People generally fear anything to do with finances
(unless, of
course, they have won the lottery). In fact, this
may be the
number one thing that people AVOID. We can be
very good
at justifying why we really don’t need to concern
ourselves
with our financial state of being “right now”. These
justifications include: “Something is going to happen
really
soon that will turn things around”, “My debt isn’t that
bad”,
“I’m still so young; I’ll start saving soon”, “I’ll deal
with the
bills later.”
So what is really behind the fact that we don’t want
to deal
with our
finances? There are four primary reasons for this
avoidance,
and they tend to stem from what we have learned –
or not
learned – about money and life as we were growing
up.
We are uncomfortable talking about money:
Most of us simply aren’t raised to be truly
comfortable with
the topic of money. It is rarely freely spoken about.
Many
of us were taught that it was rude, or otherwise
impolite, to discuss money. Of course, it was
never appropriate to
share what
you were earning or how much things cost and if you
had
debt you certainly never told anyone. We are also
never
taught about money in school. A remarkably small
number
of students ever took classes on personal finance,
debt
management, investing, building residual income,
setting
financial goals, or any other topics that are so
obviously
critical in real, day-to-day life.
Solution: Start talking honestly about
money with people
you trust. Work with a friend who also wants to
make
financial changes and commit to helping and
supporting each
other without any judgment. Start sharing what
things cost –
how else can we find the best deals and bargains?
Be
truthful about your financial struggles and even your
debt.
This will bring it out in the open so you can no longer
pretend
it doesn’t exist. Make a commitment to learning
about
money. Read books, take classes, get help creating
a
personal financial plan that will work for you
regardless of
how desperate your financial situation may seem.
It is unfamiliar, so we feel like failures:
It naturally follows that, if we were not taught about
financial
management as we grew up (and may have even
gotten the
message that it was a taboo subject), it is going to
feel very
unfamiliar. And, as is everything that is new, it will
be
difficult at first. As trite as it may seem to remind
you that
you didn’t just jump on a bike and start riding, the
same is
going to be true when you start learning to handle
your
finances. There will be things you don’t
understand.
When you first start getting yourself financially
organized,
setting up filing systems and ways of tracking your
income
and expenses, it may take days, even weeks to get
it all in
place. “I’m not any good at this,” is a common
decision we
make, and quitting is not far behind.
Solution: Recognize that money
management is a game.
This isn’t to imply that money management is not
serious.
Money impacts your life in meaningful ways. After
all, we all
need a roof over our heads, food to eat, and clothes
to wear.
But allow yourself the time to learn to play. Reward
yourself
for the small wins – the freshly organized filing
cabinet, the
new deposits you start making each month into an
account
for investments, the debt plan you have put in
place...
Almost before you know it, strong financial habits will
become your new way of life and you won’t be able
to go
back. You wouldn’t be able to stand it!
Fear – it’s out of our control:
Particularly as artists, we are afraid of really looking
at our
financial situation because we don’t think there is
anything we
can actually do about it. We frequently live our lives
waiting
for someone else to give us a break, an opportunity,
rather
than believing that very much lies within our control.
Solution: Recognize that this is just a story
we’ve been
telling ourselves and it simply isn’t true! Artists are
some of
the hardest working, most intelligent people in the
world.
We have to own that power and stop existing from a
place of
neediness. Find mentors. Surround yourself with
people
who are playing big games and join in: follow their
lead. As
long as we are willing to learn, to take some chances
and
think outside of the box, we can all find ways to
significantly
improve our finances.
Time Management – we feel overwhelmed by the
amount of
work there is to do:
Time management is also something many of us were
never
taught as we were growing up. We tend to think of
managing our money like it is one enormous job. “I
don’t
have time to deal with my finances.” We look at all
of the
work involved in getting and keeping our finances in
order,
and either we say we’ll schedule the time in and
never do, or
we just decide that we can’t fit it into our lives.
After all, we
don’t want to be distracted from our creative careers.
Solution: Stop focusing so much on the big
picture and start
breaking down your financial goals into small,
manageable
pieces. You don’t have to get organized in one fell
swoop.
Sit down and make a list of what it is going to take –
then
attack the list in 15-30 minute segments of time. If
you find
yourself with a free afternoon to do financial work,
great, but
it isn’t necessary. Pick a financial topic that
interests you or
some aspect of your finances that you feel is a
priority, take
a book out from the library, and read a chapter a
day – even
half a chapter! Yes, you are going to have to decide
that this
is important enough to add into your life, but it
doesn’t have
to take over your whole life. Far from it! The truth
is that
handling your finances will actually create more time
and
more energy in your life – you just have to begin.
It is often said that awareness of a situation is half
the battle.
After awareness follows acceptance, for only after
we truly
accept it within ourselves will we do anything about
it. Ask
yourself this – Am I willing to do whatever it takes to
change
my life? After all, you are the only one who can
change it, for
the better – or the worse. Choose the better.
