“A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him.”  – David Brinkley

Disaster is not something that many want to think about.  Over the last few years, I have been focusing more on becoming “thought” conscious and creating a positive presence in my life.  I try my best to avoid negative energy. 

Can you picture negativity as a snowball?  I can.  Negative thoughts bring negative energy.  Negative energy bring on negative emotions.  And negative emotions most times lead to some form of unhappiness. 

If you were to see me on a daily basis, you would know that I wear a purple “A Complaint Free World” bracelet at all times.  The bracelet itself does not keep me from complaining, but it is a reminder for me to be more aware of my thoughts and what I speak of daily.

But avoiding negativity financially is more than just creating positive thoughts.  It requires a verb called ACTION.  You have to DO something if you want to be successful with your finances.  Passively waiting each day for life to change or improve without action will cause you to basically run in place and /or get behind.

There are three ways I believe can be critical in avoiding financial crises:

1.  Proper Planning.  We all know that in life we have great times and then we have some not so great times.  The key though is to prepare for the times that are the hardest.  Some examples would be job loss, illness,  salary reductions, etc. 

The first step is to sit down and analyze where you are now financially and where you want to be.  This can mean creating budgets, cutting up credit cards, creating an emergency fund, and/or starting a debt payoff method.  Well, someone may say that it’s so bad, I don’t even want to look at it.  My answer is, how can you heal if you haven’t assessed your wounds?

2.  Prioritizing.  Taking a look in the financial mirror is a must.  Not just one time, but daily until it becomes habit.  Just as we dress ourselves daily for our outward appearance, we must also dress ourselves daily financially.  Reviewing spending each day reminds us of our goals and keeps us on track to achievement.

3.  Paying Attention to the Right People.  There’s one thing about advice….everyone has some form of it.  When I was in the mortgage business,  I remember many of my loans not closing due to a family member of the client advising them to seek a better deal.  After shopping around, many times the client would realize that I did the best I could for their situation.  The advising family member had no idea that they were causing more harm than good. 

There are also times when people who are not financially savvy get advice from others who are also not financially savvy.  Talk about the blind leading the blind.  When financial questions arise, it is very good to get the opinion of others, BUT you must do your own research to get the best answer for your situation.  The internet is such a powerful and useful resource and we should use it to our advantage. 

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Our chance at disaster is 50/50, but our chance at success is also 50/50.  It depends on how you view your glass.  Half empty or half full?  AND whether you are willing to work at achieving financial success.  Do you aagree?  Let me know what you think in the comments.

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Tagged as: disaster, financial, personal finance