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This is a guest post from Joseph from Debit versus Credit outlining his plans to prosperity. If you’d like to see more, hop over to his blog! Enjoy!
I’ve made mistakes in my life, especially financial mistakes. I’m not proud of them, but then who is ever really proud of their mistakes? I am proud, however, of the lessons that I’ve been able to learn from these mistakes. I know that I’ll never make the same mistakes again because I’ve felt the harsh sting from them and I’ve learned how to avoid them in the future.
My name is Joseph and just like David here at MoneyNing I’m on a Journey to Prosperity. What is prosperity? Do I mean that I want to be wealthy? That’s a part of it, but being prosperous is so much more than having more money than you know what to do with. Let’s take a look at the definition of the word:
Having or characterized by financial success or good fortune; flourishing; successful
It’s interesting that the primary definition is related more to good fortune, or good luck, than anything that one might have done on their own and without luck, so to speak. While the dictionary definition
seems to imply that prosperity is for those with lady luck on their side I’d like to propose that being prosperous has almost nothing to do with luck, and everything to do with a person’s hard work, patience and persistence. With that being said let’s redefine prosperous:
Having or characterized by financial success, a strong work ethic, patience and persistence; successful
It’s crude I know, but it gets the job done. As I mentioned earlier I am on a Journey to Prosperity - the type of prosperity that I’ve defined for you. I want to be financially successful, but I want to be
so from my own hard work and persistence. This is what prosperity means to me. Let me tell you how I plan to get there:
- I’ve set goals for myself. Avoiding debt (especially credit card debt) is one of them.
- I’ve defined certain terms in the goal setting process. For example what does financial success mean to you? Is it a number? $1 million? $10 million?
- I’ve cut back on my spending where necessary.
- I automated the savings process. A certain percentage of my paycheck goes straight to savings and retirement
accounts. - If I don’t have the cash to buy something then I don’t buy it.
Do you have a plan to achieve prosperity? If your idea of getting rich is winning the lottery than something is wrong with your way of thinking, and possibly even your lifestyle. Sit down and think about what you really want out of life and how you can achieve it. It might require some cutting back at first but in the long-run you’ll thank me, but more importantly you’ll thank yourself.
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Great advice above. You have to have a plan of prosperity if you’re ever going to reach it. And don’t forget to ask others to help you in this plan. For example, if you have credit card debt, Make it a regular practice to call your credit cards to ask for a lower rate. I have one client who owes over $20,000 on a Visa that was at 18%. He spoke with a ‘rate specialist’, touting his rising credit score and declining balance and got his rate cut in half, from 18% to 9%! His monthly interest charge was instantly reduced by $150, which will help him pay off his debt even sooner. Bring others into your plan in these kinds of ways as you travel down your path to reach your financial goals.
This is a great post with all the basics that apply to anyone. Thank you!
This would be another lesson from Aesop’s Fables….. Slow and Steady Wins the Race (from the Tortoise and the Hare)
First have a goal and a plan.
2nd - keep taking the steps to acheive your goal, and plugging along consistently will get you there.
I liked the definition that said “flourishing” cuz that’s how I feel.. but I did get here thru a very strong work ethic.
PS - Your question, “What does financial success mean to you?”…
To me it is having a net worth that consists 100% of assets and 0% liabilities, and money set aside for retirement, and a house owned free and clear. When I reached that point of no liabilities (no debt) and my retirement asssets set aside, I felt I had acheived my goal.
Easy one..Never having to worrry about money!