If given the choice between a luxurious and lavish lifestyle or a frugal one, I think it’s fair to assume that most people would choose the former. Living a life of luxury appeals much more than merely scraping by. And while it may be easier to transform a person’s life if they’re willing to do just that and scrape by, it’s a lot more complicated when you’re dealing with the vast majority of people. They have their wants and needs, and they have things in their lives that go wrong: they have a problem with a child, an illness comes up, they lose their job, or their marriage ends. Sadly, these unwanted rough patches are all part of the normal course of life, but with a solid plan, you can deal with these detours, bumps, and potholes that come up along the way. However, by teaching people how to handle these situations without giving up their lifestyles, they can continue without much disturbance to their day-to-day life.

However, you won’t be able to do that by blindly following the advice that is given in the mainstream media. And that’s because the pundits give advice that sounds easy and simple to people. Essentially, they patronize people and aren’t telling them what real finance is. However, if you find personal and specific advice for your current situation, then living off ramen noodles and macaroni and cheese won’t be necessary.

It’d be easy to help people build wealth by not enjoying life in the moment. But finance is not all about figures. Helping a person live the life they want and putting together a financial plan for them is not all about numbers. It’s possible to make a person or a couple financially independent remarkably quickly: just tell a young couple, “Don’t have kids, don’t buy a house; live in a shack, don’t go out to the movies or take vacations, eat franks and beans every day, and I’ll get you there fast.”

But that doesn’t equate to living the life you want, which means being satisfied with the way in which you live now. If you want a fast and somewhat painful solution, follow the advice laid out in my example above, but then you and your spouse may not be talking to each other in ten years. Life may not be satisfying to you now or in the future. Financial choices are also balanced with personal choices. This is why one of the ground rules for us is that we educate you, so you don’t have to eat hot dogs for breakfast, lunch, and dinner — unless you want to. We’ll guide and recommend, but you make all the financial decisions because financial decisions have to be made around what is important to you in life.

For more information about living the life you want now and in the future, visit  tswealth.com.