Gaining Financial Freedom: Chapter 1: You are Unique

     

     Often, a person's first instinct when reading articles dealing with finances, creating a budget, getting out of debt, and so on, is to immediately find ways that it will not work for them.  The reader often laments that there are too many negatives in their life to be able to effectively implement the strategies listed.  (i.e. I make minimum wage, I don't have a college degree, I live in a certain area that limits my ability to find a good job, etc.).  While many arguments used against having the ability to gain financial freedom  may sound like just a bunch of excuses given by people who simply do not want to make the effort required to get out of debt, these may in fact actually be real reasons that are holding them back even though they do want to succeed financially.  The persistent problem here is that we find something that does not work, and then we assume that means there is nothing that will work.  We feel we are doomed to a life of debt and poverty.  While it is true that one strategy one person uses to become financially independent may not work for someone else, that does not mean that none of them will work.  Instead of focusing on what will not work for us, we need to concentrate on those techniques that will help us, and then implement those into our lives.

     A few years ago when I was in financial straits, and saw no course of action to get out of debt, I began reading everything I could find to teach myself how to get to a point in my life where I would not always be wondering where I would get the money to pay all my bills.  I did not enjoy holding two or three bills in my hand wondering which one I would pay this month, and which two to hold off until next month hoping that they would not cut off my utilities, or that I would not have a wreck since I would be driving without insurance for the next month.  As I began to read, I realized that there were some very simple things that I could start doing, or quit doing, that would help my financial situation.    However, as I read these books, magazines, web articles and the like I realized that there were some strategies that some of the authors used that simply would not work for me; instead of giving up, though, I began to concentrate on those things that would work for me and did not worry about the rest.

     We are all unique individuals with unique lives, situations, goals, and abilities.  What works for one person may not work for you;  what one person uses to improve their personal financial situation may need to be tweaked a bit before you can use it.  Something you need to realize is that different things can affect your need for money, your ability to procure it, and your ability to maintain it.  Your age, gender, marital status, location, education, job, and many other factors play into how you should approach your finances.  What is important to remember though, is that regardless of your situation, there is a way to fix it and make sure it stays that way.

     In the pages of this blog I want to set forth the strategies I used to get out of debt, and what I am doing to maintain my financial freedom.  Again, I can't emphasize enough how important it is to keep in mind that you and I are different; what works for me may not necessarily work for you, but within these pages you will find something that will work for you, even if it has to be changed up somewhat.  So keep in mind as you read these pages, these strategies and techniques I am putting forth are not ways of telling you what you should do in order to accomplish your goals, but rather these are what I used to meet my goals, and you can use these as an outline to develop your own strategies to help you get out of debt, and stay out of debt.

Read more at the Cash Course website. 

© 2018 Stephen Moore