You need to establish a new reality if you want control of your money and freedom from financial stress. I call it upgrading the circuits in your brain so that you think differently about money and how to use it. If you want to change your life and your finances, you have to change your way of thinking and embrace a different set realities than what you have been using. Don’t worry about people who disagree with you about how you should spend your money. Stand in your new reality, it is YOUR reality, not theirs, not to mention that it is your money, not theirs that they want to spend.
Reality – Numbers don’t lie! If you are spending more than you make, you will not magically have enough money to cover your bills. Don’t be afraid to look at the numbers, they are what they are whether or not you know what they are. Once you see what they say, you can make changes and start moving uphill.
Reality – The first step to getting out of a hole is to stop digging! In order to improve your money situation, you must stop destructive actions like unnecessary spending, and borrowing. If you stop buying because you want it, and stick to buying what you need you will see a change in the amount of cash you have available. Most of the things you will pass on buying, you will either buy later when you can afford it, or be grateful you didn’t waste hard-earned money on it.
Reality – Friends that don’t support your efforts aren’t friends! Negative peer pressure is some of the hardest to overcome. If your friends do not support your efforts to improve your finances, dump them and get some real friends that actually care about you.
Reality – It is better to save than to spend! You can always spend what you save, but you can never save once you have spent it. There is a drive to spend money as soon as you have it on frivolous items rather than paying bills or saving it. This keeps people poor and prevents them from moving up financially and reaching the point when they can actually afford the items they want. Instead, the driving need for immediate gratification holds them down. Learn to find satisfaction in saving (yes, it is possible) and suddenly you don’t miss the stuff you didn’t buy.
Reality – If you spend money to impress others you’ll be broke and unimpressive. Don’t try to compete with the ‘Jones,’ especially since most of them are using borrowed money to impress others. There is nothing impressive about the bank taking your home because you spent your money trying to impress someone. There is a saying that goes “Spending money you don’t have on things you don’t need to impress people you don’t really like.” Manage your money wisely and don’t worry about impressing others and suddenly they will be coming to you for advice.