The Laws of Money Part 2 - Making Financial Decisions
Last week's article concerning Jane's debt appeared to raise a stir amongst my friends so I thought I would carry on the theme today. I was not being arrogant towards Jane's but butly pointing out that she was a normal bright girl but not financially educated.
Jane's dilemma was based around her non understanding of the consequences of her financial decisions. It is of course true to surmise that when we were young, all of life's choices and decisions were made for us.
As we grow as human beings and mature, we have to learn how to make our own choices. This is often a slow and painstaking process which can be full of elation and dejection depending on the result. You are not taught in school how to make these decisions and you are not advised how to deal with the consequences, so life for most people gets more difficult, including Jane.
In most peoples lives, their financial choices are the most important decisions a person can make. The reason for this is if you can make good decisions and take control of your finances, it will empower you to make a new world for you to thrive in.
People become rich and successful for 3 reasons.
Firstly, they do not procrastinate, they are decision makers, they are not afraid to be wrong.
Secondly, they understand the rules of money, they do not use their own money to buy liabilities.
So for Jane, now is the time to take stock of her financial situation. It is time to confront her fears, her stale thinking patterns and all of the other obstacles put in the way by her suspects - not forgetting herself.
These obstacles that have stopped her getting ahead financially.
The most important lesson for Jane is to change her mindset and do it today.
My guess was that Jane was in her early 30's. She will need to spend around 1/3 of her wages for the rest of her life to support her lifestyle after she retires, assuming the government of the day will let her retire? She will already be paying a third (minimum) of her wages in tax. Jane is living below her means to get ahead. This is no way to live your life and this is why I advise Jane to change today.
Yesterday, I attended a training course. The course is designed to create financial freedom by creating passive income for life. Unbelievably, it was attended by a professional footballer who at the age of 24 recognized he could not play football forever and wants financial freedom for his family in the future, even though he is single today!
His decision to attend speaks volumes for him as a person. No matter what happens in his football career, he will always be financially secure. He made a conscious decision to spend his rest day networking with like minded people who would normally be cheering (or booming) from the stands. He was also the last person to leave after the event.
It is never too early to change your thinking patterns, it is never to late to create financial freedom. Create a team around you of like minded people, these people will inspire you to make the right decisions in your life. I was not part of Jane's team so had no influence on her ...
But I know a certain professional footballer I would have on my team every day!
