Make sure you are only spending YOUR money

Make sure you are spending YOUR money

So we start spending money that is not ours.  Credit card bills, particularly in the United States are out of control.  In college, I remember someone giving me a free 2 liter of coca-cola if I spent 5 minutes filling out a form.  Two weeks later I had a credit card with my name on it in the mail.  What an easy way to pay a bar tab!  This is spending money that you do not have.  By using credit cards that you cannot pay off once the statement comes in the mail you will constantly be playing catch up with your money.  If this is your case, make a conscious decision right now that before you buy or spend money on anything that you do not need that you will pay off that credit card. Or student loan, or car loan.  

Get your financial spending under control and sorry to be blunt, but get your ego under control.  Live within your means.  Accept and appreciate where you are today.  If, while you are paying off these debts you need to make some cutbacks - do it.  Take inventory.  Decide what you actually NEED to live.  Make a monthly budget.  It is perfectly ok to ride a bike to work if you cannot afford a car or gas this week.  If you are getting your financial house in order and you don’t go out to eat for 3 months, who cares? There is nothing wrong with taking a break from spending so that you can catch up with money that has already been spent.  But do it now, because the longer you wait, the longer it will take and the harder it will be.  Let’s make your debt a thing of the past.  You cannot move forward with money until you have cleaned up your past.  You will find this incredibly empowering and satisfying.  The weight on your shoulders will lift as soon as you start to make a dent.  

And it’s addicting, when you begin to see a difference you will want to do more and more.  Cut up your credit card and liberate yourself from a stupid debt.  Money loves to be used for this so it will just keep coming once you start on this path.  My sister-in-law worked the morning shift every Sunday at a breakfast restaurant to pay off her student loans.  That meant she didn’t go out on Saturday nights during college and thereafter.  Was it super fun to miss out on parties? No, but that girl worked her tail off and she showed money that she knew how to use it.  She showed money that she could be trusted.  We do need to work for our money and we also need to stop spending money that we don’t have on things that we do not need.  It’s fun to play the lottery and someone does win, but don’t count on it being you.  It’s better to have a plan that’s actually riding in the front seat than to count on someone else coming in and saving the day.

There has been a lot of talk lately about the unemployment rate and the debt ceiling.  One side of the fence blaming the other side, “you’re not doing anything”  “it’s your fault we are here” blah blah blah.  The president of the United States is not going to knock on your door and offer you a job.  You have to do it yourself.  You cannot wait for something to happen, you have to make it happen.  What’s the Harvard line?  “We don’t get jobs, we create them.”  Amanda Foreman said this week on Bill Maher, “the government doesn’t create jobs, innovation does.”  So true.  Use your resources.  Follow your path.

I know that the current financial situation all over the world is very unstable. One thing that amazes me about where we live is that kids do not work here. I’m not talking about child labor, but when I was younger there was always a motivation for working and making our own money.  I thought about asking the kid next door to mow our lawn and my husband just shook his head and said, “yeah, they don’t really do that here.”  Seems silly to me.  When my dad was 12 he cleaned windshields at the drive-in.  So why not call upon this spirit and find some odd jobs here and there to help you bring in money.  Does the older gentleman across the street from you need some help pulling weeds?  What about the rich people in your neighborhood?  Can you clean their pool?  Leave your ego at the door and do what you have to do to bring in some extra income.  Look around you and the opportunities will present themselves.  

 Don’t forget to use your talents for this.  If you make beautiful birthday cakes, start asking around for parties that need help.  If your talent is shopping, start doing that for other people. And if you are not satisfied in your current job, keep your ears open, now that you are walking in the money path, the little light energy is traveling with you and it will illuminate new opportunities every step of the way.

“The money is there.”  Now go out and get it.