Financial freedom allows you to live the life you want. And to attain financial freedom you’ve got to know how to make your money work for you.
Many of you have heard me say time and time again that most people want far more than they will ever need, but because they don’t know how to make their money work for them, they end up with far less than they could have attained. I’d like to take this one step further…it’s not only a case of a lack of knowledge that causes people to end up with less than they could have had, but for a large majority of people, it’s actually a case of not making the effort to make their money work for them.
And I have to hold up my hands up and say that I’ve been guilty of this in the past too. One only needs to look at research done by consumer body, Which?, to prove my point – they found that more than a third of people in the UK still have savings accounts that they opened six years ago despite the fact that nine out of 10 of those accounts are paying 0.5% or less in interest!
It can be hard to find the time and the energy to make the effort that is required to making the most of your money. But at the end of the day, you have to let what you really want out of life motivate you into action.
Keep in mind that it’s not just a case of growing your money for the sake of growing your money (although some people get a kick out of this). No, it’s a case of growing your money so that you can have the financial freedom to live the life you want.
At the end of the day, it all boils down to your priorities, knowing what is really important to you in life and then actively doing your bit to pursue it. The truth of the matter is that we make time for what we value most.
Gloria Steinem said that “We can tell our values by looking at our cheque book stubs.” With the use of cheque books almost obsolete, we can say the same thing about our bank statements and credit card statements.
Here are some things to ask yourself:
- When last did you take a look at what your spending patterns are saying about your priorities?
- Is it time you took stock of where you’re at versus where you want to be?
- Are you on track or have you taken a bit of a detour?
- What can you do to get back on track?
Let me encourage you to make the time and the effort to ensure that your finances will not be the stumbling block to you living the life you want. If you need some help with that, give me a shout.
