn’t a closet drug dealer!
You don’t have to be a drug dealer to live like one though. In reality, your colleague (and perhaps your friend too) simply possesses a skill which you yourself could develop to be in on the action – your colleague possesses the skill of extracting more value out of every single situation and that’s why the same amount of quid you both earn seems to be working much harder for him. When you burst into his office without knocking, he closes his laptop out of habit. Not because he’s liaising with his street distributors, but rather to protect himself against the risk of the boss catching him in the act, digging for hidden value on company-time, using company resources.
If you’re lucky, asking your colleague about his money-leveraging exploits could give you a simple way to get in on the action, but chances are he doesn’t even know that he possesses this coveted skill of creating value out of everyday processes. The next best thing – at the risk of sounding overly motivational as opposed to practical – is to find everyday ways of developing this skill yourself. And it goes beyond seeking some good deals on Groupon or taking advantage of special offers and promotions. You have to dig a little deeper and try to fall in love with the process of looking at something, preferably looking at a process which somehow involves the exchange of money, and then completing just a few permutations with the view of uncovering one or more options which could work out in your favour.
Let’s look at an everyday example – an unassuming one which illustrates this point perfectly. You’re probably aware of and might have even used online vehicle sales platform sites like Autotrader. In the specific case of Autotrader, they’re running a competition for bloggers, which encourages them to construct their own dream cars by simply selecting different properties (interior, body, engine, etc.) from different cars to make up their ideal car. Taking it upon yourself to do this sort of thing will open you up to a world of value-leveraging to stretch each last pound in your pocket. It’s very possible too, by simply making use of discount sites like MyVoucherCodes, for example, where auto parts can be sourced very cheaply. You can then have it put together to have yourself rolling in a wikid custom ride whose running and resale value is greater than the sum of its parts. So if for instance you’ve had a long-standing love affair with an American muscle car that’s long since been out of production, you could maybe get the body of a Ford Mustang fitted with a newer engine from something like a Chevy Lumina, then you could add the elegant interior of a Jaguar for a classy finish. This would almost always work out cheaper than buying any one or more of the mentioned vehicles used to construct your dream car, individually, as complete products.
This is merely an example of how it can be done and of just how possible it really is. In this instance, all it takes is looking at a competition run by a platform (Auto Trader) you know all too well, differently!
