What does the future hold for us? It’s time to see how our money is affecting our lives!
As time passes we will begin to see if our money brings us joy or makes us miserable. Is our money working for us or against us? Every day time is ticking. Moments turn into minutes, minutes into hours, and hours into days! You get the picture. Our money is either making interest in 401K accounts, CD’s, and savings accounts or interest on past due bills, late fees, and credit card payments. Time moves forward—there is no way to stop it! We can not change the past but we can change today and the future!
Please make sure to watch my facebook video and read Day 1, 2, 3 and 4 of my blog before reading this post. This is a process and I want to make sure you get the full picture. It is so important that we find out the true value of a dollar—that we go back to the basics. We need to not only find out how we use our money but our views of it. We need to make our financial journey so ingrained in us that once we are debt free—we stay debt free.
When Bob and I lived in Kansas we knew of a lady who won a million dollars! Wow, we were so excited for her. But, then we heard her story, and it broke our hearts. This lady spent and lost the million dollars in under a year! WHAT? That is crazy! She spent it on things that were not lasting. And, before she knew it, the money was gone. I have read countless stories since or have known people who have inherited great sums of money that have had the same thing happen to them. In fact, many of them became so in debt after their money was gone and wished they never had the money in the first place. WHY?? The plain and simple truth—they did not know how to handle their money. They did not experience the financial journey of learning to live within their means, saving for a rainy day, paying off debt and staying out of debt, and making wise money decisions.
One of my very favorite movie stars of all time is Fred MacMurray. You know him best for his roles in My Three Sons, The Happiest Millionaire, and Follow Me Boys! He reminds me so much of my dad—a gentle giant! What I learned about Fred MacMurray is AMAZING!!! Did you know he was one of the wealthiest stars for his time? Fred MacMurray eventually became one of the highest earning actors in Hollywood and the fourth highest earning American. All the articles go on to say that he was very wise with his money and lived a happy, simple life. He left a wonderful financial legacy for his family that is still going to this very day! I have read every book, article, and magazine I could get my hands on about him. Do you know what his secret was? Every friend, family member, and co-worker said the same thing. Fred treated his money the same way before he was famous as he did after he became famous. He lived simply but enjoyed life to the fullest. He took a brown bag lunch from home to the set of every movie and TV show he was on. Fred looked at the bigger picture of his financial freedom. (Click here to see an amazing video of Fred’s daughter talking about her dad.)
I remember when Bob and I were first married. We were both 21 and just starting out. I was working, and Bob was going to BYU. We counted every penny and did everything to survive. For our date night on Friday’s, we would walk a mile and a half to McDonald’s and each get a 25 cent ice-cream cone. Man, I treasure those memories. I loved our talks and long visits going back and forth to get our treasured treat. I remember one night while we were walking Bob asked me a question: “What would you do if we came in to a lot of money?” I had to think about this question for over 5 minutes before I could come up with an answer. I had been raised with 10 siblings and had such a wonderful, happy life, but money was extremely tight growing up so I had never thought about that question before. I turned to Bob and said, “I would buy a bag of red licorice of my very own—that I could eat all by myself.” And then I quickly replied, “No, I would buy two bags of licorice—one red and one brown.” After Bob stopped laughing, he said, “No honey I mean a LOT of money.”
We need to invest the time necessary if we truly want to be successful in our financial journey. If our focus is on spending money, we will spend all of our time trying to earn more. But if we are intentional with our money and setting up for our future, we will have both the time and money we need to enjoy our lives. Every day you will treasure it more and more. Can you imagine the feeling you will get when you have time to do the things that matter most to you? Aiden our grandson called me the other day. “Hi grandma this is Aiden—your best friend!” I smile every time I think about that. I love that little kid so much. And, it occurred to me that he was indeed one of my best friends. We do a lot together. We read stories, watch movies, play spider man, make cupcakes, look outside for treasure, take walks, and the list goes on. I’m so grateful I have the TIME to do these things. Would our relationship mean as much if we did not have the time to invest in it?
When we invest time in our financial journey, we can have the means to do what we want with our time. Your children are watching you and will take on your money habits. What is the financial legacy you are leaving them? Whether you are single, married, divorced, or whatever your situation—YOU CAN DO IT!!! You can achieve financial happiness!! It is never too late to begin your financial journey! THE TIME IS NOW!!! Time is ticking!! So, let’s get going!!!
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