How to Apply Personal Growth and Psychology to Your Finances

If you were to ask a person what the most stressful part of their life was, they would no doubt say money. It seems the financial life is the hardest thing to manage. Likewise once you master it, it become one of the biggest examples of self-development and personal growth in an individual’s life. If you can manage your financial life, you can handle anything that life throws at you.

Financial Freedom

The first step to gaining financial freedom is learning to live within your means. You do not have to make a high income to do this. If you can live a comfortable life on a smaller budget, then you can be happy doing anything. It frees you up to look for work that you actually enjoy as opposed to just doing something for the income potential. This is a classic mistake that is made by many, particularly those that live in the United States and most of western culture in general.

The worst mistake you can make is to think the only thing you need to make your life easier is more money. You will soon find out that no matter how much money you have, it is never enough.  While many have this idea that work is a curse upon man, it does not have to be this way; especially with all of the different opportunities that are out there.

Financial Analysis

When you analyze how much money you bring in per month and you sit down and look at the outflow, you will probably notice that your expenses are ranked in order of need. This is how the system works. Therefore true success is more than just hard work, it is knowing how to work the system. 

The most expensive thing you pay for is shelter. At times you wonder if this makes any sense to pay so much for someplace you are hardly ever at between work and your social life (if you do not have one then get one).  The quickest solution for this problem is live in the cheapest area you can stand to live. You can lower your standards a little without having to live in a total ghetto on the Southside. All you have to do is shop around.

Transportation is the second largest expense. You can ride a bus, bicycle, or even a moped to save money. However you may still want a car. As much as people try to justify financing a car, you will never pay as much to fix an older car up as you do when you pay off a loan plus the interest to a bank or some other financial institution.  This is a hard area to master, especially when you are pressured to keep up with the neighbors who just bought a new car. Although when you see the difference in prices between full coverage insurance and liability insurance, it makes all the difference.

Besides, according to ancient wisdom it is bad karma to borrow money on interest. That explains why some of us develop health problems from the stress and anxiety that is caused by the overwhelming debt. Plus if something happens to your job, then your car could end up getting repossessed. Even if nothing happens on either count, you will have to work harder to pay off the car note. This will make it harder to enjoy your job and make work seem like more of a burden than it has to be.

You can cut down on your grocery bill by buying groceries in bulk and being creative with meals. For starters, do not shop the center aisles in the grocery store. This is where all of the processed, canned, and boxed meals are. This stuff is designed to make you hungrier within an hour or two after you eat it. You can buy the same stuff in the Produce department and cook it up fresh. The result is you save money and have leftovers and also feel a lot fuller.  You may find you are losing weight just by simply eating healthier and not getting hungry as much.

For meat you can obtain a hunting and fishing license. Not only will this put food on your table but it will expose you to the great outdoors. Something about nature does wonders when it comes to raising an individual’s consciousness.

Conclusion

Not that money is a bad thing but if you cannot manage it when you do not have much, then you will always have financial problems no matter how much your make. When you first start studying Psychology and commit to personal growth and self-development, you find that your financial life is the best place to apply changes to your life that will leave a lasting impact.

E Bishop Wooten

References:

http://dailyevotionals.wordpress.com