If you’ve read my book, “7 Money Rules for Life,” you know that rule No. 1 is so simple it would be easy to overlook it as being too elementary. Here it is: Spend less than you earn. Now, let’s think about this. “Spend less than you earn” is not the same as “Don’t spend more than you earn.” That implies it would be OK to spend all that you earn, but no. The operative word is “less.” You need a gap between what you earn and how much of it you spend. That is the fundamental secret for living below your means. It’s in that gap that financial freedom can grow. You really need to read the rest of the book, but for now, let’s just say that widening the gap is the challenge. Spending less is the way to do that. Increase your gap this week, even if …