Changing The Way You Think

"For as [a man] thinks in his heart, so is he." - Proverbs 22:7

One of our biggest goals as financial coaches or counselors has always been to teach people how to change the way they think about money. Because here's the thing...we can come in and help someone change their financial situation by working the numbers, or getting a plan together, or helping them get out of debt, but if a person doesn't change the way they think, all that effort will make little difference in their end result. You see, fixing a physical situation is great, but it won't stick if you keep your same old way of thinking...because that same bad thinking will just get you right back where you started!

Take lottery winners, for example. There are myriads of cases of lottery winners divorcing, going bankrupt, and having family feuds. Many of them squander away all their winnings in just a few years! On the flip side of this, take away a millionaire's money, and he'll be a millionaire again in short order. Its all about how you THINK. Financial success is only 20% knowledge, it's 80% behavior. And what you think, you speak. And what you speak becomes what you act upon. and how you act is what will change your life - for better or for worse.

So what should you be thinking about money? Here's some thoughts:

• Psalm 24:1 - "The earth is the Lord's, and all it's fullness, the world, and all who dwell therein." (God owns it all, we're just managers)
• Proverbs 21:20 - "In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, but a foolish man devours all he has." (Make saving money a priority)
• 1 Timothy 6:6 - "Godliness with contentment is great gain." (Learn how to live on less than you make)
• Proverbs 22:7 - "The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender." (Don't borrow any more money!)
• 1 Timothy 5:8 - "But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever." (Take care of your families basic needs first - food, clothing, shelter, transportation)
• Luke 14:28-30 - “For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it, lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’” (Have a plan - spend on purpose)
• Malachi 3:10 - "Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try me now in this,” says the Lord of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such a blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it." (Give back to God 10% of your gross income so that the other 90% can be blessed)
• Luke 6:38 - "Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.” (Don't hold it too tightly! Learn the joy of giving.)

Deanna Koffler, Nine36 Financial (936 Financial)

Financial Self-Evaluation

It's the middle of summer, and everyone is out enjoying their last month of vacation before heading off to school again! September really is the start of a new year for most people...I think we tend to think of summer as being the grand finale of good times to top off the year, then it's back to school and another year has begun. It's a time when people often get reflective about their dreams or their goals or the direction their lives took over the past year. Now is a great time to do a little self-evaluation when it comes to your finances. Here's some questions to ask yourself:

1. Where am I financially (income/debts/assets/etc)? Is it where I want to be?
2. What do I need to change in order to get to where I want to be?
3. Am I spending/saving with a plan for my money?
4. Have I set some goals to help me get to where I want to be?
5. Do I have someone holding me accountable to my goals?

If your answer is "no" to most or all of these questions, you could be heading for a financial train wreck. If you're ok with that, then by all means, keep doing what your doing...no sense changing something that's working well for you, right? But if you're not ok with that, now is the time to make a change. Get a grip on your finances once and for all, before the new year begins. If you want to know how, give us a call or read the blog series "Road to Financial Freedom" (July 2008).