Where you are and what you are (and how much money you have or don’t have) are a result of the choices you have made. That means what you chose to focus your talent on, the medium you decided to work in, the projects you accepted and didn’t accept, and how you spent your most valuable asset – your time. Let’s face it, we all have made some poor choices in our past. But we have also made lots of good ones, too. We should learn from our mistakes but not dwell on them. The goal is to have a dream and make choices that support it. Focus on the future and make smart choices that support it. Focus on the future and make smart choices each and every day. Little decisions do make a difference, too. You will make hundreds of decisions a day, and over time, they add up. You probably think it is the major decisions that matter most. Oh, they matter, but so do minor ones. Just focusing on the things in front of you and making good choices about how to make and manage your money can mean the difference between wealth and welfare. Anyone can become wealthy. Anyone! So why doesn’t everyone do it? They choose not to. What? Think about it. We all know we have to spend less than we earn and save and invest the rest. Simple. So why don’t we do it? We choose not to.  If you were to cut back, live simply, and forgo a few luxuries, you could start to make a dent in your debt, put some money away, invest in the stock market or finance a project or business that could make you millions.

Money problems are a result of a pattern of poor choices. If you allow others to manage your money and they screw up, you chose to put your money with them.  It is best to base your decisions on more than money alone. Sometimes when you don’t consider the money, you make the most righteous choice. If you make the right choice for all the right reasons (and maybe money isn’t the determining factor) the right choice may just lead you to more money.

It could be that you think you don’t have a choice. You always have a choice. We all have the freedom to choose what we do to earn a living and how we invest those earnings. Use your creativity to invent new options. Don’t automatically accept what others say and do. If you are always in a go mode, or worse, always in crisis mode, it is harder to make smart decisions. You will make them in haste and without perspective. Your feelings do affect your finances. When you are down, you may tend to see only the dark side of things. A healthy mindset allows you to see either the upside of things or a way out that you wouldn’t see if you were catastrophizing. Since these low moods can come and go, wait to make a move with money until you equalize. Don’t take your negative thoughts to heart. Wait for the clouds and storm to pass to get a better barometer on your thoughts.

If you play chess, you know that while you must make a move when it is your turn, you should also be thinking about your next few moves. Have your strategy, but also stay flexible to answer the threats. When you have thougt it through you make your move. The price of a bad decision is that it will lead you down the wrong road, which wastes energy, time, or money or worse, you get lost and never find your way back. Here is how to consistently make better decisions.