What are your financial priorities?

Our current financial situation or circumstances were created by how we handled money in the past. We past created our financial present. If you are currently struggling financially, you have no one else to blame but yourself. When you start to blame others, you give them the responsibility to make it right. Since it is not their job to make it right, nothing changes while we wallow in self-pity and self-justification.

Taking responsibility for our current financial situation is the turning point. We have to stop and start to think. Rather than spend on impulse, we need to start spending intentionally – based on priorities. It starts with determining what our financial priorities are.

Deep down, we all want to be free. Nations in history have fought bloody battles for independence, and to take back the right to self-determination. We all want to live life on our own terms, doing what we love and getting to choose how and when. We want the freedom to really live, not just exist to pay bills.

I am often asked why I went for financial freedom as opposed to other freedoms or areas of personal growth. I have come to realize that financial freedom is the key to other freedoms. Take time freedom for instance. If you do not have the freedom to spend your time the way you deem fit, all your grandiose health and fitness plans fall flat. If you have to leave home by 5.00 PM and get home by 11 PM, there is hardly time to eat a proper breakfast, exercise, or go to bed on time. It impacts your relationships too – it takes away the time you would have spent with your spouse and children. It takes away the time you need to connect at the spirit level or go for personal retreats. It goes on and on.

Do you want your freedom back, or do you want to remain tied to the treadmill of working to pay your bills or maintain your standard of living? What do you really want? Does your spending pattern align with those goals? What are your financial priorities?

What is your desired financial future? Are your financial priorities and spending patterns moving you gradually toward that desired future or away from it? It is your responsibility to figure it out.