MGM's POST (Maureen G. Mulvaney)
I've been Rich and I've been Poor...Rich is a Whole Lot Easier!
As a Baby Boomer, I’ve been interested in becoming a Millionaire virtually my whole life. You see, I just knew I was meant to make a Difference on this Planet. At first, I thought I could just give, give, give and make a difference. It’s difficult to give what you don’t have and are worried about money all the time. I soon discovered that giving depletes you unless it is balanced with receiving.
I began my giving journey, to make a difference, as a Special Educator, working with children who had disabilities. I loved my work but hated having NO MONEY. It became increasingly difficult to go into the classroom, day after day, with a smile on my face, when I knew, each afternoon, I would go home to empty cupboards and DEBT. My parents lived nearby so magically I would always stop by at dinnertime. My dear mother had come from a large family and loved to cook. Her favorite saying was, “There’s always room for one more.” So, she and my father never questioned my intentions.
As life progressed, I married an Army Officer and traveled the world. When I met my husband, he always had money. After we married, I discovered the money, he lavishly spent on me, came from advances on his credit cards. He was in debt up to his eyeballs yet he kept spending. A classic case of denial.
We both thought the way out of DEBT was to get more education. With more education…we could have higher paying JOBS.. with higher paying JOBS we could EARN our way OUT OF DEBT. Off we went to achieve Master’s Degrees…which took us deeper into DEBT!
As the old saying goes, “When there is NO MONEY, Love flies out the window.” After 8 years, we divorced. The money from two incomes was gone. My husband remained in the Army, with an uninterrupted salary and retirement plan, as an Army Officer. I on the other hand, was left with nothing. The Army had given me the opportunity to ‘see the world’ but because I spent all my time supporting my husband’s career, I had continually changed jobs, with each new move to the next Army post. Every civilian organization, I applied to for a job, thought I was a risk, since, it appeared I couldn’t keep a job.
I was flat broke, living in an apartment, next to a gym. As Luck would have it, one of the few remnants, of my marriage, was a paid gym membership. Daily, I would go to the gym, to workout, but more importantly, I went to shower and cool down, in the heat of the summer. I didn’t have the money to pay the electricity bill, for my apartment, so I used the gym’s electricity. I was ‘BUFF’ and BROKE!
One day, I had been in the midst of my despair, sitting in a puddle of tears, lamenting, “I have NO MONEY, I have NO MONEY” when I received a timely phone call from a friend. She listened to my plight and recommended I read the book Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. I thought, “Oh, Great…a book to get me out of debt! Wasn’t my education part of what got me into debt, in the first place.”
When you are at the end of your rope, you take any life-line you can. I didn’t have the money to purchase the book so I checked the book out of the library. What a Revelation…I discovered by checking out a book, I could sit in the cool, well lighted Library, to read it! I checked out book after book on Making Money, Creating Abundance, and Becoming a Millionaire. These books lead me to books on Accepting Prosperity, Changing my Beliefs and Creating new Thoughts.
Again and again, I got the message…What You Think About, You Bring About. I started examining my thoughts and listening to my words. Repeatedly, I heard myself saying the words, “I HAVE NO MONEY…I HAVE NO MONEY.” The universe heard this message and guess what I got…NO MONEY! I was determined to change my plight. I had nothing to lose and everything to gain, so I changed my thoughts and words. I must confess, at first, I made the changes just to prove these books were wrong. What I discovered was… the Books were Right!
As soon as I began to think differently…Presto…My financial life changed dramatically for the good!
Instead of denying debt, I began to take an honest look at it. Here’s what I discovered.
DEBT SUCKS, literally!
DEBT SUCKS ALL THE OXYGEN OUT OF YOUR ENVIRONMENT, literally.
“Help…I can’t breathe!’
You can’t breath for fear of being crushed to death by the Debt. When you are in Serious DEBT, it permeates every thought. Your thoughts run rampant, “How am I going to pay this bill? Will the next phone call be from someone I owe money to? Will the mail box be stuffed with bills?” You often lash out in anger at those around you. It’s the natural emotional function of the DEBT DEATH PROCESS.
To Recover you must:
• Know the stages of Debt
• Recognize which stage you are in
• And…Make a Decision to Change!
MGM'S STAGES OF DEBT
Stage 1:
DENIAL.
Denial is all about putting your head in the sand.
“If I don’t acknowledge it…it doesn’t exist!”
Your Thoughts Loop Around and Around:
• “Oh, it’s not that bad.”
• “This can’t be right, I know I still have money in my account.”
• “I’ve got friends and they spend much more than I do.”
• “They wouldn’t have sent me this new credit card if they didn’t want me to use it.”
• “Things will turn around soon.”
• “Balancing the check book is for dummies, I make good money, damn it.”
When you are in DENIAL you make excuses to continue the behavior!
Is this the stage You are IN? _______YES ______NO
Stage 2:
VICTIMHOOD TO CONTINUE THE BEHAVIOR.
Even though you are semi-conscious that you might be heading into financial trouble, instead of stopping, you keep right on spending.
Your Thoughts Loop Around and Around:
• “I deserve this vacation, I’ve worked hard all year”
• “Just ‘one more new shirt’ won’t make a big difference.”
• “I’m sure I still have money in the account.”
• “How dare they tell me I’m overdrawn, why does everything happen to me.”
You step into Victimhood and sit on your ‘Pity Pot’ as you whine ‘Why Me?’ You become angry and frustrated that this could possibly be happening to you.
Is this the stage You are IN? _______YES ______NO
Stage 3:
LET’S MAKE A DEAL
You now know you are in trouble financially. You STILL ARE NOT WILLING to take responsibility. You mistakenly believe there must be a way out of this mess. The bargaining begins.
Your Thoughts Loop Around and Around:
• “I’ll just borrow a couple of extra bucks to get out of this hole.”
• “If you just give me another week to get it all together, I’ll have the entire payment for you.”
• “Let me keep the car and when I’m back on my feet, I’ll give you 2 times what it is worth.
Although, you know there is probably not a way out of the mess, you tenaciously cling to a small glimmer of hope. You lie to yourself that you will be able to pull out and continue your lifestyle. Depression is hovering all around you.
Is this the stage You are IN? _______YES ______NO
Stage 4:
OPPS…I MESSED UP…DEBT DEATH!
You finally say, “ IT’S OVER…I’ve really messed up.” You recognize you have driven your car off the Financial Cliff of life and you are heading Down, Down, Down to the Bottom of the Pit. This is definitely your lowest point. The results you have created are a serious loss of possessions ( car, house or both) and possible legal interventions.
Your Thoughts Loop Around and Around:
• “I’m a failure, look what I’ve done”
• “I can’t tell my family and friends”
• “I’m so ashamed, I can’t face these financial problems but I must.”
ONLY when you ACCEPT where you truly are, can you make a DECISION TO STOP SPENDING AND TURN YOURSELF AROUND. You can now begin the ‘Healing’ Process. Once you accept you are in Financial Trouble…you can understand what you have done and what you must do.
o STOP SPENDING.
o DECIDE TO TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR FINANCIAL LIFE.
o SEEK HELP
Is this the stage You are IN? _______YES ______NO
Stage 5:
BACK ON TRACK TO SUCCESS!
The words to a song come to mind: It’s time to pick yourself up, dust yourself and Start all over Again!
It’s time to REBUILD YOUR FINANCIAL LIFE upon a Solid Foundation, this time.
NOTE: Debt Death might have appeared to be the most difficult lesson of your life but it is also the most precious lesson. Use the positive lessons you have learned to create a New Solid Financial Foundation.
A Financial Exercise:
• Sift through your Financial Missteps of the Past.
• Examine them one by one
• Overspending
• Mindless spending
• Lack of Financial Awareness
• Excessive Collecting
• Buying for
• etc.
• Create an imaginary or real fire in a small pit. Toss into the ashes, of your Debt Death, all items that do not serve your highest good.
• In a barbeque pit, light a fire and place pieces of paper with the words Overspending, Lack of Financial Consciousness, …toss these into the fire.
• Free Yourself from Your Past Negative Spending Habits
You have experienced your Debt Death Process and are still standing. Yippee.
It’s important to note that you might not have gone through the Stages of Debt in a orderly manner. Perhaps you went from stage one to stage three. It doesn’t matter. What matters is that you:
• Know the stages of Debt,
• Recognize which stage you are in,
• And…Make a Decision to Change!
You are now FREE, FREE, FREE at last.
It’s time to begin working toward Becoming a Millionaire. Let MGM show you how in her step by step DEBT SUCKS…BECOME A MILLIONAIRE (PART 2).
JOIN ME TO BIG BUCKS,
MAUREEN G. MULVANEY, MGM
INTERNATIONAL SPEAKER AND AUTHOR
480-759-6251
