3 Money Rules You Should Never Break
Create financial success by following 3 fundamental rules.
As I see it, there are some fundamental rules to the game of money. If you follow them, you’ll see a positive momentum start to build with your money. But if you break the rules, you can be certain that money will subtract from your happiness rather than add to it. In this article, I’ll discuss three money rules that are critical for your financial success.
Money Rule #1: Maintain a Positive Attitude
A positive attitude is more important to your financial success than how you look, the amount of money you did or didn’t inherit, your level of education, your skills, your job, or a lucky break. That’s why it’s the first money rule you should always follow.
Success in life isn’t about what happens—it’s about how you choose to react to what happens, your attitude. Even if you learn a lot about money management, but you don’t have a positive attitude and believe in yourself, you’ll only achieve a fraction of what you could have achieved otherwise.
Money Rule #2: Be Disciplined
The second money rule that should never be broken is to have discipline. Discipline means being committed to doing what you need to do in order to get what you want. For instance, having the discipline to always pay your bills on time, to save for the future, or to avoid impulsive spending, will invariably get you closer to making your dreams a reality and achieving financial freedom.
If you’re like most people, you procrastinate money management tasks like reconciling bank statements, monitoring your investments, or checking your credit report. Here’s a way to work through it: set a short time limit—like 15 minutes—where you make yourself do whatever it is that you’re procrastinating. Knowing that you can stop doing a dreaded task after only 15 minutes is usually enough to get you motivated and allow you to make some progress. Once you start the task, you’ll realize that the fear or whatever was keeping you from getting started was totally exaggerated and you can easily continue and finish the task. Sometimes it’s fear, rather than the task itself, that’s at the root of procrastination. You’ve probably experienced this, right? So take a baby step by committing just 15 minutes to tackling what you’ve been putting off whenever your discipline begins to waver.
Money Rule #3: Know Your Goals
[[AdMiddle]In order to be successful, you have to understand exactly what success means to you. So the third ironclad rule of money is to know your goals. Make a list of your major financial goals, with the highest priority items at the top. Maybe you want to retire early, start a business, send your kids to college, or buy a home. Creating a written financial plan is the starting point for success.
The next step is to fund your financial goals. This can be tricky if you don’t have a handle on your cash flow. What I’ve found is that most people don’t really know where their money goes. Plus, half of the people who think they live within their means really don’t. You’ve got to know how you actually spend your money in order to set aside enough of it to accomplish your financial goals. That’s why it’s important to create a monthly budget so you can compare your actual spending in various categories to your spending goals.
You don’t need a degree in finance to be financially successful. If you have a positive attitude, are disciplined, and know your goals, you can create dramatic improvements in your personal finances that will allow you to achieve financial freedom.
This article was written by Ted Hunter and edited and read in the podcast by Laura Adams. Ted is the author of Money Smart: How to Spend, Save, Eliminate Debt and Achieve Financial Freedom. Learn more about Ted’s financial coaching services, money management and investment advice, and more at MoneySmartOnline.com.
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About the Author
Laura Adams received an MBA from the University of Florida. She’s an award-winning personal finance author, speaker, and consumer advocate who is a frequent, trusted source for the national media. Money-Smart Solopreneur: A Personal Finance System for Freelancers, Entrepreneurs, and Side-Hustlers is her newest title. Laura’s previous book, Debt-Free Blueprint: How to Get Out of Debt and Build a Financial Life You Love, was an Amazon #1 New Release. Do you have a money question? Call the Money Girl listener line at 302-364-0308. Your question could be featured on the show.
