Resources: Part 5 - Your Finances

I often talk in my seminars about how we use the phrase, “…but I don’t have the money,” as an excuse for not living our perfect dream life, more often than we really should. “I would quit my job, if I didn’t need the money…” or “I would go to Italy, but I don’t have the money…” or “I would go back to school, if I only had the money…” Sound familiar? The worst part about this is that this kind of thinking actually puts money in charge of our dreams, and takes the power completely away from us. I submit to you that rarely in our lives is there an actual lack of money, and that what we are more likely to lack is the creativity, the relationships, or the “want to,” to really go for what we think we want.

When you consider your finances, please remember that money is just dirty, little pieces of paper that we have all agreed to trade for things we really want. However, don’t you have other things of value you could trade? Essentially, we have completely lost track of the fact that we live within a barter system. Our financial brains don’t even process that way, anymore. But what if they did? What if you looked at all of the things that you have to offer, and started offering them? What could you get in return?

Consider someone whose dream it is to be a chef, but who doesn’t, “have the money,” to chase that dream. Since groceries are one of the expenses everyone has, how about this: Find a working mother/wife who would love to have dinner on the table when she gets home. Combine both people’s grocery lists, so that, for the price of a few extra groceries, the mother could avoid the store and the cooking, while the would-be chef shops and cooks for her. The chef gets to live his/her dream and have groceries in the house, and the wife/mother gets to live her dream of having dinner on the table when she gets home. It doesn’t replace the need for that job that earns a living, but it’s a start.   

This is just one thought for you. I hope you can imagine how it might play out in your world with your dreams. While I’ve bartered things like tutoring other students in nursing courses in exchange for credit hours from the college, and painting walls  in exchange for the supplies I needed to repair my own home, I’m not oblivious to the fact that some things just demand the cash. I haven’t yet found a way to barter with the electric company, for example. Therefore, I’ve listed, below, a few of the resources I’ve used to help me improve my relationship with money, so that I can be better at saving and budgeting.  

Author of “Finish Rich,” (click here) David Bach has investigated "The Latte Factor," which includes his incredible, eye-opening quiz. You may be sitting on a gold mine, and not even realize it.

One of the most popular and successful money gurus? Dave Ramsey, of course! (click here)  After all, who better to tell you how to get out from under debt and looming bankruptcy than someone who has been there?

And the classic, “Rich Dad , Poor Dad,” by Robert Kiyosaki is a must read, if you really want to understand how to make and keep money around you. You can find this book used, on Amazon, for just a couple of dollars.    

Think about bartering, and think about how to take more control of your own financial picture. Before you know it, you will be controlling your finances instead of letting your finances dictate to you.

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