Empowerment Tip #6: Empowered People Have The Money Issue Handled.
They are not afraid to handle large sums of money.
They believe there is an abundance of money rather than that it is scarce.
They have sufficient reserves of money.
They have little or no credit card debt.
They have a plan for financial independence.
They know their net worth.
They are totally truthful with
themselves about money.
FEAR: You may be asking yourself, “Who in the world is afraid of having money?” You would be amazed at the number of people who are terrified at the thought of putting three $100 bills in their wallet and keeping it there for at least six weeks. That is a request I make of many of my clients whom I suspect have money issues. Sometimes they are so terrified at the request that we negotiate down and start with $50 for six weeks until they are comfortable. Then I ask them to double it. We go on with this process until they reach the $300 mark.
ABUNDANCE: I once heard a Prosperity Speaker say, “I have done the research and found that there is enough money in the world for every man, woman and child to have $4 million dollars. Where is yours?” I don’t know how true that statement is; however, I do know that there is an abundance of money and it is certainly not distributed equally. I also know that it is my responsibility to figure out how to get and keep my fair share. Money is not scarce, but how I think about it, the choices I make about how I earn and invest it, and how I spend it may make it feel like a scarce commodity.
RESERVES: The rule of thumb is to have 3 to 6 months of your monthly salary in an interest-bearing money market account as a reserve. Yes, this is possible for you, too, if you will make a commitment to start saving—even very small amounts add up. Do you really need that vacation this year? Do your children really need all of the toys and gizmos that you buy them? Do you really need to go out to lunch or get a Starbuck’s latte every day? If you kept an account of every penny that you spend in a month, you would be astounded at how much flies away on absolutely nothing important. I challenge you to do this and see where you could tighten your spending belt.
NO CREDIT CARD DEBT: Yes, you too, can have no credit card debt. I would love for your new motto to be, IF I CANNOT PAY CASH, I CANNOT AFFORD IT. If you are only paying the minimum on your credit cards every month instead of paying them off each month, you are wasting so much money that you could be saving. Your first step is to cut up the card. Do you have the courage to do that today? I promise that your world will not fall apart, and you will survive. You will also feel much, much better about yourself.
FINANCIAL INDEPENDENCE: What does this meant to you? How many investments, reserves, pensions, retirement salary and social security would you have to have to feel financially independent? You may be closer than you think; then again, maybe you haven’t even begun to think about it. I suggest you listen to David Ramsey on the radio, tune into Suzy Orman on PBS, and or read “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” by Robert T. Kiyosaki.
NET WORTH: The average person has no idea what their net worth is, or even how to figure it. If you do not know where you are, how will you know when you have reached financial security or how far you have to go to get there? Finding net worth is really quite simple. Add up the value of all your assets and subtract everything you owe. The balance is your net worth. If your net worth is not growing every year, you definitely need to make some changes.
THE TRUTH ABOUT MONEY: How many of you are hiding from the fact that if you stay on the path that you are now on, you will not have enough money for retirement? How about the truth about why you are spending so much money? What is the emotional need that you are trying to cover up by unnecessarily spending money? The following are additional ways that people are dishonest with themselves about money:
Believing that someday a man will come along, and their money troubles will be over.
Believing on an unconscious level that money is disdainful yet wanting more of it desperately.
Believing that money is not important.
Pretending to have more money than you do.
Telling yourself that you and your kids need all of that stuff.
Not balancing the checkbook so you don’t have to see what you don’t have.
I hope I have helped those of you who need it to think a little more deeply about your money, and what you are doing with it. I want you to have the absolute best of everything. I also want you to get it responsibly and with integrity. Many of my clients have been members of Debtors Anonymous and I am very impressed with the changes they have made since joining. You can find a Chapter near you at www.debtorsanonymous.org. Also, there are many free Credit Counselling Services that can be found online. Please, please, please take steps this coming month to get your money issues handled so you can start on your road to financial freedom.