Making It All Happen

There are several steps to getting in control of our money.

In the previous articles of this series we discussed adopting a correct mindset, getting together the essential information about our personal finances, organizing our expenditures into an effective spending plan and adopting an allocation system. Taken together they will give us the tools to physically control our expenditures.

Now, in this final step, we will focus on putting it all together in a way that will last and produce the results we want.

Rare Qualities Worth Developing

One of the Laws of Money is what I call the Law of Persistence and Patience. This is the law that says:

Success with money requires persistence and patience as much as it does knowledge and skill.

The real truth is that the skills needed to become successful with money are not hard to learn and put into action. Honestly, almost anyone who wants to do it can.

But unfortunately, it is equally true that persistence and patience, which are absolute necessities, are somewhat rare commodities. However, if you want to reach this important goal they must be developed.

To get a spending plan we can live with, for example, requires patient work for several months. We rarely know where our money is really going. So we need some time to develop a spending plan and allocation system that fairly reflects our present personal use of money.

It doesn’t take a lot of time every month. It does take a little time each month for a while.

Once all is in place there will be many benefits. Our credit card debts and personal loans will almost automatically eliminate themselves using this process.

But this, too, requires persistence and patience because progress at first seems slow. Later, however, it will really accelerate making it much easier to stay committed.

How Can We Keep on Track?

So, can we do anything that will effectively help us keep on track? Fortunately, the answer is, “Yes.” There are several things that can really help.

First, mentally accept the fact that a person can only do a little at a time and that at first the progress may be slow. We have already discussed this, but we need to personally and purposefully adopt a mind set that this is not only true, but OK.

Actually this is good in many ways. It means that we don't need to seriously disrupt our lives to find time to work on it. Very little time is required, especially after the system is in place.

The second thing we need to do is to plan for a time at the first of each month to review, evaluate, and adjust our program. At this time we want to compute our new net worth to see what progress we have made during the previous month.

We also want to determine if our spending plan and allocation funds are all in order and working well. Perhaps some areas need increases or some permit decreases. This is also a good time to think about ways to increase our income or reduce expenses. In other words, this is our monthly financial planning session.

Sometimes this session needs to involve more than one person. If you are married, for example, there are many elements that involve both spouses. If you have children there are some issues that may involve the whole family. Let everyone have their say and resolve any disagreements.

Finally, just bite off one small step. Then another and another.

First, and always, focus on getting your spending plan and allocation systems completely in harmony with what you are actually doing. Remember, that is at the heart of all my recommendations in this plan.

When you know you are not trying to “budget,” or limit yourself from doing all the enjoyable things you are doing now it is much easier to get the system working.

Then, once you have achieved that, start looking for small ways to make improvements, ways that you may even enjoy. Remember, once this process is in place, every time you save a little somewhere or increase income a little somewhere, you will actually have the money available, just sitting there waiting for you to use as you wish.

On Your Way to Complete Success

If you have taken the time to actually do what I have proposed in these brief articles, you have achieved something only a small minority of people ever do. Congratulations.

Now that you have gotten in control of your money, you are well on your way to financial success. It is only a matter of time.