Personal Finance – Suze Orman’s 9 Steps to Financial Freedom
Suze Orman was on Oprah this week, giving emergency financial advice to people facing foreclosure, unemployment, or bankruptcy. Her 9 Steps To Financial Freedom will help anyone to avoid those disasters.
Step 1 – Seeing How Your Past Holds The Key To Your Financial Future
“Messages about money are passed down from generation to generation, worn and chipped like family dishes.” Suze Orman
It is important to spend time understanding your family’s stories about money – and the ones you created yourself, as you were growing up. Financial freedom begins with freeing ourselves from the burden of the past.
Step 2 – Facing Your Fears And Creating New Truths
“The trouble with fears is that when we keep them inside and refuse to deal with them, they grow, like weeds left alone in a garden. Take the fear of not having enough to cover the bills this month and let it wander around by itself, unchecked. Where will it go? It will become the fear of not having enough in general.” Suze Orman
New financial realities can only grow once you have faced your fears and replaced them with new, more empowering beliefs.
Step 3 – Being Honest With Yourself
“Most of us believe, or deceive ourselves into believing, that we need about $1,000 to $1,500 a month less than we actually do need to go on living the exact same way we live right now.” Suze Orman
It is very important to go back through your records and establish exactly how much you have really spent. Guessing won’t get you free!
Step 4 – Being Responsible To Those You Love
“It’s not OK when you get sick, or when you die, to leave financial chaos behind you for everyone else to clean up.” Suze Orman
Make sure you have a will, including a testamentary trust, adequate life insurance, income protection insurance, and health insurance. If you are not sure what any of these are, or how to get them, consult a financial planner.
Step 5 – Being Respectful Of Yourself And Your Money
“If you’re respectful of your money, and do what needs to be done with it, you will become like a magnet, attracting more and more money to yourself.” Suze Orman
The most powerful and respectful way to make money is to invest wisely. Plan for your future, take advantage of the superannuation plans that are available to you, face your debt, and stand guard over your money, ensuring that every penny you spend is a penny that must be spent.
Step 6 – Trusting Yourself More Than You Trust Others
“When it comes to every financial decision you will make for the rest of your life, you will choose correctly if you go with the answer that reflects your instinctual response.” Suze Orman
Your financial freedom is your responsibility, and it can only be planned and brought about by you. There is no “expert” or “insider” who knows better than you what you should do.
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