Here’s a riddle: What’s something we all have in common, that people come into contact with daily, but hate talking about – even more than sex?
Answer: Money.
Even if you don’t think you’re spending money today, you probably are. You’re eating food that was paid for. You’re attending a class that’s provided by financial aid or student loans, or out of your own pocket. Money has been a part of your life since before your birth, and will be a part of it even after your death.
The reason that most people have trouble with money is because they fight that truth. They want to just live their lives, without worrying about bills or insurance or how they will pay for something. But ignoring money will never make it go away. It will always be there, and procrastinating about finances will have the same effect as procrastinating about homework: it will only make things much worse.
The Universal Law and Truth of Money
There is one rule for managing money, a golden principle. It separates those who live in harmony with their money from those who constantly fight and struggle with it. Understand this rule and you will control your money. Disregard it and your money will control you.
Before I let you in on the money rule, you need to understand the key to the money rule: you have a Money Self. Somewhere, deep inside you, it lives. Like your inner child, it silently guides you and dictates how your life will go. Your Money Self is not a spender or a saver. It is not a budgeter or a freewheeler. It’s higher than that – it is the part of you that plots and plans and sets goals.
Ironically, your Money Self doesn’t think in numbers. It knows only dreams and imagination: a vacation home on an island, a career as a celebrity chef, or the completion of your college degree within a reasonable time frame. All day long, your Money Self thinks about the things you want to accomplish.
So what is the Universal Law and Truth of Money? What is it that puts your Money Self to work?
Know Thyself
Until you know and understand your goals and how they relate to your finances, you will always be at odds with your money.
That’s it. That’s the secret, the universal law, and the truth about money. It’s so simple because money is just a tool, like a hammer. If you know what kind of house you want to build, a hammer can help make it happen. If you have no idea what you’re doing, you’ll probably just hit yourself with a hammer. Money is no different.
Think about the people you know who spend frivolously, and then claim to be broke. Or the people you know who live paycheck-to-paycheck, and never seem to get ahead. The reason they do this is because they don’t understand how their life goals relate to their money. For whatever reason, they simply haven’t sat down and worked out the connections.
Many people know they should do something about their financial situation, but don’t know where to start. Now that you know the Universal Law, you know where to start: figure out your goals and dreams. Put them down on paper, in writing, or even in a drawing. Then, begin to figure out how much your dreams will cost, in real numbers. Your Money Self already knows the first part – you’ll have to use your head to find the numbers that go with it.
Obviously, there are real, concrete, practical steps to achieving your goals and satisfying your Money Self that come after this, so don’t think that it ends here. This is the first step: the drawing of a map before the journey.
Read about all of this and more at PoorerThanYou.com
