Money a change agent?

Cyndia Lauper has a song titled, "Money Changes Everything." But does it? When we look at our spending behavior, if we really had more money would we be out of debt sooner? Unless we change how we look at money, how we relate to money and how we use money, then I believe the answer is no.

As one friend told me (after talking to a successful businessman in Wooster), financial challenges do not go away with more money -- only the scale is different. If they were living paycheck-to-paycheck when they earned less, then they will live paycheck-to-paycheck when they earn more.

Money will not change your financial standing unless you change your spending, saving and investing habits. We cannot consume more and more on credit cards and expect anything to be different.

Financial freedom comes from creating a budget, a spending plan, a saving plan and an investment plan. You need to know where every dollar is going to go before you receive it, or else you will be scratching your head wondering where all of your money went.

This Sunday, we will look at how we can wrap our minds around our money coming in and our money going out.

Dave Ramsey believes budgeting is so important that he includes his budgeting forms in all of his books, and he offers them for free on his Web site. You can visit his budgeting page here. For those of you who will take Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University, this will give you a glimpse of what will be expected when you become a member.

If you want some motivation to begin the budgeting process and creating a spending plan, check out what Mary Hunt has to say here and here.