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.

You Deserve Money

You Deserve Money.

Remember that light energy I spoke of in the Introduction?  It truly does want you to know that you deserve to be happy and to have things come easy to you.  We all deserve happiness and a nice life.  Believe in this light and call upon it to help you and it will.  It is waiting and wants to show you your highest potential.  It does not matter if we have made mistakes in the past or even if we make mistakes in the future, we are human.  The world is our oyster.  Start believing this. 

 

A nice life needs to be defined.  Is a nice life a house with a swimming pool and the latest Prada bag? Or is a nice happy life one where your needs are met and you are surrounded by love and ease.  Ponder the things you really need to be happy.  Let go of what your neighbor needs to be happy.  True happiness lies in the simple.

Hey, guess what? YOU deserve money.  If you start thinking that when you get some money the first thing that you do will be to give it to your daughter so that she can pay her rent, it will not work.  The money will not be there.  Remember the child at his first day of school?  Do you think he will be happy if your intention is to put him into a new classroom with new classmates and a new teacher just as he got to know you? Nope.  The intention of the money has to be that it is coming to you, for YOUR needs. Your daughter’s rent is her problem.  Get all your ducks in a row, pay all your own debts and then if you have money left over, then you can give it to someone else.  And please note the GIVE it to someone else.  Unless you are a bank, it is not your business to loan money. If you think lending money to a family member or friend ever works out, I advise you to watch a marathon of Judge Judy.  She constantly has friends and family suing each other for unpaid loans.  Take care of yourself first, then, once you are in good shape, yes please feel free to help those around you.  What you give out you will definitely get back, but don’t do it with strings attached and don’t do it if you are not able.  So when someone comes to you and asks for help, make sure you are helping your own situation first before you give them the shirt off your back.  Once your needs are met and you are on the path to a worry free money situation, then you can and should help others.

You will also need to show the confidence that comes along with saying, “I deserve.” There are some of you reading this who for whatever past reason, are still holding onto an idea that you are not worthy.  I tell you that this is not the case.  We are all equal beings in this world and we are all worthy.  Healthy survival is a human right.

Here is the other end of the spectrum.  You may need a car, but do you really need the latest BMW model?  Some of us have become people who believe that we deserve things but we actually don’t really need them.  We use them as a means to feel better about ourselves.  If you are reading this and you have all the money you need, good for you.  Start sharing that money with those who need it instead of wasting it on things that will never bring you happiness.  Use your money to make others happy.  Money is delighted when it is used for good and not in vain.  

           Say it with me people, “The money is there.”

Stop Worrying about Money

Stop Worrying about Money

            In order for the money to start coming, you will need to create an emotional environment that welcomes it.  An emotional environment is the place where your feelings live, plain and simple.  What state of mind are you in?  Are you positive or are you doubtful? Imagine money is a young child and you are a teacher introducing him to your classroom for the first time.  What kind of experience would you like that child to have?  Would you like the child to feel secure and happy?  Or would you like that child to feel worried and unsure about the future?  I know it may seem silly to compare money to a child, however this exercise is about looking at your feelings regarding money and about the kind of place where you are inviting money to come.  Where would you want to go if you were money? Money wants to be in a place free of negative emotions.  Money loves confidence.  Money loves fun.  Money wants happiness.  Money will not bring happiness, but you can bring money with yours.  

If you are worried about money, money does not want to come to you.  Worry, in my opinion, is a negative projection of a possible future.  Therefore, by creating this worry, we are creating a possible undesired outcome.  Worry lives in our fears.  When we start worrying, we start to become fearful of the future.  Now if we fear something or worry about it too much we are actually going in the opposite direction we would like because we are fueling our fears with worry.

This is a very easy cycle to break.  Start to catch yourself when you say, “I am worried that…..” and change it to “I am confident that….”  By doing this you are fueling your desired outcome.  

Let’s take a moment to talk about caution.  Caution is very different from worry in that caution tends to live in the present whereas worry does not.  We can walk down the street without fear or caution and then when we choose to cross the street, we pause and look both ways.  This is caution. After we have crossed the street, the caution is over.  Caution is the little flag that rises up to take inventory of what is around us.  But when it is over, it does not stay with us.  We don’t think about what could have happened to us over and over if we hadn’t crossed the street properly.  Worry stays with us and will grow and grow if it is not nipped in the bud.

Let go of worry.  It does not serve you.  It does not serve those around you.   

Now say out loud, "The money is there."

Introduction

        

         I really want this blog to help you.  You probably really need this blog to help you.  I hope it does.  But before it can, you have to make one small leap of faith with me.  You will need to believe that there is some kind of energy in this universe that wants you to succeed.  I am not talking about God as taught in churches all over the world.  I am talking about a universal light/love energy that is sitting on the sidelines watching you, cheering you on and just waiting for you to ask it to jump into your game of life.  Brave scientists in the world are already working to prove this existence.  So please, for your own sake, just imagine that this energy is real and ready to help.  If you like to think of it as spiritual guides, do that.  If it’s easier for you to think of it as dead Aunt Sally, do that.  I personally prefer to think of it as light, that way it stays religiously neutral. 

In this blog, I intend to show you how to bring in the money you need.  This blog will not contain any stock advice or get rich quick tips.  It will guide you through a process where you learn to turn your negative thoughts about money into positive tangible results.  

            So what does a Nebraska girl living in Europe know about money?  I can tell you that I have witnessed the American dream first hand.  I have seen a man who came from very little and worked hard all his life reach his goal to be a millionaire.  He has put his children through college without the help of student loans and currently has education funds for all four of his grandchildren.  He has helped countless amounts of people over the years save for their retirement.  This man is my father and he is an accountant.  (He would also like to take this moment to tell you that he HATES credit cards).  He did not go to college but he is the smartest man I have ever met.  This is not a biography of my father, but I will continue to use him as an example.

 

         I am sure that in your life you have noticed that there are people who always manage to land on their feet.  And unfortunately, there are also people who continue to struggle and never manage to make ends meet.  This information is here to help those of us who can’t seem to catch a break, do just that.  When we are in the thick of things it is hard to step back and look at what is going on in an objective manner.  The people who need help the most often think that the world is against them and they tend to see injustice being done to them.  If you are one of those strugglers, I hope to help you change your perspective enough to draw in the resources and to end your struggle with money.

            I am not a rich person.  My husband owns his own business (with a great business partner) and I am a stay at home mom.  So why then, if I haven’t worked in 5 years, is money so easy for me?  Because I say that the money is there.  We have a beautiful home, take a vacation once a year, eat out when we can and genuinely enjoy our lives.  And even though my husband and his partner are amazingly talented and their work ethic is strong, there have been times when business has been slow.  There have been months when we have not had a paycheck.  But then I just say, “the money is there.” And then here comes the money.  Here comes the business.  I promise you it is that simple.

            If you start to think about what money really is, you realize it is simply paper that serves as a liaison between the service you provided at your job and the service or good that you would like from something else.  Money is there to make our lives easier and to help us function as a society.  We do need money.  Many people want money.   My daughter wants candy every time we go the grocery store, but wanting something doesn’t work.  As the Rolling Stones have said, “you can’t always get what you want.”  But if you try you can indeed get what you need.  Everything you need is there for you.  We were not put on this earth to struggle, we are here to succeed at life.  Of course, there are hardships and tragedy but there is also ease and comfort.

            I invite you to change your journey in life to comfort and ease.  To an existence where there is no fear or worry.  A life where you have everything you need and you are truly grateful for it.

            Now, say this out loud.  “The money is there.”