Tag Archives: fear

Money Mission: Embrace the Opportunities in Change

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As we continue to look at strategies that can help you to accomplish the financial goals that you set for 2013, it is important to consider some major obstacles that could be hindering your progress. Goal achievement requires you to be honest about the issues that may be holding you back.

If you are working towards your goals, you must be proceeding in a forward motion. No one has ever achieved anything by standing still or looking back on the past. So, in order to succeed in your objectives, you must be willing to move from where you are today onto new pathways.

Whether you want to budget effectively, save more, get out of debt, increase your income, buy a home, or start investing for your retirement, it is necessary for you to adopt improved money attitudes and actions. Change is integral to the process of accomplishing your financial goals. Continue reading Money Mission: Embrace the Opportunities in Change →

The Emotions of Money

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When we want to find out about what it takes to be financially smart, we often focus on the practical aspects of money such as budgeting, saving, investing and planning for our financial goals. It makes sense to think that if we learn and apply all the right financial principles, then we should be well equipped to become successful with money.

However, very often we forget to consider the effects that the psychological side of money may have on our results. The cold, hard facts of bank balances, expense figures, interest rates and growth targets are not the only determinants of money success; our emotions surrounding our finances also play an essential role.

About five years ago I attended a financial seminar called the Millionaire Mind Intensive, which promised to transform the way people thought about money. The major premise of the event was that by exposing any negative underlying feelings about money and replacing them with positive emotions, you would be better able to carry out the tasks necessary for financial achievement. Continue reading The Emotions of Money →

The Past and Present Tense of Money

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The start of a new year usually fills our hearts with optimism and hope for a better future. I’ve always been fascinated by this phenomenon – why should this period inspire us to create lofty resolutions and ambitious declarations? Why do we anticipate that the fading old year will usher in bright beginnings?

There is no magic elixir that gets released on New Year’s Day; the first of January is just another 24 hours that will come and go, just like they did on December 31.

Despite our fervent wishes to exercise regularly, save more, be kinder to other people or pursue our dreams, chances are that after a few days of inspired activity, we will continue along the same old pathway as we did before.

The reality is that you can choose to transform your life at any time of the year. The date doesn’t make a difference; whether it’s February 28, April 13, or September 4, any day can symbolise that moment when you finally commit to do whatever it takes to effect the changes that you desire. Continue reading The Past and Present Tense of Money →

Free Yourself From Financial Fear

Money & Your Mind, , ,

“Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery, none but ourselves can free our minds.” Bob Marley

This week, as Jamaicans commemorate our emancipation from slavery and the birth of our independent nation, some of us might reflect on what it means to be free. Financial freedom can represent different things to different people, but there is a universal desire in most persons to be free from fear about money. Unfortunately, many of us are in bondage to our financial fears, and have no idea how to emancipate ourselves.

Bestselling author and personal finance guru, Suze Orman, looks at the role that fear plays in denying us the financial success we desire. In her book, The 9 Steps to Financial Freedom, she declares that “Almost all of us have fears or anxieties about money – but we rarely admit them to those around us. We may not admit them to ourselves.“

Orman points out that “because (our fears) are holding us back, preventing us from taking control of our financial lives, looking these fears in the eye is an essential step toward freedom.” Continue reading Free Yourself From Financial Fear →