Obstacle to Financial Freedom - you

You are the biggest obstacle to financial freedom that you will ever encounter. Your habits of spending and saving money will make or break you.

No matter what your background or upbringing, you are ultimately responsible for your financial condition, so get realistic with yourself about money management.

You also must be realistic about behavior patterns that sabotage your ability to achieve financial freedom.

You are the one holding you back. It isn't someone else doing it to you.

If you are not saving money, then you need to do something about it. If you talked yourself into a lifestyle that isn’t affordable, then you need to do something about it. You are ultimately the one that makes or breaks your success.

Based on my experience, here are six warning signs that you are the obstacle to financial freedom. View these as general indicators only.

Most of us do some of these things, but if these generally describe a pattern in your life, then you are the obstacle to financial freedom and you best take action to change the pattern soon and for good.

• Borrowing money - if you don't have enough now, when are you ever going to get enough to pay back the loan? Are you late on paying back loans, and are there some that you aren't ever going to pay back?

• Making payments to people and businesses - we all make payments on big purchases like homes and cars, but are you making payments on small stuff too?

• Picking up your check - when direct deposit is available. This is not a good idea. If you pick up your check, especially on your day off, this shows that you can't go a couple of days without a paycheck. That's living check-to-check, and that's not what you should be doing.

• No bank account - there just isn't an excuse for this. A bank is a safe place for your money, and it keeps it out of your hands so it can accumulate for you. Are you making excuses about the bank fees associated with a low balance bank account? Shop for another bank and you'll find one that will let you have an account with a low starting balance.

  Click to learn the basics of a bank.

• Paying someone to cash your check - this is money that you have already earned, and you're paying a cash advance enterprise a fee of 3%, 5% or even 10% to get what is already yours? That's tantamount to having state income tax taken out of your "after tax" pay. Again, there is no excuse for this.

• Playing the lottery or powerball on a regular basis - a great way to financial freedom for a fool filled with unrealistic desires. It is nearly impossible to win, regardless of what the state is telling you about the odds. So, you put your money into the lottery, but can't put it in the bank? The bank is a sure bet - you're going to get your money back.

  Again, if this looks like a profile of you, then it should be clear that you are the obstacle to your financial freedom, and you should be doing something about it.
  
  
  
  
  
  

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