The James Dicks Blog

You have heard it before; it’s a lot easier to make money with money. Well it’s true. BUT we all don’t have the means to get rich using our own money, after all if we had a lot of money we would probably not be reading this.

What I learned from my experiences was that financial freedom is as much a mindset as it is net worth. You have to think about financial freedom as a process—not just a goal to achieve, but an activity that you continue, and expand upon, once you have reached your goal. You have to develop a plan, implement specific strategies to make that plan a reality, and then come up with a revised plan.

I have written about this in the past, and it never changes. To create a plan, one that works you must write it down, on paper. This allows you to for a mental process that will embed your plan in your subconscious. By having a plan you can help create the proper mind set to achieve financial success.

I am going to create a few blogs that will add to this as lessons so to speak so make sure you check back during my financial mindset series.

So here’s your first lesson: your mindset is critically important. Yes, making money and achieving financial freedom is important—but getting into the right frame of mind is at least as important. Without the proper mindset, you probably won’t keep the money you make—and even if you do, you probably won’t enjoy it as much as you thought you would, and, after all, enjoying your financial freedom is what makes that freedom worth pursuing in the first place.

I am not writing something that I don’t understand, you can believe me, if there is anything I understand it’s making money and then loosing it, and not because I don’t know what I am doing, but because of unforeseen circumstances. The most recent is our terrible economy. I had a thriving business that took it on the chin hard like most other business have over the last few years. BUT that’s okay, I have the right mental mindset to create and build financial freedom.

Each time you have a setback in your financial plan simply write down your mistakes and avoid them the next time, I know this sounds obvious but in reality if we did this since the beginning we would not be making the same mistakes. I fared much better the second time around with my finances than the first time around when I lost everything. This time around I still made some mistakes but won’t make the same ones again. Will you ever get it right? Great question, no, because you can never predict everything that can happen in your financial life, you just have to learn from your mistakes and build on that. Update your plan and modify it to work within your most recent circumstances.

The unemployment rate is currently at the highest level since the early 1980s. Losing a job is a horrible experience even in the best of economic times, but when the global economy is as volatile as it is today, it can be devastating. So it would be wise, if you haven’t done so already, to plan for the worst while hoping it doesn’t happen. Develop a personal financial survival plan that will help you over the rough spots should the unthinkable happen.

The financial experts always say you should have six months worth of salary set aside as a buffer but putting that kind of nest egg together is sometimes easier said than done. So look at the problem with a different perspective. Create a budget of all your “necessary” monthly expenditures; and by necessary I don’t mean that subscription to HBO or the two dinners a week you eat at your favorite nightspot. I mean really take your personal budget down to the bone and then figure your monthly expenses. My grandfather used to ask me, “Do you want it or do you need it?” That’s the kind of gauge you have to use in this kind of situation. I think you’ll be surprised at just how little you can actually live on each month when you compare it to what you’re spending today just by eliminating all the extras you spend every month.

If you have credit cards with a balance, you should call the bank and see if they will give you a better deal on the interest rate. This has become a very competitive business and if you ask them to lower your rate, they just might do so. One thing is certain – if you don’t ask them they will never lower your rate.

Make sure you have all your documents available and ready should you need them. This should be part of your normal routine but most of us don’t get things in order until someone actually asks us to present a copy of something. Then we madly start looking through what we thought was an organized system only to find the document we are looking for isn’t there. So, get your paperwork together; things like bank statements, past year(s) tax returns, passports, and insurance documents. You might even consider putting these important documents in a fireproof box that can be grabbed and taken with you in case of emergencies. And consider putting a stash of cash in the box too…just in case.

In anticipation of the worst, you might also consider creating a secondary source of income, whether it’s starting your own home-based business or working part time for someone else. If you have extra income coming in prior to an emergency situation, you’ll be better prepared when or if something does actually happen. Maybe you have a talent or a hobby that you can use to create an extra income source. What about a course you can take to learn a new skill? There are a number of things you can do to generate extra cash flow; start investigating them before you need to.

Finally, one of the greatest things you can do for yourself is to keep moving forward, with a smile on your face and your head held high. Get comfortable in developing your networking skills because in today’s world, this is a requirement. Don’t fall into the “out of sight, out of mind” syndrome but rather maintain a solid image and a well-defined approach when engaging people within your area of expertise. Whenever possible make connections with others who may be able to help you. Go out and keep shaking hands, make phone calls, send emails…never allow yourself to fall by the wayside. Just go where the people are and use all types of media to meet them. This can go a long way in helping you to maintain a solid footing during the rough times and just might assist you in locating that next big career move.

The bottom line – in order to make sure you move through this unpredictable economy successfully you must be well prepared. Arrange your life so that when (or if) something unexpected should happen, you’ll be ready for it while you smoothly “sail through” to your next big opportunity.