Three Strategies For Overcoming Financial Inertia

The time has come. You're inspired to make dramatic changes and take those next steps of attending to your personal finances. And then, before you know it, procrastination has set in and you feel more muddled than inspired. How can you break the cycle of avoidance? How can you get—and keep—the ball rolling? #1 Name your resistance Go beyond the excuse of being ‘too busy’, and give a name to what is holding you back. Is it laziness? Fear of failure? Fear of the future? Perhaps it's time to go a bit deeper: do you hold yourself so special (i.e. magical) that you don’t need to be financially responsible? Remember that this isn’t about judging yourself, or trying to fix the problem. It’s simply identifying what your resistance is to growing up concerning your finances. What stories about money do you cling to that result in some degree of suffering for yourself and/or others? If you’re willing to experience some possible discomfort, this quiet practice of increasing your self-awareness and exploring your attachment to Innocence can be a key to moving you forward. The best 'strategy' is to know thyself. #2 Review your finances regularly If you’re in a relationship, you reap an unexpected pleasure: reviewing the family finances! Bring out the port wine & chocolate every three months and carefully go over your financial situation. It may not be all sweetness and light, but review the progress (or lack of progress) you’ve made towards your goals. Whether you implement more boundaries on spending or re-negotiate goals, these meetings will seldom be dull! Sometimes I’ll work with couples where one partner has assumed or been delegated the role of ‘family financier.’ This convenient arrangement often turns into a source of major conflict further down the road. I’ll encourage these couples to foster a joint awareness of their finances and a team approach to important decisions. Other couples insist on keeping their finances separate, citing ‘independence’ as the motivation. But from a fiscal viewpoint, their financial future is anything but independent. If one partner runs into difficulty before or during retirement, his/her partner will have the overwhelming responsibility of covering both their needs. If partners in a stable, long-term relationship still insist on financial autonomy, perhaps they can dig a bit deeper and name their resistance to integrating their finances. If you’re single, keeping on top of your finances can be challenging. Without someone to keep us ‘honest’, we can begin to retreat from financial issues or spin fantasies about our money. If appropriate, it may be advisable to confer regularly with a family member (a close sibling tends to work out better than a parent!) or a very good friend. More likely, though, a relationship with a financial professional may be helpful. #3 Work with a professional. When our pipes at home are clogged, we call a plumber. When we have a persistent ache or pain, we visit a health practitioner. Needing to draft a will or trust? Time to consult with an attorney. But our culture insists on pretending that anyone can manage all aspects of their finances, particularly their retirement portfolio. The tech stock boom of the late 90’s only bolstered this illusion, when everyone was making money with their eyes closed. Only after the bubble burst did investors again realize that portfolio management demands high degrees of competence and, especially, emotional detachment. Many people also want support in defining and prioritzing all aspects of their finances, from budgeting to debt management, and from short-term saving plans to retirement planning... someone to coach them and keep them on track. When the time comes to commit, you’ll find many financial professionals to choose from, with one being the perfect match for you. From The Wealth of an Ordinary Life, 2007, by Justin Harris   2008-06-09T21:31:48Z

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three-strategies-for-overcoming-financial-inertia

2008-06-09T22:35:14Z

Trying to build your business when your personal finances are in shambles?  But what's your next move after reading countless articles and books and you still feel stuck? What's the alternative to simply closing your eyes and crossing your fingers?

Three Strategies For Overcoming Financial Inertia

2009-02-24T09:44:43Z