Decisions that Lead to Financial Success

You are the composite of all decisions you have made in the past – the big ones, the small ones, the fun ones, the hard ones, the ones you made alone and the ones you made together.

You are where you are today because of those decisions…because of the way you acted and reacted to people, facts, events, assignments, tasks and desires.

Even when you avoid making decisions, you are impacting your future self – not deciding is, in itself, a decision.

At each decision point on the road of life — you choose – you go one way instead of the other, that way instead of this. Will you have regrets? Probably. One always wonders about the road not taken. What if I had stayed in Arizona instead of moving back to the Midwest? I probably wouldn’t have met the man who became my husband, wouldn’t have the children and grandchildren I now have and may have become quite a different person.

At each decision point you have the opportunity to advance yourself – financially, socially, emotionally and/or intellectually. Some decisions move you forward on all fronts, some move you back on all. Some put you ahead financially – some socially. Some bind you closer to the ones you love, some carry you away. To make progress in your chosen area, you need to make more good decisions than bad.

Assuming you want to move forward financially, how do you make more good financial decisions than bad ones?

Balance
To make more good financial decisions than bad ones, you need to seek balance in your life. Single minded pursuit of any one activity, including financial ones, puts you on the path to regret. Life is full of backs and forths, zigs and zags, ups and downs. Like a lightening strike, your path may not be a straight line – two steps forward, one sideways and one back. While you work on health, your finances may suffer. While you invest emotionally in children, your marriage may suffer. While your finances are going great, your social life may be in the pits. Seek balance – you’ll be happier and have fewer regrets.

Purpose
To make more good financial decisions than bad ones, you need a guiding light. You need a driving and realistic purpose. Why do you want to move forward financially? What is your ultimate purpose? Keeping that in mind when you make your day to day decisions can help you stay on track. You are bored, should you go to the casino for a few hours of gambling fun or take the kids to the local playground to play on the swings? What’s your purpose? If you are trying to get rich quick by taking lots of risks, maybe you choose the casino. If you are trying to focus on your emotional activities, maybe you choose the swings. If you are trying to save money by doing free things, maybe you choose the swings.

Persistence
To make more good financial decisions than bad ones, you need to persist in making many decisions that lead to your financial purpose. If your purpose is to knock down credit card debt, persist in making the decision not to put this one purchase on the card. As you make this decision on each purchase, your balanceeventually declines as you pay it down.

Patience
To make more good financial decisions than bad, you need to be patient with yourself, your life and your life mates. Financial success usually doesn’t happen all at once. Sometimes it takes years of purpose and persistence to achieve. Sometimes you will make a decision you regret, one that sets you back. Sometimes you may make several in a row. Have patience with yourself, keep your eye on your purpose and persist.

Togetherness
To make more good financial decisions than bad, you need togetherness. You and the significant other(s) in your life should be in agreement on your purpose. An offhand remark made to you can change your decision and therefore your course of action. Being at odds in your purpose can lead to conflicting decisions being made on joint resources.

If you seek balance, have purpose, persistence, patience and togetherness your financial goals will be achieved.