We knew it as we checked our mailbox this morning. We know his writings all too well and we also know that we are in a big trouble. A second passed and we realised that we need help so bad. Save us from Mr. Bills!
Before we start, let us answer a series of questions. Is spending money really addictive? How many clothes do we need to shop to make us happy and satisfied? Do these letters look familiar, S-A-L-E? Is showing off makes the world a better place? Are we guilty of going beyond our means? Is stopping and re-assessing our finances impossible to do? If we answer yes to all these questions, then darlings, we are in dire need of help, and trust me, not from our credit cards.
Finance taught us many things. Earning money is hard but spending it is easy. Keeping our money is even harder. Knowing how to use money properly is the hardest.
We are constantly bombarded with financial information. Nowadays, websites tell us how to spend wisely or where to invest our hard-earned money. A red on the board and we buy. A green will say sell. We can also download application on our smartphones to track our expenses or we can just simply open Excel and make our own. Cool, isn’t it? Yes, Sir! Wealth building books also made the cut. Remember Trump and Kiyosaki? How about Napoleon Hill? Felix Dennis, anyone? Is Sophia Kinsella counted?
But even if we have this buffet of information, the quest for financial freedom still remains. Will these avenues enable us to change or we are going to stay stuck in a maze? Can we achieve financial liberty because of them? Yes, no, or maybe.
As I watched Suze Orman’s video, I can’t help but agree with her. As information gets easier, life gets harder. And just like Finance, she taught me things. Eight months worth of emergency fund? Check! Savings account and time deposit before stocks? Check, check, and check! Trust me, it felt like a girl on girl talk minus the chocolates. On the other hand, I can’t deny the fact that there are points where I found myself somehow guilty. I am guilty that I bought that pair of pink shoes even if it was not on budget (it makes me happy, I told myself); that sometimes I defer paying my bills (will do it next week); that I lent a big sum of money to someone who will never pay it back (opportunity cost comes into play); that I still find it hard to have the courage to tell a person (or even myself) that he is not financially sound; that I am still waiting for my pure equities UITF account to spring back to life because it once did (give my gains back!); that until now, I am still asking myself, “Is time on my side?”; and that I am not always rational. These may be the reasons why I am still inside the maze, trying to look for the key for financial freedom.
So, right now, I am asking myself, am I in a position to escape that financial maze, change and make a big leap towards financial liberty? Am I ready to alter the story of my life and my money? If I am, are you?
As I contemplate, I realised that it will all boils down to this. Money and taking care of it are integral parts of our lives, as well as truth and lies, whether we like it or not. Bills and expenses are things of everyday and we can never avoid them (but we can control them). Investments are not only for the Wall Street people or Gordon Gekko, it is also for simple people like us. But in that world, past is past. Like Enron and the Lehman Brothers, sunk costs are history. Look forward. We can all be saved if we want to save ourselves. All we need is financial knowledge, discipline, and that tiny spark that will tell us to change.
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