How a “Financial Snowball Effect” Could Be Ruining Your Money Plans

I'll start off by saying that every one of us is stuck somewhere between the proverbial ‘rock and a hard place'. We all want more of something in our lives and so we tend to push the barriers to progress towards that ‘thing' as far as we can.

However, we often find in pursuing pleasure we go too far and end up with pain rather than the pleasure we thought we would be getting!

If only we didn't have quite so much debt, or if only we had just a little bit more income then things would be fine. But when things are fine we start to think about pushing the boundaries again...

Now we're out of debt, but we sure could use a shiny new car...

Now we have a new car, but wouldn't it be nice to have a bigger house...

Next thing you know we are back in pain, not because we chose to be, but because something came along that we didn't anticipate and we're under stress yet again!

Problems

• We all encounter little problems in life, and they come in many shapes and sizes, but they almost always have the same outcome.
• If your car breaks down, you spend some money on it and the car problem becomes a money problem
• If your dog gets sick, you visit the vet and the dog problem becomes a money problem
• If your friends visit and invite you to go out to dinner and you don't want to admit to being broke, you go out to dinner anyway and that becomes a money problem
• You bump into a street sign while parking and dent your car. You decide NOT to turn it into a money problem because the excess on the insurance is more than you can afford right now, but as a result, you drive a car with a dent that you really don't like.
• One of the kids gets sick and the medicine costs a truckload. Your child's sickness becomes a money problem
• You bought a nice new car thinking the repayments would be manageable, but a year later you have struggled 12 times in a row to make the repayments and you realize your emotional decision turned into a money problem
• You bought an ‘investment property' but it costs more to own than the income it generates, so even your decision to try to get ahead is — you guessed it — a money problem

It all Comes Back To Money

All these things create problems in our lives that we really could do without. In fact, for all sorts of reasons we have so many things in our lives that put financial pressure on us, there are many problems we simply feel we cannot solve.

We don't decide not to solve them, but we don't feel like we are in a position to solve them. As a result, they just fester away in the background, making us more and more frustrated with our lives.

And they don't just fester — they build up. Before you know it, one insignificant problem has snowballed into a huge financial disaster.

This is what we call a “financial snowball effect”.

Almost all problems, regardless of what they are, end up causing us financial pressure. Almost everything comes back to money. Even relationship problems turn into money problems. You can't get away from it.

We all know money does not make your life perfect, but not having money can sure make it imperfect.

We Don't Get Help With Money Problems

So here is my point for today.

Lots of things can result from a financial snowball effect. Letting the dog die, driving a sick car with scratches and dents all over it, fighting with your spouse over stupid things that are really driven by money pressure, not taking enough holidays, not spending more time with your family, and so on.

To stop this happening, it all comes back to one thing: we need to become better around money planning. But the problem is, we don't really know how!

A really important observation to make here is that when it comes to money problems, most people do not go looking for someone else to help diagnose and cure the problem.

We don't have any spare money that we want to spend at the money doctor (and if we did, we would rather spend it on pushing the pleasure boundaries further), so we just dig in deeper and hope for better times to come.

Of course, hope is NOT a valid solution to a problem. Action is the only solution.

You Can't Afford To NOT Solve Your Problems

Robert Kiyosaki tells a story his Rich Dad told him about a man who had a toothache. He had no money to see the dentist so he put off getting it looked at. Over time the tooth became infected and the man became ill. He started missing days at work because of his ill health and he eventually got the sack because he was away so often.

Eventually, his house was repossessed and he had to go and sleep on a park bench and beg for food, all because he did not solve this one simple problem in the first place.

The price of thinking he could not afford a solution to his little problem was infinitely less than the price he ultimately paid.

Sound familiar? It's another financial snowball effect!

What's Your Attitude?

Now, if someone comes along offering to help you to get better with money, what is your attitude? Here are some common ones I've seen:

• I don't have a problem
• I need to do this all on my own
• I'm planning on winning the lotto
• Things will be better when I just get over this current hump

Perhaps more than anything, the most common attitude is “I can't afford it and anyone offering to help just wants to rip me off”.

This is a very common, self-preservation type response, but if you think about it, if your car breaks down you get it fixed but you don't get all suspicious of the mechanic making some money out of your car problem; nor do you think the vet is a crook because he sends you a bill for diagnosing and curing your pet dog.

You simply have a problem, you need a solution and you understand you will need to pay for it.

Who Can You Trust?

For some strange reason, 95% of us are not doing as well as we would like financially but we are so suspicious that we will be ‘ripped off' if we look to someone else for money help.

The fact that we have all heard of people being ripped off backs up our suspicion but in reality, there are shonky operators in all walks of life, so that's not a valid excuse.

Solve Your Money Problems!

My message for today is simple, SOLVE YOUR MONEY PROBLEMS. Don't just hope for a better financial future. Don't just keep doing what you have been doing in the past expecting a different outcome. Don't blame shonky operators as your reason for doing nothing and don't say you can't afford it because in getting your finances sorted out you will in turn get a lot of your other problems sorted out as well.

You won't find the solution in what you have been doing in the past because it produced your current outcome. You will have to do something different.

It might seem like there are no solutions but there are almost always solutions. It is often a matter of priorities. What do you focus on? What do you spend your spare time and money on?

If learning how to become wealthy is on your wish list but not on your priorities list, it is obvious you need to make some changes.

In life you don't get brownie points for how many problems you put up with − you get rewarded when you overcome your problems.

If you just can't get your head around that and/or you are tired of money stress and have decided it's time to take control, talk to a Spending Planner to find out how you can break the cycle - BOOK A FREE CALL  

 You have nothing to lose and lots to gain. Spending Planners are non-judgmental professionals who are trained to help. A short relationship with a Spending Planner will provide you with tools and training that will benefit you for the rest of your life!

Spending Planners are extremely passionate about helping people take control of their money. The benefit you get from working with a Spending Planner will be far more than the cost and what you learn during the process will benefit you for the rest of your life!

On the other hand, if you already have a Spending Plan, your finances are not under stress and you know what I'm talking about, you may be interested in joining the team. If you would like to feel the satisfaction of helping someone else turn their life around and create your own business in the process you might want to consider becoming a Spending Planner too.