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Photo courtesy of PT Money |
I recently heard a former Financial Peace University student make the statement, "I hate money." I know this person struggles with both the income and the outgo sides of the money equation.
Unfortunately, this former student doesn't truly understand the money game. They have some faulty "money scripts" running in their subconscious mind. They don't have a complete understanding of the game and how to play it. They're blaming the game when they should be blaming the player.
It would be better if this particular person looked in the mirror and determined that the money game isn't the true issue. The player doesn't understand how the game is played! They need to become a student of the game.
Become A Student Of The Game
If you don't want to struggle your whole life with money problems, then you need to get in there and figure out the money game. You need to get counsel from people who get it. You need to attend seminars of wealthy people who teach it well.
You should read books on how to make it, manage it, and spend it. Some books I highly recommend are:
- I Will Teach You To Be Rich by Ramit Sethi
- Thou Shall Prosper by Rabbi Daniel Lapin
- Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki
- The Millionaire Mind by Dr. Thomas J. Stanley
- The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey
- The Automatic Millionaire by David Bach
- Multiple Streams of Income by Robert G. Allen
- MoneyCrashers
- Christian PF
- I Will Teach You To Be Rich
- Bible Money Matters
- Money Help For Christians
Now, Play The Game!
Having a bunch of head knowledge is great, but just having the knowledge is not going to win the money game. You have to pull the trigger. You must take action.
So, what I recommend is to take the money game one step at a time, one day at a time. Sometimes, we can increase our head knowledge to the point where we are so overly enthusiastic that we have so many great ideas or plans, but we end up paralyzed by too many ideas.
We need to slow down, make a prioritized list of the top 3-5 steps we can currently take to get our financial life in order. So, if my finances were in a complete mess and I was just starting from the very beginning, my top 5 steps in my first financial plan might look like this:
- Determine the basic, important numbers. What is my income? What is my current outgo (budget/cashflow)? Does my outgo exceed my income, and by how much?
- Create a reasonable cashflow plan. If my outgo is the primary issue, what can I do, at least temporarily, to reign in my expenses? Are there expenses/bills that I can eliminate without creating too much pain in my life?
- Focus on the income. Wealthy people focus on bringing home the bacon. How can you temporarily as well as long-term bring home more income?
- Set-up a baby emergency fund of at least $1,000. This is straight out of the FPU plan. Emergency savings help keep you out of long-term debt.
- Work your debt snowball. List all personal debts (except 1st mortgages) from smallest to largest and attack that debt with a vengeance. Pay it off as quickly as possible.
Educate the player, and then get out there and play the money game with excellence!
Also, check out these related posts:
- How To Put The Length Of Our Lives And The Accumulation Of Stuff In Perspective
- The Secret To A Healthy Financial Life
- Handling Your Finances Like A Wise Christian
- 4 Money Hacks To Get Out Of Debt Faster
- There Are No Shortcuts In Your Finances