For far too long people globally have been stuck in the cycle of living payday to payday, living beyond their means, mounting debt and hanging on by a thread.
Have you ever thought about why that is happening and why it’s so widespread?
Whenever I asked the question , “What will it take for you to breakfree of living payday to payday?” I’m meet with a chorus of More Money!
Let’s explore this a little more. If more money is the answer, then why do people earning $50,000pa, those earning $250,000pa and everything in between answer the same…more money!
If more money is the solution then why are people in higher income brackets still in the same situation?
Simply because the correct answer is not more money. Year after year this approach has been tried over and over again with no satisfactory results. People work more and more in an effort to get ‘there’ so they can finally be happy and enjoy life but in the meantime are missing the very thing that can not be bought – more time! Time connecting with family and friends being fully present and engaged.
So more money is not he answer then what is?
Let’s look briefly at what needs to be addressed to free yourself forever from living payday to payday. It is in fact a combination of several things occurring at once.
You’ve got to stop and reassess. Slow down and really look at your actions. There is a tendency to believe that busyness and being in a rush is progress but if you are moving in the wrong direction, away from what you want then all it is, is busyness.
Start by asking yourself the following questions:
Do you have a vision of what you truly want life to look like?
Do you have a plan for how to get there?
Milestones?
Do you have a system for staying on track?
I encourage you to pause for a while and answer these questions and if you have previously answered similar questions then review them.
Stop and Reassess is the foundational step that all the other strategies above are dependant on.
Money Management
Habits
Goals
Money Stories
Mindset
All require that you stop, think and plan.
You may have tried focusing on one or more of these strategies before and not had the results you were hoping for. Take for instance knuckling down and creating a budget only to find it was hard to stick to, hard to follow or you simply forgot about it doing it.
Was it your habits that tripped you up?
Your money stories that lead to self-sabotaging behaviours?
Perhaps you had no reason to do it (a goal) other than it’s something I’m supposed to do.
There are many factors at play here and they need time and exploration.
Please note that while I used the example of budgeting, at Your Money Habit, we feel strongly about the fact that traditional budgeting does not work no matter how hard you try. Read the blog to find out more.
If you’d like to find out more about all the strategies involved book a seat at our Breakfree from living payday to payday online workshop.
About Amira MacCue Founder of Your Money Habit
Award Winning Spending Planner
Dedicated to teaching people how to overcome financial stress long term and be confident about their future using improved money management techniques and habit change.