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You know you’re in personal finance denial if you aren’t truthful about money and the role it plays in your life. For instance, do you ignore your bank statements or bills, carelessly keep adding to your credit card debts, have a growing overdraft or keep spending money you don’t have in order to impress others?

If you do any of the above, chances are good you have also experienced the pitfalls of personal finance denial and find money and your relationship with it very stressful.

Personal finance denial is a waste of time and energy. Denying the truth and not taking steps to improve your financial situation is the worst thing you can do.

Your issues with money will not go away if you continue with a negative attitude. By being in personal finance denial you’re actually inviting things to go from bad to worse. Being in denial is like being in a hole and unless you make a change soon you’ll find yourself digging an even deeper hole for yourself.

Money will always have a damaging effect on you and your family members unless you make the decision to let go of your denial and negative personal finance thinking.

In order to get rid of all your negative feelings surrounding money and to let the stress and frustration go about not having enough or not being able to keep up, you have to commit to making a change. You need to take control of your money and the way you use it once and for all.

The first step is acknowledging that you’re in charge of your money instead of your money being in charge of you.

You need to believe that you have what it takes to be successful with money. You also need to accept that you have the power to make a change.

Remove the word ‘can’t’ from your vocabulary and vow from this day on to use the word ‘CAN’ whenever you think of your relationship with money. Instead of saying to yourself, “I can’t afford it”. Repeat to yourself over and over again, “I’d rather save my money for something else.”

Consider also the words ‘love’ and ‘hate’. Hating money and the role it plays in your life is negative whereas saying “I love money” is positive.

In order to love money you need to appreciate it for what it is - a means of bringing good things into your life. Say, “I love being able to manage my money well.”

In order to be a personal finance success you also need to be a positive thinker. One of the best ways to believe you have what it takes to be successful with money is to keep telling yourself you are.
“I will be a personal finance success because I believe in myself and in my abilities to make all my financial dreams come true.”

Believe it or not a simple phrase repeated over and over can really make a difference.

Even though I’m talking about how you can be a personal finance success with positive thinking, the same technique applies to other areas of your life. By repeating positive phrases you can make a change for the better.

To learn more about how to become a personal finance success visit http://www.positivemoney.blogspot.com

Instead of complaining that you never have enough money for the things you really want, be thankful for the money that you do have and the control you have over it.

Good money management involves being truthful about your spending habits, prioritizing what you spend your money on and enjoying the abundance that is already in your life.

Don’t be weak around money - be powerful. Tell yourself that you have the ability to manage your money well.

Get rid of negative thoughts like “I don’t have enough money,” “I hate bills,” and “I can’t afford it.”

Replace those thoughts with positive phrases like “I will always have enough money for the things that matter most,” “I will pay my bills because I appreciate the benefits of the goods and services purchased,” and “I chose to save instead of spending my money on something that isn’t really important to me.”

It’s also important to acknowledge that you have the power to spend money on the things that you feel are personally worthwhile and that you don’t need to give in to spending money on things that aren’t important. Just because other people may spend carelessly, doesn’t mean you have to follow suit. How you spend your money should be your choice - no one else’s.

Personal finance should not be burden - it should be a joy. When you change your attitude about money from a negative to a positive, you free yourself from stress and worry, and open the door to freedom and pleasure.

Remember negative thoughts keep you poor, positive thoughts create abundance.

Sherrie Le Masurier is a columnist who writes extensively on personal finance issues. To learn more about how positive thoughts can create abundance visit her blog http://www.positivemoney.blogspot.com - Copyright.

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Are you one of those people who doesn’t open their bank or credit card statements? Do you take out store cards on the spur of the moment? Have you been with the same bank simply because it is less hassle than changing?

If you have answered yes to any of the above questions, fear not confused consumer, help is at hand, with some assistance from a few internet tools.

* Internet tool number one:

** The consumer champion site for personal finance information

Websites such as Fool.com, Fool.co.uk and Moneysavingexpert.com have proved extremely popular with consumers. Fool.com is more geared towards the US market, whilst Fool.co.uk focuses on the UK market. Both have an extremely diverse selection of information from investment and high risk options to personal finance and low risk options. There are extensive discussion boards, newsletter subscriptions, finance calculators and competitions. These sites not only answer your questions, they make you want to ask more.

Fool.com, Fool.co.uk and Moneysavingexpert.com are community based sites and function on consumers exchanging information between themselves, whether that’s about passing on recommendations or expressing concerns. The article “Ten Reasons To Fear The Future” by Cliff D’Arcy” on Fool.co.uk is a particularly good introduction to the financial aspects of modern life.

Martin Lewis has almost become a household name in the UK through his website Moneysavingexpert. The outspoken journalist and presenter offers a comprehensive resource on a range of personal finance topics. If you can put up with the cheesey photos of Mr Lewis and his catalogue poses, you will undoubtedly find this site extremely helpful.

* Internet tool number two:

** The price comparison site for personal finance information

Kelkoo, moneynet.co.uk and Lowermybills.com (US) are now commonly exploited by consumers to ensure they are getting the best deal on their purchases. However, it is probably fair to say that more people shop around for clothes and music, than they do for their personal finance products, which is worrying as these cost significantly more.

* Internet tool number three:

** Online banking and account aggregation tools

The internet can be a scary thing and there is still much scaremongering about online security. However your details are often as secure online, as they are offline and providing you choose and hide your password effectively - there should not be a problem with people accessing your confidential information. Choose a password of eight characters or more, preferably replacing some letters with numbers, such “1nternet” or “passw0rd”.

Set yourself up with online accounts and you can proactively manage your finances yourself, without waiting for statements through the post or call centre agents to take your query. You can also save yourself bank charges by transferring funds yourself over the internet. Some banks charge large amounts for transferring funds when you can do it for no additional cost at all.

Personal finance doesn’t have to be about debt and the efficient co-ordination of funds may save you hundreds of pounds in the long-term.

Resources:

http://www.fool.com

http://www.moneynet.co.uk

About Rachel

Rachel would be really interested to get feedback on whether anyone actually reads this section. Rachel has written about living in straw huts, having the ‘Best Hits of 1987′ in her music collection, eating Green and Blacks chocolate and the fact that on her left foot - her second toe is bigger than her big toe. If someone feels like rescuing Rachel from obscurity, she would be grateful for an e-mail out of here.

Rachel also writes for the personal finance blog Cashzilla - http://www.cashzilla.co.uk

Don’t spam it though or she’ll eat you.

Contact details
Rachel Lane
Rachel@positiveinterest.com

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There is a quote by an anonymous writer that says, “Goals are as essential to success as air is to life.” This statement is especially relevant to financial success and how it relates to financial goals. The way to succeed financially is to frequently set and accomplish personal finance goals.

The problem is when most people hear or read the words ‘personal finance’, their eyes glaze over and they immediately begin to think about something more interestinglike what’s the function of their keyboard’s scroll lock button? But, the reality is that learning how to make the most of your finances is really pretty easy and that just a little bit of attention can go a long way.

Where Are You Financially?
It is hard to get somewhere if you don’t know where you are in the first place. And with personal finance, it’s just as difficult to set financial goals for the future, if you don’t know where your finances are currently.

The best way to measure your financial standing is to figure out your personal net worth. Personal net worth is basically your personal finance bottom line. After taking into account all of your assets and all of your liabilities, what you end up with is considered your personal net worth.

The Four Types of Personal Finance Goals
As you figure out your personal net worth, ideas for goals will begin to develop, write any of these down on a piece paper and then refer to them later when you are goal setting. There are four classifications for financial goalsthe time limit you set to accomplish the goal will determine what type of goal it is.

Short-Term Personal Finance Goals

These goals typically take less than one year to complete. These goals are usually extremely important, as many of your bigger goals will depend on your success with these short-term goals. These goals are also important because they build moral and increase your financial confidencesuddenly the larger goals don’t seem so impossible. Short-term goals might include reading a finance book, beginning to track your finances with personal finance software or even paying off a credit card.

Mid-Term Personal Finance Goals

These goals should take less than five years to complete. These goals can relate to your short-term goals (i.e. a short-term goal may be paying off your Visa card and a mid-term goal is to have all of your credit cards paid off). Mid-term goals, as well as your larger goals, need to be tracked closely as procrastination can often make mid-term personal finance goals very hard to accomplish.

Mid-long-Term Personal Finance Goals

These goals should take anywhere from five to 15 years to accomplish. There are people who have become totally debt-free from perusing a mid-long term goal. These goals sometimes evolve or change completely depending on life’s priorities.

Long-Term Personal Finance Goals
Long-tem personal finance goals may take sixteen years to a lifetime to accomplish. These are goals that deal with your retirement and leaving an inheritance for your children. Many people set long-term personal finance goals to have a personal net worth of ‘X’ amount of dollars by a certain age. Long-term goals also change and evolve as people grow and their priorities in life change. You should review and evaluate your long-term financial goals at least once a yearmaybe when you do your taxes.

Reward yourself for completing financial goalssmaller goals may be associated with smaller awards, while the completion of larger goals may be rewarded with a family vacation.

Speaking of family, involve your spouse and your kids (if applicable) in your financial goals. They will provide motivation and some financial goals will involve the entire family’s help to obtain.

Personal Finance Prosperity
Prosperity is a word that is defined by the person who is uses it. One person may not consider themself prosperous until they reach millionaire status, while another person may prosper because they provide their family with simple home that’s completely paid for.

While making financial goals, it’s a good idea to take some time and think about what you want in lifewhat will make you prosperous. Once this has been determined, set goals that will help you achieve prosperitybest of luck.

Cristopher Fowers

Cristopher Fowers is a Writer/Reviewer for TopTenREVIEWS.com. TopTenREVIEWS features expert reviews for technology and entertainment products and services. For more information and an in-depth review on personal finance software, see the TopTenREVIEWS Personal Finance Software Review. We do the research so you don’t have to

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