A well-known personal finance site that writes about smart money moves, Digerati Life’s offer to write a guest post was a much welcomed email. Enjoy the post!
Vision is defined as the ability to see. In another definition, vision is defined as foresight, or the ability to see beyond the obvious and beyond the circumstances. According to Dr. Myles Munroe, a motivational speaker, “vision is the source and hope of life.” And is “the greatest gift ever given to mankind.”
That sounds nice and maybe even a little over the top, granted that this is a description that’s offered by an evangelist (it’s his job to inspire, after all). But let’s look at the message here: what does vision have to do with gaining freedom from debt? Would vision be able to eliminate it? Well, you won’t be crediting vision for paying your bills. But thanks to this, you may be empowered to think clearly and to stay on track when pursuing your debt elimination efforts.
According to Dr. Munroe, “Vision makes suffering and disappointment bearable. Vision generates hope in the midst of despair and provides endurance in tribulation. Vision inspires the depressed and motivates the discouraged.”
How many times have you tried to create a budget but failed to stick to it? How many times have you tried to eliminate your debt, only to have new bills pile up and spoil your efforts? Most of us have actually had our worst experiences in our efforts to get out of debt. That’s why we need something to keep us going. And this is where vision plays its role.
During those times when nothing seems to go your way and you feel like you’re nothing but a big fat failure, the vision to be debt-free may well keep you on track.
So, how could you make the power of setting a vision work for you? Here are some suggestions:
1. Make a major blueprint of what you want to happen to your finances. Beyond achieving debt freedom, you should also plan to invest and grow your money. Have a doable timeline for implementing your financial plan. This is just a guide to keep you on track: cut yourself some slack if you fail at times, but understand that if you stick to your timeline, you’ll achieve financial freedom, and eventually financial abundance, much faster. Even as you pay down your debt, begin to learn about investing from free resources offered by well regarded online discount brokerages.
2. Set a goal for achieving financial milestones by a certain date. The vision of being debt-free or starting an investment account won’t work unless you have a deadline.
3. Make sure that you follow your plans and stay on track. Many people face big pitfalls with budgeting and managing their finances because they are not disciplined enough to stay on track. Budget management software can help you track and manage your spending, as well as investments, so it’s something you may want to consider using. By staying focused, you should be able to reap the rewards of this hard work, in the future.
Get out of the paycheck-to-paycheck lifestyle by knowing what tools you can work with. Apart from using software that can help you manage your finances, explore other avenues that would help your money “multiply itself,” so to speak. High-interest savings accounts, mutual funds, bonds, and other investment products can help your money grow faster. And what about your spending? You can also use credit wisely to make some money from spending activities. Check out cash back credit cards and rewards cards to help you earn back money from your purchases. Optimizing even your spending behavior can help increase your savings faster to get you to reach your goals of financial freedom.
The power of vision is harnessed when excellent planning and equally excellent execution go hand in hand, and working towards financial freedom and abundance requires both. Thus, plan and envision your financial future sufficiently, then execute your plans well, and keep your vision intact. Before long, those visions will become reality.
Thank you *very* much for the opportunity to write for your site. I also appreciate your mention of my cameo in Kim Palmer’s book! She had interviewed a few bloggers a while ago for an article on US News and that’s how I got to know her. It’s been awesome to get to know many bloggers in the pf space and glad to meet you! :)
Definitely – thanks for the article! I’ll be doing the write-up of her book soon and am looking forward to getting to know her a little better as well. Hope you had a good Thanksgiving break and keep up the great work on your end.
“Get out of the paycheck-to-paycheck lifestyle” – this is one of the hardest things you could ever try to convince someone to do. In my first marriage, my ex was in the habit of buying whatever was the latest, greatest thing, and never having quite enough to make it to the end of the month. It wasn’t until I forced us into making a budget and reduced our overall debt by 50% in the two years we were married, that she saw the value of not overspending.
Unfortunately, with out structure, when we parted, she went right back to her old ways…Very sad.
Thanks for listing some of the ways you can get out of that vicious cycle.