After the stress of the holidays, I have come to the conclusion that Christmas giving was invented to take place before the year-end so that we deal with some of life’s greatest anxieties – money, gift giving – especially Filipino style – that place such disproportionate expectations on everyone – rich and not so rich alike, that one cannot help but long for all the blessings that come with financial freedom.
The greatest blessing that we can hope for is to feel free from social and cultural pressures and expectations. I noticed this year fewer gifts and more donations to worthwhile causes. Another great blessing we can wish to embody is to be content with what we can afford – to be true to ourselves and to live within our means. And, of course, there is the blessing to gain control of our money – so that we are not controlled by it.
In Sue Orman’s bestseller, The 9 Steps to Financial Freedom, she says, "In the most profound sense our money says nothing about us, about whether we are kind, generous of spirit, living our lives well. Yet we need money to live, as surely as we need air to breathe, and this cuts across races, both sexes, all income brackets. Almost all of us have, at some level, fears or anxieties about money – but we rarely admit them to those around us. We may not admit them to ourselves... We have to retrain our minds away from thinking that we can’t control money, that we don’t deserve to do well... Believing, really, believing, other realities make other realities come true: that we can control money, that we do deserve to have enough. How do we replace the old fears, the old reality? With new thoughts, new truths."
We can start out the year by being true to ourselves about our finances, to acknowledge what we want, to know what we have, and to have a strategy how to manage it. Robert T. Kiyoshi and Sharon L. Lechter’s book Rich Dad’s Guide to Financial Freedom, reveals what we must do. "If you are not yet a long-term investor, get there as fast as you can. What does this mean? Sit down and map out a plan to get control of your spending habits. Minimize your debt and liabilities. Live within your means and then increase your means. Find out how much invested per month, for how many months, at a realistic rate of return it will take to reach your goals... Such as, at what age do you plan to stop working? Simply have a long-term plan that reduces your consumer debt while putting away a small amount of money regularly..."
Kiyosaki encourages us to shift our basic cash flow patterns and spending habits. He illustrates three basic Cash Flow patterns below.
Financial freedom is but one of the many wishes I have for everyone this coming year. May it be but one great gift to help us live 2002 with enthusiasm, freedom and courage! I thank you all so much for reading this column and for your generous comments and encouragement. Happy New Year!