Common Money Mistakes

I have found that most people make the following mistakes when it comes to building wealth or accepting money

into their lives: 

They never make having abundance a necessity: If you want something bad enough, you will get it.  Unfortunately, for many of us, we have decided on a comfort level in our lives when it comes to money.  We saw how much our parents made, we see how much our friends make and we get comfortable in that range.

They associate negative feelings to having money: Many people think negatively about having abundance and they don’t even know it.  This is usually caused by the programming we received as children.  You might think, in your mind, that in order to have a lot of money you will have to work too hard to enjoy it.  You might have been taught phrases such as: “money doesn’t grow on trees,” or “money is the root of all evil.”  That last one needs to be corrected before we go any further.  The entire phrase is actually read, “For the love of money is the root of all evil…”c  You may have learned that in order to have money, you must take advantage of other people, or that if you make a lot of money you won’t be spiritual. 

They are not generous with what they do have: We live in a society that teaches selfishness and self-centeredness.  We are taught to “look out for number one.” This causes our own brains to reason that there is lack in the world and that we therefore must protect the little that we do have or else we will lose it.  Generosity, for most people, has come down to throwing our spare change into the bucket outside the grocery store or the offering plate at church.  These fears hold us back from the true joy that accompanies giving. 

They don’t allow themselves to receive: We are taught at a very young age to be self-supporting.  We want to be self-made and it hurts our pride to accept something from other people.  Even people who give generously, find it difficult to accept the other side of the coin.  However, giving and receiving work side-by-side.  In fact, if you are always giving, but never receiving, then you are hurting somebody else’s chance to experience the joy of giving. 

They never plan an effective strategy to make money:  Most people never learn how to attract money into their lives.  They never develop the discipline needed to save on a consistent basis.  Even among those who do make an attempt to become successful at saving, they never learn to invest the money they do have to attract more money into their lives.  Just like any other area of life, without having a plan, you will never make much progress.  It is like trying to drive a car without a steering wheel.  Yes, if you hit the gas pedal you will go somewhere, but where you end up is anybody’s guess. 

They don’t follow a plan, if established:  Most of us never really make much progress in achieving financial success because we never put a plan into action.  The few, who are able to put a realistic plan together, soon find that their wants and desires simply override their plan.  That new, shiny car looks much better in the driveway, than putting $500 a month in to an investment or savings plan.  The good intentions are there, but the discipline to follow through quickly fades. 

They get comfortable when things start going well:  We all do it, when things start going well; we forget to do the

simple things that started us moving in the direction of success.  It happens in all areas of life too, not just our finances.  We procrastinate taking the positive steps that we were once making.  We begin to spend the money that we were once saving and to make foolish decisions with our money.  I would do this; I would go through periods of “famine and feast.”  It took me a very long time to learn why this was happening.  During the periods of “feast,” I would quickly forget the struggles I had endured only a short time earlier. 

They allow a financial problem to become a financial disaster:  We all have the small bumps in the road that cause us to stumble financially.  Maybe it was being away from work for a while or maybe it was an unexpected expense, such as a car repair, or a new furnace that threw us off our plan.  When these things happen, we need to pay very close attention to our actions and attitudes.  We have to make sure that these minor problems do not begin to spiral out of control.  It is very easy to turn negative when these things happen and lose focus on the big picture.  There was a week, several years ago, when I had two cars needing major repairs, a broken washing machine and a broken furnace.  These things will happen! 

They rely on financial experts:  We have discussed this in some of the other principles.  Do Not Rely On Experts!  It’s okay to get some opinions, but make sure the decision is yours, based on your circumstances. 

They don’t trust and rely upon God:  Stop trying to do it yourself!  It’s much easier to ask God to step in and help you with a difficult situation, than it is to try and run the show yourself.  Unfortunately, most people never turn to God because our pride and our ego tell us to be self-sufficient.  This causes misery and lack of fulfillment.  In the remainder of this principle I am going to be discussing His plan and how you can adapt it and incorporate it into your life.  It may not be what you wanted, but it works and it works well! 

Take some time right now and review the common money mistakes.

Michael at R2W