Today, I want to take you through the conversation of monthly demands . . . these are . . . demands placed on your money flow.

What are monthly demands?

They are things that cause money to flow outwards . . . out of YOUR pocket . . . They are expenses.

Don’t You hate it when Creditors call?  Don’t you hate it when you are late and your Landlord charges you a late fee, your Bank charges a late payment penalty and your Credit Card company charges finance fees?

Have you not noticed . . . that Your expenses . . . that you hate so much . . . are bills . . . are debts . . . are monthly financial obligations . . . and you have come to despise them each and every month?

Well,

You should not hate them because they are just reflections of your choices . . . your past decisions . . .

Yes, YOU decided how much YOUR car payment would be, YOU decided how much your mortgage would be and yes how much YOU always decide how much YOU spend on groceries each month.

All, this is . . . are previous and . . . past choices that are were . . . in your control.  Yes, You created them and You designed them.  You did it!

Remember, You Control Your Money Flow . . . Your Money Supply and Your Money Demands.

You Chose:

• to purchase things
• to enter into contracts
• to enter into financial agreements
• to indulge

So, don’t you see that You decided what Your Monthly Expenses Are? . . . Yes, I do.  Great! Now, You can realize that they are just the “result” and representation of past choices.

This lesson is designed to help you get Power back into Your Relationship with Your Monthly Expenses, by helping you remember what you chose in the past was YOUR decision and also help you realize that:

Are you ready for that?

By recognizing that you had a choice in the past, and that you have a choice now, you can determine just how you are going to develop a better relationship to your expenses.

Your goal in developing a better relationship to your expenses exists because you want a change.  And, change is possible . . . but only . . . if you want it.  Nobody wants their expenses to stick around. Well, if that’s the goal, then you have to confront what it is about YOU that had YOU choose the things that created all these monthly demands.  Now, they may not be anything important to you at all – but you are stilling paying the bills.

Everybody makes choices and those choices we make bare a financial impact.

And,

Now, we are left with a big, big bill, but the value of what we had chosen to purchase in the past, has diminished.  So, here is what there is to know:

Expenses are either fixed or they are variable. 

That’s all they are.

Fixed monthly expenses are consistent every month.  They do not change.  It could be:

• rent payments
• mortgage payments
• car notes
• babysitting fees

Or,

They are variable monthly expenses, expenses that go up and down from month to month.   They fluctuate.  It could be:

• grocery bills
• gas and other utilities
• personal care
• entertainment

Do You Realize that You Control the Amount of Money You Have to Spend on Both the Fixed and the Variable Expense?

In order to gain power with your expenses and your relationship to these expenses, you have got to begin to VIEW your Money Demands differently for both fixed expenses and variable expenses.

Recognize that,

Do You want to Reduce Your Monthly Demands?  Sure . . . You Do!!!

You Can Reduce Your Fixed Expenses by:

• moving to a cheaper house
• moving to a cheaper apartment
• trade in your car for a cheaper car or if you own – trade it in for a leasing arrangement

You Can Reduce Your Variable Expenses by:

• reducing how much you eat . . . use coupons . . .
• reduce spending on non-essentials . . . shop at a Dollar-Store . . .
• limit the amount of entertainment

  So, you’re not stuck with anything

  If you wanted to reduce your fixed monthly expenses you can totally change your lifestyle.  You can move out of that house you are currently in and move into a house with a mortgage that’s less or a monthly payment that’s less.   

  The biggest problem or challenge for people when it comes to their expenses is that they believe that all expenses are somehow there’s without them choosing them.

  We begin to relate to these as if we’re stuck, that we inherited them from somewhere or somebody has burdened us with these expenses and we begin to behave — you begin to behave as if you had no choice in the matter of accumulating those expenses.

  I’m challenging you today to begin to recognize that you chose the expenses you now have and you can make an about face and choose different expenses. Here’s what I suggest.

  Begin to choose expenses that fall well within your current capacity to pay.  Get off of the notion that somebody else will pay for my expenses, namely a credit card or mom or dad or uncle or aunt or brother or sister.

  You begin today to relate to your expenses utilizing your power to choose. Why don’t people use their power to choose expenses. Because they don’t have a system in place to increase their income so that they can really live the kind of lifestyle they want to live.

  So, living inside the belief that I am fixed in the amount of money I make provides a notion that I’m fixed in the amount of money I spend. And we start saying well, I’m going to spend more money to give myself a lifestyle that I really can’t afford right now but I’ll put it on credit. Just put it on plastic.

  That doesn’t work. What is necessary for you to do if you want to gain power in your relationship with your expenses, is to regain control of your power to choose. Realize that you have control over your monthly demands.

  Begin by listing all your household expenses, identify which ones are fixed demands and which ones are variable demands.

  Then identify which variable demands and which fixed demands you can do without. Which one can you reduce. Notice, you’re not going to necessarily have to do without it forever if it’s something you really, really want in your life in the future, well, you can begin budgeting for it. You can begin planning for it. You can begin to design you future like we talked about in the previous lesson.

  But, just for today, for this month, for the next three months, you might have to do without it and plan to have it in your life in a powerful way without you having to go into debt or to be stretched beyond your capacity to pay.

  That’s today’s lesson. Begin to develop a powerful relationship to your expenses by recognizing your power to choose the expenses that you have.

Fixed Costs Are Within Your Control and so Are Variable Costs

YOU can Powerfully Choose the Amount of Demands in Your Life

Your Monthly Demands are Personal Reflections of Your Wants and Desires

RESOURCES

CONTINUE TO LESSON TEN