Crawling Into Savings

 A Day in the Life of Mrs.Wow

The other day I witnessed something really cool.

I was in the middle of re-evaluating one of my kiddos, when all of the sudden she started crawling.  It was the very first time she had ever moved forward on her hands and knees (something her mother had been waiting patiently for a few months for this to happen).  Immediately, her mother and I erupted with delight. I'm sure the clapping and cheering was heard blocks away.

For that moment the world stopped, this child had just reached a pivotal milestone in her life.  Her mother was absolutely overcome with emotion, smiling from ear to ear.  And, quite honestly, I was absolutely honored to have witnessed it.

Now for the parents out there, I'm sure this joy resonates with you.  It's a pretty cool thing to watch as your child learns a new skill, especially something that is so critical to their development. While I am not a parent at the current moment, I have been lucky enough to get to see the attainment of these major milestones because of my line of work.  And over the years, I've come to recognize the value in something so small, yet so imperative.

So what's the big deal about crawling anyway?

To Crawl or Not to Crawl

In my eyes, crawling is one of the most important, if not the most important milestone for a child to master.  In a nut shell, crawling promotes:

• development of strength in the arms, legs and core


• coordination between the upper and lower extremities, as well as the right and left side of the body


• stimulation of different textures and the development of the arches and web space in the hands


• improved power and stability of muscles needed for breathing, talking and eating


• increased motor planning, problem solving, spatial awareness and visual skills

All of these are necessary for further development as a child continues to grow throughout his or her lifespan.

A child who does not crawl may encounter challenges later in life like difficulty with walking, running, jumping, riding a bike or other gross motor activities.  It can also lead to difficulty with handwriting, reading, problem solving, driving and the list goes on and on.

Needless to say, crawling is important.  I understand that there are some professionals out there who feel crawling can be skipped with no long-term effects.  I will happily agree to disagree with them on this one.

This guy knows a thing or two about crawling

Ok so what?

By now I'm sure most of you are wondering where I am going with this.

Upon reflection of watching my client reach this milestone and embark on her new way of exploring the world, it got me thinking.

If crawling is the one central skill needed for the acquisition of so many other skills, what is the one crucial skill needed to attain financial independence?

There are many ways to reach financial independence, i.e. side hustles, investing, and real estate, but what's the one essential skill necessary to begin?

In my mind, it all boils down to the ability to save money.

And by saving money, I'm not just talking about coupon clipping.  I'm implying the act of actually acquiring money, of growing the gap between expenses and income.

As the saying goes, you have to crawl before you walk. In other words, you need to save money before you can begin to navigate the simple path to wealth (shoutout to Jim!).

Our SPTW book collection!

This skill is so important that without it, none of the other things would matter.

All the side hustles in the world, wouldn't matter if you couldn't save any of the money brought in.  Investing wouldn't be a thing, because you would't have any money to invest in the first place.  And real estate... well, you get the picture.

Learning to squirrel away money is the utmost vital skill necessary in order to set yourself up for financial success.

Just imagine the sunflower seeds were benjamins

A Waffle Friend

This simple skill really hit home when I was discussing finances with a friend.  Although, he was making a good income, he was not paying attention to where his money was going.  He mentioned that he was drowning in debt, but didn't really know what to do.  He felt stuck.

Rather than blurt out everything I knew in regards to money and overflowing his inbox with stellar posts on the subject, I encouraged him to start small and begin tracking his money.

Once he had identified what he was spending on, he could start cutting his expenses and begin hoarding saving his hard earned dollar bills.  Essentially, I was gently nudging him from his comfortable sitting position into crawling and thus, setting in motion the financial catalyst.

We now meet monthly to check in with each other and set-up financial goals for the next month.  I have started introducing him to different ways to cut expenses, how to pay off debt, and how to begin investing.

He's helped me set up a few financial goals to further challenge myself and is holding me accountable.

He is starting to crawl on his financial journey. He will be running in no time.

The Crawling Conclusion

For a child who is just learning to crawl, their world suddenly opens up.  They are quickly inundated with new experiences and learning opportunities.  Like crawling, learning the simple skill of saving money, allows us to explore new opportunities.  It gives us options.  It allows us to take some chances.

While there are many complicated methods in order to reach financial independence, sometimes we need to embrace the simplest of skills and reflect on what started us on this path in the first place.

How did you first start crawling your way to financial independence? Any advice for my friend as he begins his journey?