Power Up: Taking Charge of Your Financial Destiny

Chapter Four

Staying on the Right Path

We’ve covered a myriad of topics so far, and I hope you are getting a feel for how to regain your focus and confidence when dealing with financial matters and perhaps with your personal outlook on life. As you can see, financial recovery is based sometimes on numbers and sometimes on psychology. Now you want to put those things in motion, applying them to your everyday actions. This may not be easy, especially when we are greeted daily by the “spend” mentality of our society. I can give you an example. Just the other day I received a catalogue from a cookware company. The first five pages alone had a slew of specialty items that would supposedly make life easier in the kitchen and also allow you to cook wonderful dishes for your family. We’re talking omelet pans, pancake makers, indoor grills and fryers, meshed grill pans, jalapeño pepper roasters, electric rotisserie items, margarita makers, and an assortment of waffle makers, blenders, juicers, slicers, graters, and peelers. I could go on. Funny thing is, when I cook I’m not that extravagant. Give me a pot, a pan, and a couple of simple utensils and I’m off to the races.

Are some of these items useful, even cool? Yes. But do you really need to spend $20 on a tomato slicer? I would say no. You can use a knife. Also, think about storage. Where on earth are you going to put all of these gadgets? An associate of mine loves these types of things. She collects them, but when it comes time to use ...