What Toto’s Africa taught me about financial freedom
Hey Future Millionaire,
In 2019, I was camping at a Dutch techno festival.
Each morning, we'd find the festival newspaper delivered to our tents. One day, there was a cut-out coupon that festival-goers could hand to DJs to request Toto's 'Africa.'
This song has sparked joy everywhere since 1982. But did you know it almost didn't make the album?
The song was too different from Toto's usual sound. The lyrics were unusual too. Only because keyboardist David Paich insisted, it made it onto 'Toto IV' as the final track. When later released as a single, it became their only #1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100.
It has been streamed more than 2 billion times on Spotify.
And in 2021 drummer Jeff Porcaro was able to share his publishing catalog and future royalties for $30 million!
Sometimes we need someone to stop us from abandoning something great.
What does this have to do with money?
Meet Jerry, a successful tech sales leader who recently got promoted with a higher salary. Despite his success, he felt like a financial failure.
"I know I make great money. We're frugal, yet I only have a savings rate of 11%," he told me.
But the problem wasn't his saving habits. It was how he calculated his savings rate.
Jerry had forgotten to count:
His stock plan and pension contributions (€4,500 monthly)
His recent pay increase from promotion (€1,500 monthly)
Upcoming reduced childcare costs ($1,000 monthly savings)
Jerry started our call worried about his finances. He ended it discovering his actual savings rate was over 60% - without cutting a single expense!
Your Hidden Financial Success
What do Jerry and Toto have in common? They both needed someone to help them see they were already doing amazing.
If Jerry stays on his current path, he'll have four times his retirement needs. That's based on the 4% rule, which suggests you need 25 times your annual expenses to retire comfortably. Jerry will have 100 times!
What a relief for him to know he can ease up a bit.
Do You Need a Fresh Perspective?
This shows how important good guidance can be; not just to fix problems, but to confirm when things are working well.
Jerry might have spent years thinking he was failing financially when all he needed was a different way of looking at his numbers.
Are you wondering if you might have your own "Africa" hiding in your finances?
In my Money Mastery coaching, I'll help you create your own plan to achieve financial freedom. Just book your free intro call to get started.
I don't know what it's like where you are, but we've had incredible weather in Dublin this week. I'm heading out on my bike before that changes.
Have a great weekend!
To your financial freedom,
Sjoerd
P.S. If you enjoy these newsletters, please check out my brand new Instagram page. I will be experimenting with video content and would love your feedback.
