So as I work on the Personal Profitability Program and speak to more people, a couple of things have emerged which I think are important, but probably difficult to hear. Out of the desire to continue to share lessons learned, I see the following behaviors get in the way….

The three key things which in my observation, stop people from achieving financial independence.

1. Not a Priority. I know you’re busy. But whenever people would complain to me that they didn’t have enough time, my response would be that it’s an issue of priority, not time. If something is really, really important to you, you will make the time. When I talk to people who don’t want to spend the time understanding their financials…they just don’t want to be bothered.
2. Denial. I hear this a lot. It comes in the form of “You only live once YOLO”, “I’m not good with numbers”. I find that people in denial don’t want to know what they already suspect: they’re spending more than they should. They don’t want to think about the future….it’s about immediate gratification because it’s easier and feels good.
3. Ignorance. It takes time to get smart about money. I hear people say that it’s too hard, they don’t have the time, that’s what I have a broker for. But if you’re not educated in the basics, you become an easy mark. You don’t understand what you’re committing to….and the implications can be significant. My dad had gotten a very complex life insurance policy which was tied to the market covering the premiums. Guess what, it got to the point we were paying $40,000 to keep that premium alive. He had already sunk in a good amount so it wasn’t worth walking away. But if we couldn’t pay the premiums, that’s exactly what would have happened. He just didn’t understand the risks and trusted the broker.

So take a step back. Be honest with yourself. Sometimes you have to take a good look at what’s going on, because as someone once said to me “these are problems which do not age well.”