Resist the temptation to continue struggling and stressing. It is selfish and places the burden of meaningful change on others. No one gives you a prize for being the most exhausted when you die.
Does the new hospital wing have your name on it? If not, why? Is one of the many Roaring Fork nonprofits working for a cause you subsidized? Have you recently donated a huge chunk of money to The Sopris Sun just because you can and it’s important and it feels fabulous?
Why are you making impulse buys? Why are you indulging in fast fashion/fast food/fast anything? Because you’re still struggling and/or stressing financially. It’s time to stop. End of story.
Stray from your comfort zone. Abandon your convenient excuses. Stop saying, “It’s just so hard to get ahead.”
Being wealthy isn’t about luxury; it’s your duty as a human. Complaints, fatigue, lack of confidence, blaming “the system,” blaming anyone or anything for that matter, staying broke, staying fearful, hoarding, clinging, knee-jerk spending… These are all ways to keep you safe and sound. They are familiar to you. They are your patterns. And they aren’t helping us thrive as a gorgeous, miraculous, highly sophisticated and joyful species.
“I can’t invest right now because the president is too reckless.” Well, guess what? Options traders are having a heyday because options love volatility. “I didn’t get that terminal degree, so I can’t move up the ladder.” Go get the degree or do something else you adore and charge people money for it. It turns out people love spending money. They will pay you.
We need you to be able to be the most you possible. What would it take for you to be able to pay for someone’s groceries spontaneously or singlehandedly fund the repair of a local soccer field? Have you ever purchased a first-class flight for someone because they’re special and they deserve it? Maybe you want to send a local kid to space camp and — tada! — you can. Even if you don’t do anything with your money other than lower your stress level, huzzah. What the world needs is less stressed out people. We need you at your most peaceful, centered, relaxed and creative. Wealth makes this possible.
As we know, being good with money isn’t necessarily about having more of it. It’s about being in a conscious relationship with it. It’s about knowing what’s coming in, what’s going out, and making sure all of it is assigned to a good home. Tell your money where it’s going now rather than wondering where it went later.
Game plan:
- Get clear on what comes in and what goes out.
- Make smart choices and pay for things that bring you to life and cut out things that deplete you.
- Ensure your money is growing for you and not for someone else at your expense.
- Find more money.
- a. Create passive income based on something you create once and sell continuously.
- b. Invest in the stock market.
- c. Raise your prices.
- d. Negotiate a raise.
- e. Sell your expensive car and drive something cheap that works until you’re in the black with all your goals.
- f. Do something you love once per year, invite people and charge for it.
- Call it a “special” and put a high ticket price on it.
As our world becomes more and more divided and less and less healthy, the option to take care of yourself financially ceases to be an “option.” It is what is required of all of us if we want to see our lives bloom into the visions we hold in our heads. Having a stacked emergency savings account could be the differentiating factor for your health, your safety or someone else’s. The choice to feel stressed is just that — a choice. Make a different choice, make some money and make an impact in your one ephemeral life. It is your civic duty.
Megan Janssen is a certified financial educator and founder of Money Juice.
To learn more about the upcoming community money conversation series,
visit www.money-juice.com