Hi, I’m JJ Childers and I’d like to thank you for tuning in to another Monday Morning Mentor message. Over the past several weeks, we’ve focused our attention on the importance of establishing a financial plan for ourselves so that we can reach our desired financial destinations. The process of planning is one that I’m a strong advocate of and one that I’ve devoted my career to helping others to effectively engage in.
Perhaps the most important piece of advice that I could give you when it comes to financial planning is to understand that it is a process. Like any other process, there are steps that you must take if you hope to be successful. Far too often, I encounter people who are looking for a quick fix rather than a way to get themselves back on track after they’ve wandered off of the path to prosperity.
The process of financial planning is a way of life. It is a plan for how to live your life in a way that can take money off of your list of worries. That’s quite a goal to set considering that money seems to top the list of things to worry about if you were to ask most people. The reality is that you can master money if you do what it takes to keep money from mastering you.
When I tell people that they need to keep money from mastering them, they often view this merely as a cliché. The truth is that this is exactly what happens to people. They get caught up in what I refer to as the “Artificial Wealth Trap.” Basically, this refers to the situation where they are living a life of wealth by indulging in all of the things that they equate with wealth but they don’t have the wealth that it takes to afford these things.
Society tempts us every day to inadvertently get caught in this trap. They spend millions of dollars on shaping our behavior the way that they want it so that we will buy the things and buy into the lifestyles that they want us to. The problem is that most people find themselves on a treadmill of excess from which they don’t know how to escape. Well, I’ve got a plan to help you do it. Stay tuned for the details.
