We’ve all heard the saying, Money Doesn’t Buy Happiness, AND most of us have experienced a time when we felt much happier when we had money in our lives than when we didn’t. As much as we want money to simply be a tool that helps us reach our dreams, the fact is, most of us DO feel more at peace when we have an ample supply of the green stuff to call our own.
However, it’s not simply HAVING money that brings us peace of mind; it’s the knowledge of how to create that money, coupled with a sound deep-seated belief that we can always create it when we need it.
You see, simply HAVING money in our wallets or bank account or retirement accounts FEELS good…at the moment. But if you don’t know how to recreate that money if it were to for whatever reason, go bye-bye, we probably have a river of fear running through us about just that…the money going bye-bye.
FINANCIAL SELF-ESTEEM
Financial Self-Esteem Lasts Forever
Many people are under the false impression that you can ‘teach’ people self-esteem. But you can’t. You can only help another person ‘develop’ self-esteem in themselves (hence the ‘self’ part of that word) by empowering them with the knowledge and skills to take care of themselves. And giving them ample time to practice those skills so they get good at it.
So how can you help yourself, and your children, develop the financial self-esteem required to experience true freedom? Well, here are a few areas in which confidence can help in the freedom department. Try them on for size and see how your financial self-esteem measures up.
- Make a commitment to learn, practice and get in the habit of managing your money like a professional money manager. Organize it, respect it, track it, understand its power to create more as well as how the lack of it can make life miserable. Things like: a) having a budget and using it, b) keeping your money neat and organized in your wallet or purse, c) always writing what you spend out of your checking account in a checkbook register NOT just checking your balance online. There is no way to really track your spending if you aren’t keeping a checkbook register. And please, please, please teach your children how to use a register by setting an example of doing it yourself!
- Have a up-to-date budget and use it! If you’re one of the many who refuse to budget ‘because it’s soooo restrictive’, just get over that. Look at a budget as another powerful tool to make your dreams come true and here is a good way to do it. Every few months, take out that checkbook register. Add up what you spend on several different categories: savings, retirement (you must pay yourself first, remember), food, shelter, medical, entertainment, pets, kids, clothes, etc. Put those on a simple piece of paper along with your income from all sources. Compare the two. If there is a category you’re spending too much in, make a conscious effort to cut your spending down. If you’re NOT doing the first two…the saving and investing piece…this is your red flag to start.
- Save a little from each paycheck and invest it for the long run. You DO plan on being around for the long run, right? If you haven’t thought that far in advance yet, I invite you to do so. It’s not that bad. All of the hoopla on aging forgets the good parts: knowing better, not caring what others think, great friendships to pass the time, knowing what you really want out of life, and a whole lot more. Oh, and the wisdom ain’t that bad either! HINT: Just remember that the old person inside you is depending on you now to make every decision count. If you can’t save and invest for him or her, who CAN you save and invest for?
- Now for the biggy…Teach yourself and your children how to MAKE money instead of EARN money! There is a huge difference between making and earning. Earning is trading your time and energy for money. Making, on the other hand, is when you create it out of thin air. Yes, I’m talking about the E-word…Entrepreneurship! Empowering children with the knowledge and skills to make their own money, and teaching them how to manage it at the same time, is by far, the best gift, besides birth, that you can give them.
TRUE FREEDOM COMES FROM KNOWING YOU CAN TAKE OF YOURSELF
Put money in someone’s pocket and they feel powerful, secure, happy…for the moment. But what happens when the money goes away? They are usually miserable, stressed, overwhelmed with the need to get more.
Instill financial esteem in your children and they’ll always know they can take care of themselves. They’ll have the ability to take an idea, skill, passion or desire and turn it into a cash machine for life. At that point, you know you’ve done your job…you’ve given your children the ultimate parenting gift. The gift of self-reliance, and there’s no better gift than that!
Just something to think about from The Financial Literacy Lady.