Many of us feel out of control when it comes to our money. This is one of the most profound revelations that have come out of the current class I am taking through Wealth Creation. When we feel out of control with our money we spiral. It starts with one experience, impulse spend, swipe of the credit card, bad debt, dismissal of the bank statement, lapsed policy and so on. The experiences become more, more expensive, and shortly spiral out of control. Fear of facing the situation creeps in), responsibility is avoided, (and then temporarily clouded by another action in the wrong direction). We get to a point where we now think it is beyond our control and hopefully something miraculous will come along the way, save us and clear the financial mess we have created along the way. We are officially STUCK. Getting a sense of control over your finances enables you to move forward and makes you UNSTUCK.
TIPS TO GETTING BACK CONTROL:
1) Make a decision to move forward irrespective of the discomfort you may experience. Do not wait to have money first before making a decision to face reality.
2) Take stock. What are your Assets (that which you own), what are your Liabilities (that which you owe)? This may be a daunting exercise at first and most probably you will feel scared. But after that this fear, which has been keeping you from acknowledging your true financial status will no longer have control over you.
3) Become aware of what you spend. Create a budget but more importantly track what you are spending on a daily basis. After about 4 weeks of this you will see the patterns that burn holes in your wallet and are contributing to the loss of control. This awareness simply opens the doors to choices.
4) Who is the decision maker on your finances? Question why you spend money the way you do, why you bought the last 5 items, why you took the loan, why you made that investment, why did you buy that car etc. Did you make these decisions because you genuinely wanted to or was someone else driving the decision? Were you looking for validation from others, respect, love, approval or wanted to avoid confrontation at all costs? The more external factors dictate our decision making, the more out of control our finances get.
5) Keep and look at your documentation. A lady in my class discovered she had been overcharged by Kes 20,000 by simply going back three months into her statements. Acknowledge what you actually owe by looking at the credit card bill, go through statements. Know where your finances are at and that you are in fact the legal owner of what you think you own.
6) Do just one thing different in the next three months. This does not have to be big. Save an extra Kes 5,000 a month, take a course, put extra payments towards debt etc. If you can build this integrity with yourself you will be ready to keep doing bigger and bolder things as you become more confident in yourself to handle your money.
Waceke Nduati- Omanga
The author teaches personal financial management. Find her at www.centonomy.com
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