Financial Honesty – First Step Toward Financial Freedom

The old saying “the truth will set you free” is never truer than when referring to finances. So many people spend money they don’t have to buy things they don’t need and can’t afford to impress people they don’t even know. Instead of presenting themselves honestly to the world, they choose to present an image instead. To become financially free, honesty is essential.

Get Honest with Yourself

"Truth Creates Money, Lies Destroy It" is the first chapter in The Laws of Money by Suze Orman. In this chapter, she cautions against living a financial cover-up, pointing out that “The truth does not change no matter how much you wish it would or what you do to obscure it.” Basically, the truth is the truth. To be financially free, you must be honest with yourself about your financial situation. You must face how you got where you are today and take steps to correct the financial mistakes you’ve made and make wiser decisions from here on.

Get Honest with Others

Honesty with others does not mean disclosing details of your financial life to perfect strangers. It doesn’t even mean disclosing the details to your friends. What it does mean is not spending money that you don’t have or would more wisely use elsewhere. It means having the courage to say no to expenditures without guilt or embarrassment. It means demonstrating who you are by your actions rather than giving a false impression through material goods.

Modify Your Vocabulary

Remove “I can’t afford it” from your vocabulary. Replace with “That’s not where I choose to spend money right now” or some similar phrase. Financial honesty is not about deprivation but rather about freedom – the freedom of choice, freedom from debt and freedom from financial worries. Just because you’re focused on paying off credit card debt and forego a new outfit or turn down a ski weekend this year does not mean that you won’t have the resources for these things in the future. Modifying your vocabulary to affirm your freedom of choice rather than affirming a lack of money empowers you in your quest for financial freedom.

Bottom Line

There is no getting around it - truth is the foundation to any effort to become financially free. If you sincerely seek to portray truth at all times, your finances will improve. It may be a slow process – you probably didn’t get where you are no overnight. How long did it take you to get in the current situation? It will probably take at least that long to get out. But it’s worth it as there is nothing quite like freedom from financial stress!

Included here is an Amazon link to purchase The Laws of Money. I have an Amazon Affiliate account so if you buy one by clicking on this link, I’ll get a little kickback. But if you'd just like to read it rather than own it, check your local library or ask around - a friend or family member may already have copy that you could borrow.