Seven Attitudes of Successful Money Management

The 7 Attitudes of Successful Money Management
By Cheryl Hall

Do you really need to learn money management or do you need to learn a new attitude about your money? Where did you learn your ideas about money? Probably if you’re like most, you learned what your parents taught you. Maybe your spouses’ money habits and concerns have rubbed off on you. Most importantly, how will yours rub off on your children? Before you can teach money management to your teen, what do your words and actions say? If your children use the same techniques for money management in 20 years, will they be headed toward success or disaster? Maybe it’s time you rethought this love/hate relationship with your old friend, money. Maybe it’s time you adopted some successful attitudes; such as:

1: An Attitude of Gratitude

So often, as parents we give our children this line when there are complaints about what’s for dinner, who got what toy or got to sit in which seat. We say, “Stop complaining and be grateful for what you have,” or something to that affect. If it’s become rote, more than likely what you’re really saying (which is what your child is hearing) is “Shut-up and stop complaining,” which amazingly enough, doesn’t sound grateful at all, does it? The way we teach our children to be grateful is by being thankful for what we have and expressing it regularly; and no other topic comes to mind so regularly as money. Are we thankful for our good health and yet whining about our paycheck or our taxes? The more grateful we are for what we have, the more we’ll have to be grateful for.

2: An Attitude of Respect

We’ll spend time teaching our kids to respect their elders, respect our rules and have respect for themselves, but too often respect for money gets pushed aside. There seem to be 2 schools of thought, neither of which are respect; fear or disregard. If the budget rules your house with an iron fist and every penny is squeezed, you are passing down a fear of money to your child. If money is so scary that it controls even Mom and Dad, the most powerful people in the universe, it must be bad. Total disregard of the finances is just as bad. A lazy attitude of, “Oh the mortgage will just be late and I have no idea how we’ll pay for the credit card, but we’ll stop thinking about that once we go shopping,” teaches disrespect for money, which will translate into lack of money later in life.

3. An Attitude of Joy

Money is fun and if you’ve forgotten that, let me remind you. There was a time; maybe a long time ago, maybe you were still a child that you suddenly “came into” some money that you weren’t expecting. There it was, a whole $20 and you couldn’t believe how great it was and started right away imagining all the cool stuff you could buy with it! Why should you give up that joy as an adult? Spending money is fun and when you give with love and an open heart, not only is it fun but you are making abundance possible in your life. Spending money begrudgingly and reminding your children and spouse about how much they “cost you” every time you leave the house not only stops the abundance coming into your life, but makes you a killjoy.

4. An Attitude of Interest

How much do you really know about money? We all know that in order to have a good relationship with our spouse, we have to communicate. We have to find out what makes them tick. We have to get to know them. We know as parents that we need to know our child’s interests and spend time growing those talents. We are successful at what interests us because we automatically take the time to find out more. So wouldn’t that apply to our money as well? How can expect to have a great relationship with your money if you don’t know the first thing about it? When the only time you spend with money is that dreaded day of the month where you grip the checkbook, hope for the best and pay the bills, how can you really know what makes your money tick? Get involved with your money and invest the time in finding out more. Get your family equally involved with the finances. If one spouse handles all the money, the other one should still know the essentials of what this family is doing with finances. Your family budget, the one your kids know exists but never find out why or how it works, is a “family” budget. Take the mystery out of your money and spend time with it.

5. An Attitude of Value

Understanding the value of money goes beyond, this is $10, it’s worth $10. How you value yourself and your personal values in life are expressed through your value of money. Are you spending every waking moment in a desperate attempt to keep up with the Jones’s? Are your kids always dressed to impress even though they’d rather be just comfortable? Is it not good unless it’s the most expensive? These are all ideas that scream, “I am not enough, not valuable without money.” Is that what you want your children believing later in life? On the other end of the spectrum we have those that never buy anything new, their house is in desperate need of repair, their children live in hand-me-downs and they’re not satisfied unless they got “it” the cheapest that they could get. They even love to brag about how little everything they own cost. Are you really being frugal or have you taken the “we don’t deserve nice things” and made it a lifestyle? Are your feelings of self-worth controlling your money habits? And if so, what kind of value are your children seeing?

6. An Attitude of Confidence

Obviously if you are married with children, fear of the unknown doesn’t really faze you. You walked down the aisle despite what the statistics told you that the odds were. You had children and are raising them in the face of awesome odds. Look at you – you’re doing it! So why, when we’re brave enough to face the challenges of marriage and parenthood, do so many of us figure that money is totally out of our control. We can trust God with our kids, but money is up to fate, luck and maybe the lottery. We can count on our spouse to be with us through sickness and through health but we can’t count on ourselves to be “good” with money. We’d start that business if we had the money. We’d buy that stock if we had the money. Confidence with money comes from the knowledge that you come from abundance. There is plenty more where that came from. Being bold is the only thing that’s going to take you from struggling to success. Are you passing down an entrepreneurial spirit? Or are you going to whine about all the missed opportunities? Will your kids?

7. An Attitude of Honesty

Are you honest with your family about the finances? Isn’t it amazing that as a parent, you can expect your child to be truthful about why they got in trouble, and yet cheat on your taxes, feeling somehow that you’re entitled? Why is it that we expect our spouse to tell us every little thing that happened at work that day but what’s going on with the checking account is a big mystery? Do you talk about your salary like you talk about that 6-foot fish you almost caught? What’s your money story? And if it’s not a good one, or it doesn’t have a happy ending, what’s the moral of the story for your kids? If the truth shall set you free, how free are you financially?

When you think about the relationship you have with one of your old friends, or the relationship you have with your spouse when things are going really well, what are you doing to make that relationship a success? Of course you’re grateful for the time the two of you spend together. You have a deep respect for that person and you feel a joy when you are with them that always brings you back for more. You are extremely interested in what they’re doing and find their ideas and feelings to be fascinating. You value their ideas and opinions and love knowing they value yours. You are confident that the future of your relationship is going to be even better than the past. And you would never dream of dishonoring that relationship by being anything less than truthful.

If you became friends with your money, would you need to manage it? Growing a relationship with your money is not only key to your own success, but a vital part of teaching your child to reach for their own financial freedom.

Cheryl Hall www.millionairekids101.com has the keys for parents to help their children become financially successful. She has created 3 courses to help children learn how to think about money and start on the road to wealth and independence; Millionaire Kids 101, 201 and Millionaire Masters. Cheryl is a successful real estate investor and has been helping new investors start on their way to financial freedom.

Top Ten things to find financial freedom

March 01, 2005 - by Crown Financial Ministries
Top ten list
Crown Financial Ministries has a practical top ten list of things you can do to find financial freedom.

They are:

10. Build a budget—Figure out why there’s always more month left at the end of your money. Develop a monthly budget and make it your guide to financial freedom. "Commit your works to the Lord, and your plans will be established" (Proverbs 16:3).

Whatever you think your financial goals may be, you will not successfully achieve them without first understanding God’s financial principles found in the Bible. When you do understand those principles, develop lifestyle goals that reflect God’s principles and work out a written plan to implement them. This plan is called a budget, and it will lead you to financial freedom.

9. Give it away—Set your priorities straight by first making some contributions. Give to God’s work; it’s His money anyway. Loosen up those purse strings; it will help loosen the grip money might have on your heart. "Be rich in good works. . . be generous and ready to share" (1 Timothy 6:18).

Don’t give in order to get. However, you’ll find that when you do give, God will provide you with more to give. "Let us not love in word or with tongue, but in deed and truth" (1 John 3:18).

8. Reduce your use—don’t use your credit card so much. Develop discipline in your spending habits. Take away any security you might be using in case of emergencies, like credit cards or other avenues of borrowing. If needed, cut up a few credit cards. Commit to go no further in debt and you will begin to reverse the process that produced your debt. "The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower becomes the lender’s slave" (Proverbs 22:7).

Remember that the problem is not credit cards but the misuse of credit cards.

7. Get a grip—Spending (especially for indulgences) doesn’t lift depression. In fact, after the initial rush it can make things worse. (Yes… like right after Christmas.) "He who loves pleasure will become a poor man; he who loves wine and oil will not become rich" (Proverbs 21:17).

It’s not the cost of an item that determines whether it’s an indulgence; its utility determines that. Do you really need it?

6. Look at your paycheck—Write the bottom-line number down, and then spend less than that. Personal savings rates are lower now than during the Great Depression. You can’t spend 104 to 112 percent of your income and continue to get away with it (despite what the government thinks). "I spoke to you in your prosperity; but you said, ‘I will not listen!’ This has been your practice from your youth, that you have not obeyed My voice" (Jeremiah 22:21).

The key to staying out of debt is no secret. Spend less than you make, don’t borrow, and you’ll be on the road to financial freedom.

5. Cook a meal—Discover the kitchen occasionally and reduce the number of restaurant visits. Your spouse might enjoy meal preparation more at home if some help were provided (is that you?). "Poverty and shame will come to him who neglects discipline, but he who regards reproof will be honored" (Proverbs 13:18).

Almost everyone enjoys eating out occasionally, so make it part of your "entertainment" budget. Then stick to the budget. Save to eat at a nice place for special events rather than squandering it on fast food non-events.

4. Get in the car—Take a local vacation this year. Cancun may be calling you, but there are also interesting things to see and fun things to do within a day’s drive of where you live. "The mind of man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps" (Proverbs 16:9).

People spend hundreds of dollars they can’t afford to travel thousands of miles to see things they might not remember next year. Has it occurred to you that people are doing just that as they come to visit areas within a three-hour drive of where you live? Go local this year. Use the road to Financial Freedom.

3. Don’t keep up with the Jones’s—They’re in debt, too (and you can be sure they won’t make your payments for you)! "Every labor and every skill which is done is the result of rivalry between a man and his neighbor. This too is vanity and striving after wind" (Ecclesiastes 4:4).

Envy is the desire to achieve based on the observation of other people’s successes. Don’t set your goals based on what others have. In the long run envy and covetousness will still leave you empty, because you’ll never have enough.

2. Keep the "ultimate driving machine"—You know…the one that’s paid for. Most people buy new cars because they don’t budget car-maintenance money for the car they own; when it breaks down they can’t afford to repair it. You may say, "But it’s zero money down!" Remember, those new car little- or no-money-down financial gimmicks require some budget-destroying payments. "Which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it?" (Luke 14:28).

Average monthly maintenance for most cars on the road (about seven years old) is about 5 percent of a family’s budget. If you compare a monthly 5 percent of your budget for maintenance on an older car to about 15 percent to buy a new car, it’s no contest. Poor gas mileage? Forget it! It takes lots of gas to make up the cost of payments.

And the number one thing you can do to find Financial Freedom:

1. Pray each day before you pay—Emotional and spiritual balance will lead to Financial Freedom. So ask God to guide you and give you strength to follow the first nine steps. "In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus" (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

Don’t be resentful for what you don’t have. Instead, be grateful for what God has provided. Financial freedom will bring contentment, and contentment grows out of an attitude of gratitude.

"This slightly tongue-in-cheek list is nonetheless a serious introduction to principles and practices that can lead to greater balance in your life in the New Year," said Crown Financial Ministries CEO Howard Dayton.

Dayton said: "With an already heavy debt load and some ominous clouds on the economic horizon, many people will be looking for ways to get a handle on their finances. We not only want to provide hope to those who feel over their heads financially, but to also provide practical tools and resources to help them achieve financial freedom in their lives."

"Many people will search for freedom in their use of both time and money, so that they can set priorities to ensure that they can do the important things in life," said Dayton. "Clearing up our financial confusion is similarly empowering. This list and an array of our personal money management tools, offer the means to find and maintain financial freedom, which means having priorities for managing money that are reflective of emotional and spiritual health. We realize that achieving financial freedom is a long-term process, so that’s why we offer these tools and resources to help the person or family through it."