Let’s talk about money and wealth. Although you may not even realize it, you have a relationship with money and it leads to your money habits, which create your money story.
Just like the health of a tree is determined by the health of its roots, your money experiences are rooted in your personal beliefs and your relationship with money. That is why it is super important to be aware of your relationship with money so that you can change it from repelling to supportive! How do you get aware of your relationship with money? By paying attention to what you think, how you feel and react to money-related events.
Contemplate on the following questions:
1. Do you believe in personal responsibility and financial discipline?
2. Do you habitually shop for what you need or for what you want?
3. Are you willing to reduce your expenses or would you rather incur debt to support your current lifestyle?
4. Do you practice financial discipline when it comes to using a credit card?
5. Do you pay all your bills on time or frequently incur additional interest for deferred or late payments?
6. Do you spend less than what you earn?
7. Do you save a portion of your income for unforeseen circumstances?
8. Do you take time to educate yourself about your investments or just follow your financial advisers?
9. Do you know how to manage financial risk?
10. Do you plan allocation of your income?
Your individual answers to these questions and the family money story that you recall from your childhood will provide a fairly accurate picture of your personal money blueprint.
Clarity about your money habits and awareness of your current money blueprint will help you realize that it’s not your bad luck or generational misfortune that blocks your financial freedom, but rather the choices that you make every day.
If you want to change your money habits, you need to replace them with better ones and practice them consistently. Very few people do it, but those who do, achieve financial freedom. Are you on board?
Prudent Wealth Creation and Wealth Management System
5 Golden Rules of Wealth Creation:
1. Don’t lose money (be alert and exercise prudence).
2. Don’t spend more than you make (if you have dug yourself into a hole–stop digging).
3. Don’t take risks that make you lose sleep (don’t rush into any get-rich-quick schemes).
4. Become a little richer every day/month (develop a wealth growth pattern).
5. Cultivate and maintain discipline with your wealth creation efforts.
You may perceive these rules as symbolic, obvious or unrealistic. I suggest that you internalize and apply them. In order to successfully grow and manage your wealth, create a structure and discipline to maintain it.
Organizing your money based on purpose (saving, spending, investing), your risk tolerance and timeline will allow you to avoid feeling scared and overwhelmed and will give you peace of mind and clarity.
To make my point, think of a jar as a money container (obviously, money isn’t really kept in jars but rather in bank accounts, brokerage accounts, credit unions accounts, coins and property/land.) Keeping all your money together in one big jar could lead to a financially devastating decision.
Although dividing your money among different categories may not preclude you from making mistakes, maintaining the discipline of adhering to this structure will help you limit your losses and avoid financial ruin.
The objective is to fill all three money jars, which is equivalent to achieving your goal of financial freedom. Although this goal may seem unrealistic at first, especially for those with a modest single income source, it is up to you when to start.
Trust yourself to know the best time to begin your path to financial freedom. My advice is to start as soon as possible because it takes time to accumulate wealth.
It is my desire and mission to help people experience the abundance of our planet, eradicate poverty-consciousness and develop wealth consciousness. I am going to continue writing about financial freedom and wealth creation as long as you, my dear readers, are willing to expand your awareness and do the work needed to live a rich, abundant life.
*Some of the text is taken from my bestselling book “A Shift Toward Abundance: Secrets to Financial Freedom.”
To Your Health, Wealth and Freedom!
Millen Livis