Re-Think Your Beliefs about Money!

This is a theme at Prudent Money that you will hear mentioned many times. In today's environment, there are plenty of people who are willing to do your thinking for you. You are bombarded by marketing, politics, and sales people wanting to influence you to their way of thinking. The problem comes down to agenda. The agenda behind the message is not always one that fits your values and goals.

When we let people think for us, we are simply adopting their belief systems as our own. I refer to this as belief renting. This is a dangerous practice. You are adopting a set of beliefs based on the agenda of another person or company. You cannot trust that another has your best interest in a world motivated by the almighty dollar.

This happens all of the time in the world of marketing. Companies market ideas hoping that you will be in agreement. They want the consumer to form the belief that the marketed product, strategy, or message is the solution to some problem based on the reasoning the company provides. The consumer reads the information and it makes sense. It sounds reasonable so it must be true. Thus a belief is formed.

The problem is that the consumer has just accepted a belief based on one side of the story. Every strategy or product has two sides of the story. Of course, the marketer never communicates the con of the strategy or other solutions that might be considered. Marketing is about presented the side of the story that best promotes the product or strategy. Anything else would be marketing suicide!! Of course, a belief based on the evaluation of only one side of the story can also end up being financial suicide!!

I plan on writing many blogs that tell you the other side of the story. I want to encourage you to start looking at the pro and the con of each situation while forming your beliefs about money. By doing so, you are making a prudent decision based on a belief that you OWN!

We are in an environment where we have to re-think our beliefs about money, make sure that we own them, and have confidence that they are in line with what we truly value. That is one of the keys to stewardship. It is also a key to succeeding in a financial system that is designed to make others rich. The good news is that you can think for yourselves and not fall into that trap.

The people who are the most successful are contrarian thinkers. They don't think like everyone else. They march to a different drum. They approach everything with question and look at both sides of the story.

Remember, if you are not thinking on your own, someone is thinking for you

Keep the Faith

Bob