Posted by André Nosalsky :: May 14, 2009 @ 6:23 am

In the previous posts in this series, we covered why it is a bad idea to identify who you are as a person with how much money you have and how to take the first steps to free yourself from this problem. This post continues to explore these issues.

Separating how you view yourself from how much money you have or earn will lead to the following:

1. An understanding that money is a tool. Just like any other tool that you can use to accomplish any task, money is also a tool. It is a very powerful and very flexible tool, but still a tool. It is not you. You are not money. You have the tool, meaning you have money and you can use that tool to get more money, or you can squander it and lose some of the power that the money tool has. It’s up to you.

   Knowing that money is a tool separate from who you are, and that you are in full control over it, should give you a certain sense of freedom in knowing that you can use this tool to earn more money and accomplish your goals without having the money control you and your actions.

2. An ability to think for yourself and make the best decisions for yourself. You will no longer have to rely on personal finance “experts” to tell you what to do with your money. Now you will see money as not a part of yourself, but as something that you can use to invest for the future and improve your life.
3. An awareness that money problems become objective problems and will not overwhelm you. Now, if you have a money problem, you can think about the problem just like any other, objectively and on paper, and come to a conclusion about how to deal with it. It will no longer feel like you’re “drowning” or being overwhelmed by financial decisions.