My brother Brian posted a YouTube video on Facebook the other day. It was not a short video. Here is the link go ahead its a very worthwhile 20 minutes. Got it? OK good. Most of the ideas in the video are not new, but the manner they are put together in were very good and thought provoking. George Carlin talked to us about Stuff 20 years ago. Glenn Beck and a cadre of financial management people have been trying to pound debt reduction though our heads for the last several years and most people except for Congress and Washington are listening. I heard a report on the news the other day that personal debt in the US has gone down 10%. Yeah us. So we are starting to listen. Starting. We need to do more than just start. But you know what? Freedom is individual and Michael Jackson had it right you have to start with the Man in the Mirror.
After listening to Adam Baker give his talk I thought about what Freedom means to me. There are all kinds of Freedom. There is the the time of Freedom that makes me give money to the Heritage Foundation, support GBTV and the Fair Tax. But then there is the other type of Freedom, the financial kind that is frustrating me and the kind that I often call my perpetual hamster wheel. Have you ever watched a hamster or a gerbil on his little exercise wheel? The little guy is running for all he's worth often for hours on end, and he's not getting anywhere. And sometimes he's going so fast that when he stops he spins backwards for a full spin. I feel like that sometimes. So what do we do?
We stop spending more than we make. We take a good look around at what we have and ask what do we really need. But before we can decide what we need, we have to have a goal - a destination. I was missing a key part of that destination for a long time. I knew I wanted to buy a house, I could see the house in my head. I knew that I wanted the house for me and for my financial security. I also knew that I wasn't buying the house as a financial investment to move later. I am planning on buying and staying. But I have never been able to get really past that. What happens next? Where is my life? Sounds kinda silly right? Those of you who have read my somewhat infrequent blog may have picked up on the fact that most of my life I have spent my life living for others, I am a daughter, a sister, then I was a wife, I became a mom, I am an aunt. I have always focused on others. Focusing on myself is very hard. By no means am I saying I am going to ignore or neglect my family :) of course not. But for the first time I am starting to see how I would like to see my life when I'm not hanging out with my family. And hey...maybe some of those friends I haven't seen in forever will finally get to see me.
The good news for me in listening to Adams talk is that I have never been one to acquire stuff to impress others. The better news is that with a clearer vision of what I want my life to look like, there is more stuff that I can get rid of...although I have already completed a good portion of that step. As for the financial steps...my new mantra must be "Is spending this getting me closer to my goal?".
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