7 Financial Lessons from Mickey Mouse

                                                   

Today is Mickey and Minnie Mouse’s birthday. They are cartoon characters created by Walt Disney.  Mickey Mouse was developed in 1928 by Walt Disney at the Walt Disney Studio. Mickey Mouse has become one of the most recognizable cartoon characters ever created. Mickey Mouse is also a symbol of financial success for Walt Disney and the Disney Companies. 

Walt Disney said of his most popular character, “Mickey Mouse is, to me, a symbol of independence. He was a means to an end. He popped out of my mind onto a drawing twenty years ago on a train ride to Manhattan to Hollywood at a time when business fortunes of my brother Roy and myself were at lowest ebb and disaster seemed right around the corner. Born of necessity, the little fellow literally freed us of immediate worry. He provided the means for expanding our organization to its present dimensions and for extending the medium of cartoon animation toward new entertainment levels.”

I believe you can always find lessons and financial blessings in the smallest, overlooked or most unusual places.

There are certain attitudes and behaviors that are reinforced repeatedly by your actions. Look at your past and current financial behaviors, where did you learn your financial habits? What habits are you inadvertently developing?

We constantly pick up positive and negative financial habits and inadvertently pass them on to our children, friends and relatives.

Get started with the basics such as creating a budget to track your spending daily or weekly. Review your budget before you go on vacation or before you go shopping. If you want to purchase something and don’t have the money, save up for it. Pay cash for items instead of using credit cards. 

When going shopping remember, purchasing quality items are more expensive. If you go shopping in the morning and buy something at 10 am, you will have to haul it around all day. If you misplace your bags, you lose your money and will have to replace the items. This also aligns with the voluntary simplicity movement, which focuses on only buying needs, and reducing the amount of stuff you own that has to be cared for, stored and maintained. Here are seven financial lessons you can learn from Mickey and Minnie Mouse. 

1. See. See what is going on in your life to determine if any changes need to be made.
2. Identify. Identify any issues you need to address regarding your finances: late fees, bounced check, overdrawn accounts, overspending, bad credit, etc.
3. Stop and think. Stop and think about your thoughts, attitudes, behaviors and actions regarding money. Before you decide to spend money, think about how it will affect your current and future financial goals.
4. Decide on a course of action. Once you have identified the areas you want to improve create an action plan to solve the issues.
5. Start small. Start by making small changes to improve your finances. Small steps lead to bigger steps and bigger outcomes.
6. Follow the plan. Once you have created an action plan, follow the plan to solve the financial issues you are experiencing. If you need assistance, contact a financial coach, counselor, advisor or planner for assistance.
7. Reap the rewards. Once you have followed your action plan, reap the rewards by treating yourself to a small gift that cost $50 or less if it is in your budget. If not, save up for your gift to reward yourself in the future. 

  Remember, you can’t always have or get everything you want when you want it.

Want to Improve Your Finances Help Are Some Options to Help You

If you are experiencing financial challenges or would like to improve your finances here are three options to help you. Purchase all three or a combination of them.

Purchase a copy of my self-help financial audio CD's for less than $15 available on iTunes at https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/harrine-freeman/id588170883?mt=11.

Purchase my best-selling self-help book for less than $15, How to Get Out of Debt: Get an "A" Credit Rating for Free on iTunes, Amazon, Kindle http://amzn.to/TKNlPl, Nook http://bit.ly/GzvFRk  and Barnes & Noble. 

Purchase my financial counseling services to help with debt, credit or budget/spending issues. For more information send an email to consulting at hefreemanenterprises dot com or call 301-280-5923.

Ask about my client referral program. Refer a client and get paid! For more information send an email to referral at hefreemanenterprises dot com or call 301-280-5923.

11 Ways to Gain Financial Success

                                             

"You see things and you say why? But I dream things that never were, and I say Why not?" by George Bernard Shaw or "Success is creating a state of mind that allows you to obtain anything you really desire." by Mark Victor Hansen.  I love these success quotes.

The definition of financial success varies from person to person. There is no magic number because every person’s situation and needs are different. However, basic financial success is having enough money to pay for basic necessities and bills and having money left over to pay for things you want or need such as going on vacation, home and car repairs, paying for your children’s college education, money for unexpected expenses, money to help you plan for retirement. Financial success is ultimately about how you spend your money. It involves creating and achieving your financial goals, being content with what you have and not comparing yourself to others.

Financial success is being totally in control of your finances. Financial success is not showing your success and using discipline with your ego. Poverty and financial success starts with a mindset – either negative or positive.  Financial success involves having a positive mindset and is not based on your income, how many properties you own or whether you make the Forbes List. Financial success is continually practicing good financial habits throughout your life.  Use these 11 practical methods to help you gain financial success.

1. Plan for the unknown. Create an emergency savings fund to cover all of your monthly bills and expenses for 12 – 18 months. This is your backup plan so that if a financial crisis occurs you have money to pay the costs and it prevents you from going into debt. Use what-if scenarios - have a plan A, B, C and D for unexpected events that may occur.
2. Do better than your parents.  Open an IRA and save at least 10% - 20% towards your retirement each month. Start contributing with your first job. You will need 70-80% of your current retirement salary for 20 – 30 years to have enough money to cover bills and living expenses during retirement.  Plan for your grandchildren’s retirement. Save more than you think you need to ensure you have enough for retirement.
3. Don’t be afraid to take risks. Become a homeowner while you are still single, start a business while you are single or don’t have children yet, become a franchise owner or invest in risky stocks.  Your risk tolerance decreases as you get older so take some financial risks while you are young and have more years to recover. Warren Buffet lost 50% of his wealth at an early age but regained it and then some.
4. Peer Pressure. Avoid peer pressure from your co-workers, family and friends. Many adults find themselves pressured into a lifestyle that requires them to give their family more and buy things they can’t really afford. This behavior results in financial disaster.
5. Co-sign. You can’t control what other people do. When you co-sign for a loan or credit card you are basically saying you will pay for the item because most people don’t feel obligated to pay something back unless their name is the only one on it.
6. Ensure yourself and your stuff.  Protect yourself by buying health, life, disability, long-term care. Buy homeowners, renters, car, fire, flood or other insurance to protect against loss or harm. Most people go into debt due to lack of health insurance or other insurance. Review policies yearly and keep beneficiaries up-to-date.
7. Debt. Pay off debt as soon as possible. Pay off your mortgage before you loan term ends. Pay off car loans early. Keep credit card debt at 20% or less of the credit limit.
8. Leave it alone. If you have money in a savings account, CD, money market account of retirement account leave it alone. Money is like a tree, if you take care of it will grow forever, it you touch it, pluck leaves and branches off of it , it starts to wither and die.
9. Hire a professional. If you are not an expert with managing your money then hire an expert. We hire a doctor, lawyer, mechanic or therapist to take care of us but refuse to hire an expert to help us take care of our money.
10. Automate your finances. Get organized and automated your finances. Use tools to help track your money and pay bills online or use automatic paycheck deduction. This will prevent you from paying late fees and help you easily keep track of your money.
11. Keep Uncle Sam happy. Pay your taxes. Many celebrities have lost property or gone to jail because they did not pay their taxes.  Each quarter or every six months do a check to see if you have paid enough taxes; adjust your withholdings or set aside money each month so you don’t have to pay a large tax bill at the end of the year.