4 Essential Steps to a Rewarding Financial Lifestyle

* A special thanks for David Carter for his time in our interview - visit his website at http://www.cartercounseling.org/

4 Essential Steps to a Rewarding Financial Lifestyle

David J. Carter and Patricia L. Carter

Imagine being able to approach your finances with a sense of optimism, clarity, and openness, instead of dread. Many avoid facing financial issues until they are at breaking point. Then there is often a sense of dread, hopelessness and helplessness. How does it get to this point? Regardless of the current financial stressor, we have found that individuals fail to manage their finances for one of three reasons:

1. They don’t know how.
2. They’re prevented from doing so in some way.
3. They lack incentive.

That’s where we ask the following key questions:

• What are the symptom’s that signify the existence of a financial problem?
• What is the relative value of solving your financial problem?
• What is your money management history and resulting financial deficiencies?

Once we have this information, we are able to help clients develop four steps to a healthier financial lifestyle: awareness, knowledge, skills and ownership.

Step One: Awareness

The hardest part of the financial process is accepting the existence of a problem. When we are forced to look at something uncomfortable we feel responsible and powerless. We try to avoid the experience by blaming others, external circumstances, or society. We can choose, however, to accept financial mismanagement as a behavior that is separate from who we are, as a caring and loving person. Once we begin to accept our behavior as something that is not a reflection of our identity as good or bad, but rather a behavior that we can change, we can open our minds to the possibility of financial success.

Step Two: Knowledge

We have to spend some time examining our relationship with money as well as how this relationship evolved. If your relationship with money were a personal one, how would you describe it? Do you love, hate, fear, depend upon, or feel generous with money? Most of us learned from observing our parents or other adult models, as we grew up. If we earned an allowance and learned to put the money away for something we needed versus wanted at the moment, then we started to increase our knowledge of valuing money as a means to attaining long-term goals, versus, satisfying immediate urges.

Step Three: Skills

Financial success favors the activist; however utilizing the appropriate financial management skills is required for achieving financial success. This is where assistance from a financial consultant provides an opportunity to communicate honestly about your personal financial situation, discuss financial goals, explore your feelings about money, discuss steps toward financial responsibility, and develop a plan for realizing your financial goals.

Step Four: Ownership

Once you take responsibility for your current financial situation, you will take ownership over meeting your future financial goals. Ownership provides motivation for change! Appropriate money management and financial assistance are the vehicles for that change. Many people view their money as a means to an end instead of as a key member of the family, to be taken care of and helped to grow into maturity. Ownership evokes reconciliation in your relationship with money, allowing you to view money as an investment in your future.

If you have any questions please call me at 402.301.4500 or email me twilliams@dundeebanking.com. You can also get a hold of David with Carter Counseling at www.cartercounseling.org.