Step 2 Economize!
Now that you have a snapshot of where you are now, if you followed step 1 in “What to Do before the Bailout Kicks In,” you are ready to begin making a workable plan. Economize does not mean that you get stingy or miserly; it simple means that you become a good steward. Your put first things first. In my book, “Opening to God as Source, I say, “Stop spending and start investing,” investing means that you have a reasonable expectation of a return. Remember, you are the COO of your life, your bottom-line is as important to the health of you life as it is to any business. If you need a jumpstart on how to use your money more wisely, get my free download “Is Your Money Falling Through the Cracks?” e-book from my web site
www.mindfulresolutions.net and design a plan that works for you. Some of you may need to concentrate on getting out of debt and others may be ready to build reserves, but everyone needs a plan.
I would venture to say that the commodity that is most squandered is time. A commodity is something of use and value. I think you would agree with me that every day has 24 hours. That applies to everyone, rich or poor. The biggest difference between the rich and the poor is how they use their time. You might say it’s because they are rich because they are better educated and they probably are. Why? Because they used there time getting educated. 4 years can be spent many ways; collage is just one of them. You might say they know the right people, and they may, because of how they use their social time. Now, I am not going to go into all the dreaded “isms” because we already know that story, and I think you get my drift. What I am talking about here is the things that you can affect in your own life.
Time is one of the most precious commodities that you have. I have been known to say, “I would rather you take my money than waste my time, because I can make more money, but I cannot get my time back.” So the question is how are you using your time? Given the 24 hours that you have, are you investing your time or are you wasting it? It is time to get smart. I personally believe that the best way for me to use my time efficiently is to spend more quiet time. I meditate daily. You are never too busy to meditate; you will be amazed at how 5 minutes of quiet time can be leveraged into more efficiency. Meditation enlists the power of your subconscious mind. If you read my blog, The Inspiration Age, at
www.mindfulresolutions.blogspot.com, you will begin to understand this, so I won’t go into it now. I will write more about meditation later.
You can instantly begin to invest your time by changing the television channel! I would even venture to say you could turn it off completely, but that is too radical for most people. Many of us have a football day, an American Idol night, a Grey’s Anatomy night, but do you have a financial freedom night? Do you have a night to learn about the political system, which affects every area of your life? Do you have a health night? In the fog of mind-numbing drivel that is on television, there is actually some very good programming. The job of the media, by and large, is to sell you something, which is how we got into this mess in the beginning. So, stop letting television use you and use it! I tell my clients to mute the television during commercials and to program themselves. You can take a new idea and ponder it, instead of thinking about the next new thing that they want you to buy. You must begin to control what you can control. It’s called discipline.
Posted By: Barbara Dixon
Monday, October 6th 2008 at 11:27AM
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