Our nation seems to be the most divided since the Civil War. Issues ranging from abortion to guns, race to religion and gender identity to ESG have polarized us to a point where civil discourse seems impossible. The solution to all of these issues starts with accepting 100% responsibility for your life. The blame game only positions you powerless and subject to the narrative of the day of the elite who only look to solidify their status as somehow superior to you.
When you make the decision to accept 100% responsibility for your life something amazing happens. You realize you are in control, can make decisions and take actions that will result in the life you imagine. You are no longer the result of circumstance; you are a result of hard work and resiliency. This applies to every area of your life. Think about if everyone accepted 100% responsibility for their life and their actions how all of those issues above could be resolved or moved in a positive direction.
While I might not be a scholarly expert on all the issues above, I do have experience as a Financial Advisor working with hundreds of families. One conclusion I can make is that when people make a decision to accept 100% responsibility for their finances, they take control of money instead of money controlling them. Initially some might believe they don’t make enough money or were born into a poor family so they are somehow destined to be poor. However, they quickly realize during our conversation that the difference between the “have’s and have not’s” is generally not how much they make, but how much they keep.
A lot of families spend $300-$600 or more each month eating out. Throw in a trip to the movies, Starbucks coffee and an impulse buy on Amazon and you easily have $1000 or more that could be redirected to building a simple to follow financial plan that fits your life and puts you in control of money.
I’m a firm believer that a successful financial plan prepares you for the future, but also balances a life today. Accepting responsibility and building a financial plan is not about giving up all the things you enjoy. You do have to create memories and live a little, however, by accepting responsibility you know that if you don’t prepare for the future starting today, it’s not somebody else’s job to bail you out and you’ll probably have to continue working.
Since this theme seems to apply to just about every news headline, let’s discuss the idea of forgiving student loans. Again, if we accept responsibility for the fact that we made the choice to go to college and take on student loans, then we should accept responsibility to make a plan to pay them off. Some will try to say that if you have student loans then you are the “victim” of loan companies or you weren’t properly educated on the loans beforehand.
It might be a tough lesson to learn, but as long as you put ink to paper that is a commitment and therefore your responsibility. I know this might not be a popular position, especially among my peers, but I’ve seen too many lightbulb moments with families where they realize they can honor their commitment with the help of a plan.
Tensions are running high in the United States. It’s time we cool things off, find common values and regain a sense of pride in our nation. If we can pivot the conversation internally and focus on what we can do, I think we will all find room for improvement. By accepting responsibility for ourselves we can fix the fabric of our country and bring us all together under our founding values of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Awesome read….and truth !