The Reason for Financial Problems

The primary reason for financial problems in life is lack of self discipline, self mastery, and self control. It is the inability to delay gratification in the short term. It is the tendency for people to spend everything they earn. Today, the savings rate in America is too low to achieve financial independence. After a lifetime of work, the average American family has a 200 net worth of only about $8,000. People continue to spend and borrow as if theres no tomorrow.

The lack of self discipline and the inability to delay gratification is a weakness in character. This is prevalent among the majority of adults in society today. It goes back to early childhood and the fact that when you were a child and you received money, the first thing you thought of doing was to spend that money on candy or something you wanted. Did you have anyone telling you a better idea was to save it?

Spending Makes You Happy

As you grew older, you developed what psychologists call a “conditioned response” to receiving money from any source. When you receive money, you mentally salivate at the thought of spending this money on something that makes you happy, at least temporarily. When you become an adult and you earn or receive money, this automatic reaction continues. It is very common for many people, when they are feeling unhappy or frustrated for any reason, to go shopping whether online or in a store. People unconsciously associate buying something with being happy. I used to do this very thing to generate temporary pleasure.

Rewire Your Way of Thinking

Shift your thinking from, spending equals happiness to happiness is saving and investing. This is changing your money mindset and creating the starting point for eliminating your financial problems and making room for financial freedom. Self discipline is a must when saving for your future and trying to reach financial independence. When you begin thinking this way, something amazing starts to happen. You start to feel happy about the idea of having money in the bank. I used to hate looking at my bank account but now I am excited to check it every day.

Money being in your bank account is emotionalized by your own thoughts and feelings. It sets up a force field of energy that begins to attract more money into it. It takes money to make money. As you begin to save and accumulate money, the universe begins to direct more and more money towards you, to save and accumulate.

Here are a few ways to stay disciplined in the new year:

• Set some financial goals
• Use automation for your bills
• Give yourself a challenge
• Change your money habits
• Get an accountability partner or financial coach

Free Gift

Check out the FREE video series on my 3 Keys to Unlocking Your Financial Freedom! This video series touches on Budgets, Tackling Debt, and Ways to Increase Income TODAY! I created this series for those of you who have been hit hard by COVID-19. I want you to know there is nothing you can’t accomplish and creating a plan of action is always a great starting point.

Consistency is the key to unlocking life-changing financial habits. Those of us who dream of saving more in our sleep can’t imagine not putting money aside for an emergency. For others, it’s a struggle for a number of reasons:

• They never learned from their parents how to manage money.
• They don’t have enough income to cover their major expenses.
• They are taking care of other members of their family and that doesn’t leave room for them to save.
• They care too much about what people think, so they overspend to impress.
• They don’t see the point of denying what they want in the present to save for the future since tomorrow isn’t promised.

Financial Literacy

The ability to understand and effectively use various financial skills, including personal finance management, budgeting, and investing. It is unfortunate that these skills weren’t taught to us in school. I just so happen to have grown up around my family’s business where they all do taxes. These things come naturally to me. If you never learned how to create a budget, learn. It is never too late to learn a new skill.

Here are some books I recommend reading:

• Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter
• The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey
• Transforming Your Relationship With Money by Joseph R. Dominguez, Monique Tilford, and Vicki Robin

Income

It is crucial to review the previous month’s budget to stay consistent with it. You need a solid monthly/weekly routine so you can be the most consistent with your financial wellness. Every month brings new expenses and a different set of priorities on where to spend your money. Checking in with your budget allows you to project any new expenses for the coming month and reallocate your income if necessary.

If your income is too low to cover your expenses then I suggest digging deep and finding a new side hustle or turning a hobby into a job where you can earn some money off of doing something you love. You can really get creative when it comes to increasing income.

Here are a few examples:

• Sell Stuff Online
• Drive people around
• Become a virtual assistant
• Negotiate Salary

Change Your Money Habits

Consistency plays such a huge role when it comes to achieving any type of success. I’m sure you can imagine that consistency is a key factor in the area of your finances too. Your money habits are formed based on how you constantly handle your money from saving to spending. As simple as that sounds, you might not have considered how consistency affects different parts of your life.

With any habits, money habits can also be good or bad, so in order for you to achieve financial freedom you obviously need to be consistent with good money habits. Good money habits have to do with both saving money but also how you spend it. If you’re not consistently saving money then you are probably consistently spending it. It’s the consistency you have with both of those things that will determine your financial success.

Be Rich, Don’t Look Rich

Trying to impress people is pointless. Most people never become wealthy because they waste too much money on buying symbols of success. They are more focused on looking rich instead of becoming rich. Living below your means and investing your extra income is how you build wealth. No matter how much money you make, you must spend less than you earn. Don’t be in a rush to look successful. Don’t fall into the trap of pretending to be rich.

The longer you practice consistency, the more automatic it becomes. You need to build good money habits and ask yourself if you are consistently frugal or consistently careless.

Here are some ways to stay consistent with your finances:

• Automation- Auto payments for bills is a super easy way to achieve consistency in your personal finance life
• Calendar reminders- Setting a simple reminder on your phone’s calendar can help provide consistency in tasks as well
• Budget apps- Utilizing an app for your budget can help you stay consistent with checking your budget monthly

Free Gift

Check out the FREE video series on my 3 Keys to Unlocking Your Financial Freedom! This video series touches on Budgets, Tackling Debt, and Ways to Increase Income TODAY! I created this series for those of you who have been hit hard by COVID-19. I want you to know there is nothing you can’t accomplish and creating a plan of action is always a great starting point.