The Financial Roller Coaster
[social_warfare]
Are you riding the financial roller coaster right now? It’s a turbulent ride, isn’t it? I know how the journey, as I’ve ridden the financial roller coaster MANY times in my life. I’ll be happy the day I can finally exit the ride for good.
Unfortunately, throughout my entrepreneurial journey, I’ve seen WAY too many people who hide their ride. According to their social media profiles, their journey is flawless, and they bring in tens of thousands of dollars every month. What they don’t disclose, however, is how much credit card debt they accumulated, what their bank account balance is, and if they are, in fact, above or under water financially.
Just because a person makes 5-figures a month doesn’t mean they’re thriving financially. Even those who preach and teach abundance and affluence struggle. I know. Without pointing fingers or disclosing names, I can say that former clients who teach abundance have struggled — to the point that they were unable to pay their teams on time (and on a regular basis!)
I’ve noticed a trend with people who are struggling financially. The trend is even more apparent because I was caught up on it just a couple short years ago.
Does this mean I’m not or I don’t struggle financially? Heck no! I have five kids who would eat the walls if I allowed them to. Somedays it feels like I’m feeding their (seemingly starving) bellies fifty dollar bills.
But the difference is, I know the money I need will come. In the meantime, my husband, family and I need to hold on to the lap rail and try to enjoy the financial roller coaster ride.
What’s the trend I’ve noticed?
It starts with putting out random products. Often it’s a product the person thinks of last minute as a last-ditch effort to cover the house or car payment. They launch it once, probably don’t succeed with it, and forget about it after the launch is complete.
This trend is sometimes accompanied with accusing other people of being in scarcity mode. They’ll use phrases like, “If you needed to find money to pay for your kid’s medical treatment, you would find a way.”
Ouch.
I’m not saying that growing — both personally and professionally — doesn’t require an investment. It really does. Both time and money need to be invested in order to achieve “success.” But true success doesn’t come with last minute products that are given a half-ass launch and then wiped off the product slate.
I know why I’m struggling financially right now, and I don’t have too big of a head to 1) hide that I’m struggling or 2) hide the reasons why. Hiding my struggles isn’t going to help or inspire anyone.
I’m struggling financially because I have Chronic Idea Disorder and was trying to work on too many projects at once. My gas was split into eight different tanks, and each engine stalled out before I could finish the project. But none of these projects aren’t out of gas. I just need to focus all my energy into ONE tank at a time from here on out. When each of these projects is “completed”, it will create or become the next step of a sustainable funnel.
I also made the mistake of completely dropping the lever on the income generating side of my business BEFORE the other side of my business was bringing funds in.
This is not good.
As positive minded as I am, I fully realize (now) that unless you have significant savings, you can’t just eliminate your income source and expect everything to be fine. This would be the same as quitting your job without a new job lined up and hoping the lottery ticket you buy will be a winner.
Could it happen? Yes. But the probability of the ticket making you any more than $1 is slim to none.
So what’s my advice for you if you’re on the financial roller coaster? Well, I have a few pieces for you…
- Focus on ONE or TWO things. If two, one should be income generating and should get at least 60% of your time and energy. The other time can be spent on the passion project which isn’t (yet) bringing in income.
- Eliminate the extra expenditures. I love eating out, but that has had to go. Even when it’s just my husband and I, we can easily spend $20+ on a meal. $20 could easily pay for TWO full meals for our family of seven! While I’m not saying that we need to give up all ways to treat ourselves, this is the time to be smart. For the next 90-days you may need to give up your $5 Starbucks, but at the end of those 90-days, you’ll be $450 better off than you are now.
- Be smart with your time. Watching 4 hours of TV every night isn’t going to help you get off the financial roller coaster. What could you be doing instead with that time? Do you have the ability to pick up an extra, part-time job? Could you invest time into personal and/or professional development? Could you create a simple info-product that you could sell for $7 a pop? Too much wasted time can add up to a LOT of missed opportunities! (Please note: Quality time with our families is not wasted time. I will never consider the evening and/or weekend time I spend with my husband and/or kids “wasted” time.)
- Find a financial accountability partner. Shiny object syndrome can lead us into devastating financial depths. Running ALL your “extra” financial transactions past a dedicated financial accountability partner will help you stop making unnecessary purchases. If you don’t feel like running every purchase past someone else, sign up for a habit sharing app like HabitShare, and share a general habit like “No extra purchases” with a friend or two. You will have a rush seeing all the green arrows line up, indicating you have stuck to your budget!
What ONE action are you committing to TODAY to help you exit the financial roller coaster for good? Share in the comments below!
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