So, we’ve had several weeks in a row of getting down to some of the nitty-gritty details of financial planning. If you’ve missed some of those feel free to go back and read through previous editions of the newsletter, but today I want to focus on something that I promised we would cover.

“Sense”

As I’ve mentioned before, financial planning, money management, or whatever you want to call it is not 100% based on factual data. It’s also based on thoughts, emotions, and behavior.

So, this week I want to focus on just that. I have to warn you though, make sure you put your steel-toe boots on this morning because there might be some bruises after this. As harsh as I may seem at times, I promise, the things I’m saying, I’m saying for your own good.

Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s get right to it.

Why have you not achieved financial freedom?

I’m not talking about the kind of money where you can quit your job and never work another day (although that is not necessarily a bad thing to strive for), I’m talking about the kind of money that you can go every single day of 2024 without waking up, worrying about money in some form or fashion.

We all know what it takes.

Spend less than you make.

Don’t have a large amount of consumer debt.

Have an emergency fund.

Have proper insurance.

Invest in some form or fashion for retirement.

There are hundreds of thousands of books, courses, podcasts, and videos about money.

There are college degrees offered that are held in high esteem for anyone who can obtain them.

My point is, information is NOT our problem.

Yes, you may be stuck trying to figure out what investment is going to give you a better return than the others, and you may need to do some research into what exactly you need to do, but the vast majority of decisions around money that we face, we face fully informed about what we should do.

Yet, time and time again, we decide not to put that extra $1,000 into your retirement.

Time and time again, we choose to push off opening that business that could explode with growth.

We spend too much.

We don’t own the right kind of insurances.

We keep way too much money in savings accounts and lose the potential of growing our money for something else.

Why?

Are we scared that things won’t work out the way we planned, or are we scared that they will?

Are we scared to admit that we have not done the things that we need to and insist that shoving our heads in the sand is better?

Is there a fear of our own death that prevents us from sitting down and making a will that takes care of our family even after we have left them?

Do we carry around the burden that we have to provide for our family the same or even better than our parents provided us?

Do we take the fact that some of our parents were nearly constantly worried that they wouldn’t have enough money, and use that to excuse ourselves for never being satisfied with what we have?

Maybe worse of all, are we just lazy and decide that when we die, the fact that we didn’t have enough life insurance or retirement money set aside for our spouse to inherit, is just someone else’s problem?

There is a reason that we have not accomplished certain things, and until we figure it out, we can soak in as much information on the markets, taxes, investments, and the latest TikTok money hacks that our little hearts could desire, and yet, we will be no further to achieving our goals.

It takes action to move forward.

Sometimes we, myself included, can keep ourselves busy “learning” when in reality, we’re just procrastinating because we’re scared to move forward.

So what is keeping you from taking action?

What is keeping you from moving forward?

To go back to my initial question, why have you not achieved financial freedom?

If your response is anything but, “We’re on our way, but it just takes time”, you may want to figure out what’s holding you up. And even if that is your answer, make sure that you’re actually making as much progress as you can.

It’s easy to make excuses.

It’s hard to roll your sleeves up and get to it.

All that being said, this all comes with a balance.

I’m not challenging you to become the next Elon Musk.

I’m not saying that unless you have at least $1,000,000 you’re not doing it right.

I’m definitely not trying to convince you that there is an income level that you are supposed to achieve and that you should not be happy until you reach it.

I’m hoping to convince you to be proactive in your financial life and to be intentional.

The balance is seeing that money isn’t the goal. It’s the tool.

The balance, for my fellow believers, is also seeing that we can be as proactive as we want and take control of as many things as we possibly can, but no matter what we do, what we plan for, or anything else, we cannot change the things that the Lord has in store for us.

The thing to keep in mind is that this does not give an excuse to be lazy and claim that the Lord will work out everything and provide for us while we do nothing. It gives us a reason to steward our money well and take care of the things He has given us.

If you look at Mathew 25:14-30 this is absolutely a spiritual parable that shows the importance of spreading the Gospel to others, but we can also take it literally too.

Steward the things that you are given well.

Now, I’ll hand in my soap box, and let you continue throughout your day.

But I encourage you to take your responsibilities seriously and work on the important things that you may have been putting off.

Take action on the things that you have more than enough information for.

Be intentional.

LFS-6364614-020524