Ever Have Lawn Envy?

Last week on my morning walk I noticed that two of my neighbor’s had lush green St. Augustine grass on their lawns. I must admit, a feeling of jealousy ran through my mind, since our lawn is, well, lacking right now. There is little, if any green, especially given the draught we are experiencing in the Texas Hill country and our rocky, steep front yard.

I asked myself why their lawns were so gorgeous while ours was struggling. The answer easily came to my mind; they pay attention to their lawn. They care for it by fertilizing and watering it. Not only that, they have the foundation for a fertile lawn since it is level and fairly small.

Then I realized how true this is of so many things in our lives, including our money!  It’s that simple; what we focus on grows, especially with a solid foundation. My neighbors focused on their grass, and it grew. I will go ahead and confess that we have not been terribly focused on our lawn this year, but that’s ok, because we have focused on other things that are important to us; it’s all about the choices we make in how we focus our time and attention. This is the essence of embracing responsibility.

When we focus on our money, it grows. Once healthy earning and spending habits are established, we lay the foundation for wealth accumulation. Notice that I use the word “healthy” spending habits; I truly believe that our money mindsets have to first be in the right place before we can establish those good habits.

Last week on the Create a Roadmap to Financial Success course we stepped through how our money mindsets came to be what they are, and how to make them what we want. It’s such an empowering and fun process. Take some time today to look at your money mindset, and ask yourself if it is a healthy mindset congruent with reaching your financial goals. If it’s not, what needs to change?