Failure is Not an Option

We often say 'failure is not our portion', whose portion is it then? We always realize that we do all our best in planning, but why do we fail? It is not only failing to plan, but failing to plan accordingly that leads to failure.

The first miscalculation we make is that we do not know who we are and what our problems are. We must assess, understand and accept our economic value or worthiness. If you are at the limit of ten, then stay at ten, not at thirteen. It is better to live beneath your limits than to go beyond bounds. Know what you are capable of doing. Do not live by the Jones. The key to this success is honesty. Post rhetoric questions to yourself and provide genuine answers to these questions for your own good.

We fail to look at the future. Foresight is a crucial element in planning. Study the patterns of today and know what might happen tomorrow. Today is and will never be the same as tomorrow. Unforeseen circumstances will crop in and the emergency fund may never be adequate to take care of the situation. Look at your place of work. Study the trends and events that occur. Look for signs for any possible layoffs or retrenchments. You might be out of work when you least expect.

Savings are not the same as investments. We also fail in our planning because we lack investments. Investments are that part of our finances which are not consumed, but which are more than savings in that they care for our long term needs. We need insurance to our finances and this can only be gotten through investments. Keep in mind, anything you sow, you will reap during your harvest. So, if your invest less, you reap less. Likewise, if you do not invest, you reap nothing.

Another aspect is that we are not committed to that road towards saving. We falter at one point or another and we fail to take the requisite steps to stand upright. This is because we think there is always enough time ahead of us. Time lost can never be regained. You are the architect and supervisor of your financial future.

Another blunder is that we make our financial planning conform to our way of life, rather than we conforming our system to our budget. Ambitions are easier laid down. But the most difficult thing is for us to fit our plans into those of our ambitions. The truth is that there is no sweet without sweat. Sacrifices have to be done and someone (you) must perform these sacrifices. Keep in mind, savings is that part of disposable income which is not consumed. So your consumption has to be sacrificed for you to make more money.

There is no perfect person. Mistakes are natural phenomenon in our lives that can easily be corrected by our very selves when we have that determination to do so. We fall everyday and we learn from these. Mistakes make us wax stronger. It is not the speed of our progress than determines the progress, but the height of that progress.