Every now and then, B.Invested founder Nathan Birch likes to take time to reflect on what he had to do when starting out as an investor, in order to get to where he is today.

And like all people who have been among the most successful in their field, he had to make a lot of sacrifices.

So today, when you stream his educational videos and think how nice it would have been to buy houses for $100,000 or $200,000 back in the noughties and be sitting on a giant portfolio today, remember that it is all relative.

It was as hard to do what he did back then as it is today. So, take a look at some of Nathan’s sacrifices and compare them with your actions today and the sacrifices you are making.

Two full time jobs

From an early age, Nathan knew he wanted to be a property investor. After he finished school, he was working and realised that his income wouldn’t cut the mustard. He calculated that to begin his portfolio, he would need to be earning $100,000 a year, which back then was a hefty salary.

He realised he’d need to work two full time jobs. So he did. He worked weekdays, weekends, nights and hustled as much as he could. He was able to get his income to $110,000 a year and that gave him what he needed to start investing.

Zero frivolous spending

In those early stages he kept his expenditure to an absolute minimum. No holidays, no going out partying, no retail therapy…he simply put everything he earned towards his ultimate goal.

He was able to take advantage of a particular stage in his life where he had no partner, he was living at home so had no mortgage and he was able to live on around $10,000 a year and invest the rest.

A lot of people may want to be budding investors, but they are streaming Netflix, eating takeaway all the time and not really depriving themselves of the things they want each day. They may be working hard, but they could still be more committed to their end goals.

Time is priceless

Nathan had such little spare time back then that he quickly learned just how valuable time is. That’s why even now, when he is set up to live life on his own terms, he still doesn’t spend time watching Netflix. He uses time to be with his family or to further his knowledge.

He believes that even time poor people working hard jobs can still find an extra 2 or 3 hours a day to advance their knowledge and goals. He sees TV streaming and everything else as another part of the Matrix that he has spent his life getting out of.

How about you?

After reading this article, ask yourself what you could sacrifice or what behaviours you could change that would also help you get to where you want to be. Any time you spend frivolously could cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars and you need to remember that you make your own luck. As Nathan showed, you can get to a successful endpoint from just about anywhere in life if you make the necessary sacrifices.