We face countless choices every single day that impact every aspect of our lives. The statistics suggest the average is 35,000 decisions, or choices, a day. That’s a lot, right?
Money, health, relationships, career. Many of these decisions may seem trivial in the moment but over time, they work together, stack up and ultimately define the outcome of our lives. For better or for worse.
The choice to buy the shoes instead of saving the money.
The choice to get up early instead of hitting the snooze button.
The choice to skip the gym and watch Netflix instead.
The choice to stay back at work and meet the deadline or go home.
Where you’re at in your life right now is the sum of all the choices – big momentous decisions or small, daily ones – you’ve made up until this point.
You might feel like life is just a bunch of random events outside of your control. Not true.
Sometimes unexpected things happen to us, for better or for worse, but the majority of our lives we do have control of….because we control our choices.
By making better choices, we make a better life
It’s that simple.
But….it’s not that easy, is it?
Anyone who’s ever been on a diet will tell you that making the right decision on paper is simple (choose the soup, not the burger and chips) but in the actual moment?…. Want.The.Burger.And.Chips.
You get to decide on the choices you make in your financial life.
Everything from whether to spend $40 on takeaway when you can’t afford it to deciding how you’ll invest the $10k you’ve saved.
Some of your money choices will lead to financial freedom, confidence, and momentum to make even better choices. Others will lead to mediocre results, financial insecurity, and giving up on your goals.
What will you choose?
Avoid getting sucked into the trap of putting off making a good decision right now for planning to make it tomorrow…or someday.
Your ‘tomorrows’ and ‘somedays’ turn out how they do because of the choices you make today. Let that sink in for a moment.
Make it a Habit!
There is only today to make the right choices.
Usually, it’s easier to make the ‘bad’ decision because it requires less effort.
How does a hard decision become easier? When you make it a habit!
Habits are things we do automatically, or almost automatically. Stack your life with enough positive habits and in time, good decision-making becomes your default setting.
With the right habits in place, getting great outcomes won’t rely on your sheer willpower to continuously make the smart choices -because willpower doesn’t work for very long. Your positive outcomes will be produced by your positive habits.
It will become a habit to save that extra $500 rather than spend it.
It will become a habit to put your trainers on and head out for a run instead of flopping down in front of the TV.
It will become a habit to review your money planner every week.
A great book on the profound effect stacking one small habit on top of the other will have on your life is the Compound Effect by Darren Hardy. Check it out.
5 Tips to Get Started
Start creating positive outcomes in your finances today by beginning to make smart money choices. Here are a few decisions to get you started; make them and watch your financial outcomes begin to transform.
Decide to pay with cash, not credit
Out of control credit card debt is a major source of money stress and unless eliminated, it will stop you from ever reaching your financial goals. Cut up the credit card and make the sacrifices required (including waiting!) to make purchases with cash.
Make decisions based on the long-game
We give in to making less than optimal decisions in the moment because we can’t (or don’t want to) see how it will impact our future.
So what if I buy a latte every day? It was only 5 bucks.
The future cost of your daily latte? $1,825 a year or $18,250 over a decade. Imagine what the magic of compound interest could do to those amounts if you invested the $5 instead.
Thinking long-term puts everything in perspective. From your latte habit to deciding if you’ll salary sacrifice a percentage of your monthly income for superannuation or put more of your business income into your financial future.
Choose to get your superannuation sorted
If you’ve got superannuation all over the place, make the commitment to roll it all into one fund.
Depending on how many accounts you have, it might seem like a pain but many super funds make it easy to roll your super over or find lost accounts. All those multiple fees are draining your funds and will ultimately affect your retirement outcome.
Decide to get started with investing….it isn’t as hard as you think
The key to real wealth-building is investing. How long it takes you to get started investing will ultimately determine your financial outcome years from now. Will it be financial freedom or money stress and struggle?
Whether you’ve got thousands to get started with or a few hundred dollars, make the decision to begin today.
If you are looking for an easy way to take action, schedule a call with us today to discuss a plan for your financial future, and we’ll also show you how to implement the plan, simply and effectively.
Choose the right money mindset
Your money mindset and attitude have more to do with your financial outcomes than you may realise. A wrong attitude about money may be the reason you’re winding up in the same financial frustrations time and time again. There’s more to achieving your financial goals than just having the right strategies.
I’ve written more about the Millionaire Mindset Principles That Lead To Financial Freedom here and here.
Conclusion
No matter where you are in your financial journey, I hope this blog post has empowered you to see that we ARE in control of our life outcomes. All of them – money, health, career, relationships. YOU have the power of choice to decide your future.
You have the power to make decisions Every.Single.Day that will create the life you really want.
It’s not always easy but it’s absolutely worth it.
What choice will you make today to take control of your financial outcomes for the better?