Financial Freedom Takes Courage… Do You Have What It Takes?

Starting the journey to a financially free life can be challenging. Often times, it takes making cuts to your spending habits and choosing to live a lifestyle that is different from those around you. But the payoff is that much more rewarding. In the early stages, it may seem easy. You’re motivated by your goals, you’re driven to live on a budget and stick to it. What happens when life hits, and temptations arise? How do you keep going, when it feels easy to turn away and do what’s easier?

Remember what’s at stake.

You started the journey for a reason – To become debt free – To travel – To land an early retirement. To develop financial health to pass on to your children. Whatever the reason may be, you are staking your financial future on your working a budget. Your goals are riding on you making a plan and sticking to it. You can’t give up! Giving up on the financial plan you set up would be giving up on all of your goals. So when temptation kicks in, remember your goals. Focus on what is important, and your goals will remind you of the real reason you are changing your financial habits.

For me, the goal was to be debt free. To have no more Sallie Mae debts hanging over my head or car payments chasing me. It was the freedom of knowing that once we were debt free, we would have the income potential to do so much more, but our debts were tying us down. The weight of the debt kept me focused on our financial health. Now, my goal is focused on maintaining our financial freedom. I never want to go back to the place of living paycheck to paycheck because of my spending habits. So I follow our working budget.

Keep up with the process. 

And it is a process. You need to be patient with yourself. The path to financial freedom is a marathon, not a sprint. It takes time to achieve a plan that works for you. And it takes dedication to work the process consistently. That’s why we call it a working budget. Not a stagnant budget. You need to be engaged in the process, checking and updating things regularly. Don’t go into autopilot and assume everything is working normally. Being engaged in the process will also help you stay motivated. You will see the growth in the small moments, as well as see areas of opportunity while working the budget. If you aren’t taking advantage of your budget meetings and the process, start! You won’t regret it.

Along with the process, remember to be patient with yourself. Allow grace and room for growth in working your budget. There will be mistakes made, and opportunities for change. Don’t let it be a discouraging thing, but use it as an opportunity to get healthier in your financial education.

Never give up!

Even when it is difficult. Especially when it’s difficult. Never give up the strive to be in a better financial situation than you were yesterday. Striving to grow and improve your financial health can be healthy if you are working a budget and are setting healthy expectations. Remember that it’s not the most important thing in this world, but rather a tool that we use, and we are all stewards of the resources we have been given.

Through it all, if you are consistent in your planning and working the program that you set, you will see results.