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02-14-2008, 09:43 AM
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#1
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Step #17: Accept Responsibility, Gain Control
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Ms. Mommysavers
Last Online: Today 09:40 PM
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Southern MN
Real Name: Kim
Posts: 14,357
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One more step before we delve into budgeting. I think this is an important one to talk about before we start doing financial work.
Accept Responsibility, Gain Control
A crucial element in financial success is taking responsibility for your actions. Granted there are always circumstances beyond your control that influence your life, but you control how you respond to them. Accepting 100% responsibility is a mark of financial maturity.
If you don’t like your current financial picture, do you ever ask yourself why? The answer you give yourself is a good indicator of how successful you’ll be in digging yourself out of the financial hole you’re in. Stop right now and take a minute to fill in the blank. Our current financial situation (good or bad) is a result of: __________________________________________________ _______.
If your picture isn’t so pretty, do you blame your small income, high insurance rates or housing prices? Recession, inflation, or high taxes? Do you blame the cost of raising kids or something else outside of yourself? Stop. Your financial situation right now is a product of the decisions you've made in the past. If you don’t like where you are, stop blaming the situations and circumstances that surround you. Look in the mirror and accept personal responsibility for where you are today.
Take a closer look at the decisions you made that led you to the financial situation you’re in today. If you’re not where you’d like to be, maybe you got in over your head with a mortgage payment. Maybe you racked up consumer debt, made a poor career or were improperly insured. Maybe you handed over control of your finances to your spouse and shouldn’t have. If you acknowledge the things within your own control that led to financial troubles, you’re less likely to make those mistakes again.
On the flip side, if you made good decisions, what were they? Did you start saving at a young age? Did you purchase a home that wasn’t beyond your means? Did you work extra hours to further your career? What choices have you made in life that have had a positive effect on your finances?
As soon as you realize the impact your decisions make, you can go into the future making choices that will affect your financial well being in a positive way. You are in the driver’s seat. You’re the one controlling your finances; your finances aren’t controlling you. Once you’ve grasped the concept, you will realize it applies not only to your finances but to your life in general.
In today’s day and age are fortunate to have unlimited opportunities to create the life we wish to lead. If you are living in an expensive part of the country, you can move. If your job doesn’t provide good insurance, you’re free to look for another one. If you’re not bringing in enough money, you can look for a second job. Don’t let life happen to you while you sit back. Be an active participant in determining your own destiny. Be proactive, not reactive when it comes to your finances and your life.
Assignment: Write down some of your past financial mistakes as well as things you’ve done right. Then, apply this exercise to your life in general. If you don’t like the current state of your career/relationships/leisure time, what mistakes have you made? What have you done right? What can you do differently moving into the future?
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