Do you practice what you believe is best for your financial decision making today to provide for your future tomorrows?
“If you don’t practice what you believe – you will eventually believe what you practice.” These words of wisdom are true in every dimension of our lives. Choices made over and over again become what we practice. And hopefully you come to believe in what you practice which gives you a sense of well-being and possibly great happiness.
For transparency sake, these wise words are not my own. They were originally shared during a talk about spiritual matters. Now, I’m not going to preach or talk about my spiritual beliefs. (Although I welcome conversation about spiritual beliefs and encourage you to talk with someone you trust about such matters.) But your financial journey and your sense of well-being will follow the same pattern – either you practice what you believe or you end up believing what you practice.
Financial Practices We Universally Believe Are Good Choices
If you surveyed your family and friends, they would most likely agree on healthy financial practices. Here are some of the universally accepted choices people should practice for a better financial journey in life.
- Save at least 10% of your paycheck for investment, emergency savings and future needs.
- Spend less than you earn and avoid consumer (credit card) debt.
- Only incur debt to improve your financial outlook or build wealth.
- Prepare for the future by having a will, health directive and life insurance.
- Diversify your investments across different types of investments and tactics.
- Determine what type of investor you are or want to become.
- Figure out the tactics and strategies you will use to achieve your financial goals.
Most everyone BELIEVES these are all great financial practices for financial stability and to experience a sense of well-being. More simply put…
- Spend less than you earn.
- Stay out of “bad” debt (or get rid of it).
- Save a part of your income.
- Invest some of your savings for growth over time.
- Make smart decisions for your future through estate preparation.
- Insure your life.
On Average, We Don’t Practice What We Believe
There are numerous statistics that confirm the “average American” DOES NOT PRACTICE these universal beliefs in their financial journey. We may know it to be true in our personal lives. Nevertheless, it’s a fact most of us don’t practice what we believe are financially good choices. For example, ON AVERAGE…
- We spend more than we earn.
- We have little to no short term savings for emergencies.
- We have no savings as future income for when we stop working full time.
- We put off important discussions and decisions concerning our families for when we die.
- We don’t know what investments we have or should make.
- We don’t have an investment strategy to know when it’s smart to buy more or sell to make an investment strategy shift.
Practicing What We Believe is HARD – But You CAN Do It
Now, I said I wasn’t going to preach so I’m not going to wag my finger and tell you to do better. But I’m also not going to give you a verbal hug and tell you everything is going to be okay.
The purpose of this blog is to get you THINKING about good financial practices that align with your beliefs. And I want to PRACTICE WHAT I BELIEVE by helping other people create a better financial future.
Take some time to think about these questions and write down your answers.
- What is at least one financial goal you would like to achieve in the next 12 months?
- What does your current financial situation look like? Do you need to take a FINANCIAL SNAPSHOT?
- Do you know how to prepare an ASSETS vs. LIABILITIES assessment? If yes, do you have a plan to improve this picture as needed?
- Do you have an emergency fund?
- Have you started a retirement investment account? Do you have a plan for funding your retirement investments now and in the future?
- Do you have a strategy for how you will invest some or all this money to create more money than you put in over time?
Are there other questions that come to mind? After you start to answer these types of financial questions, will you take the next step to PRACTICE WHAT YOU BELIEVE?
I encourage you to talk with someone you trust about your questions and your answers. Or you can rely on yourself and use self-discipline to begin making good choices that turn into healthier financial practices you can believe in.
Practice Makes Progress
I BELIEVE almost everyone wants to make good financial decisions and build a better financial future for themselves and their loved ones. And this is why my clients come to rely on me to help them make good choices over and over so they can believe in what they practice.
I can’t resist but to end this blog in the following way. Any good preacher would say “you can come up front and talk to me about your journey.” I told you I wouldn’t preach, but a good preacher will always be there to listen and ask good questions to help you THINK.
Feel free to contact me to help you put into practice what you believe about your financial journey,
Steven Julian
steven@infinitywmg.com | 470-655-1130
Credit: Kevin Myers, Senior Pastor, 12 Stone Church said, “If you don’t practice what you believe – you will eventually believe what you practice.” Click to watch messages from 12 Stone Church.
P.S. Send me an email with FINANCIAL SNAPSHOT in the subject line. I’ll send you a worksheet with no obligation or strings attached. When you’re ready to talk, I’m ready to listen.