COLUMN: Ask the Money Lady – Let’s turn lemons into lemonade today

One of my closest friends has never owned a home, always lived very poorly, and feels that she has never had any luck in her life. She looks at others and wonders why they have more than her and yet does nothing to try to improve her situation. It is a very sad situation to see someone like this.

Now I know I will get lots of emails from readers that will disagree with me – but before you send me your emails of discontent – Let’s be honest, sometimes hard times do set you back in life, and the longer you live, the more things you have to deal with and overcome. And this year has been tough with rising costs, inflation and interest rates. We all have had to tuck-in and tighten our budgets.

When things get really difficult, sometimes that creates a desire to change things. You want to try to become more resilient to adjust to hard times and look for a positive outcome so that you can face uncertainties with less fear. Becoming resilient is the key to turning your sour lemon life into a sweet lemonade life!

This may be hard to read, but honestly, the only thing that is holding you back from reaching your ideal financial future and your very best life in this world, is not your current situation, not your family or friends, not your job, or your past experiences, it is YOU!

You need to believe that you are worth more and stop believing that you “can’t” attain the life you want, regardless of the economic situation. Holding yourself back is the worst thing you could ever do to yourself. Whether you are working or now retired, it doesn’t matter – everyone has a unique and very personal vision of what they wish for their life. It may not be the cliched dream of wealth and power. It could be a wish for a better relationship with a friend or loved one, for the ability to help others in a profound and thoughtful way, for a healthier lifestyle, for a career move or even a full-on life-altering change. Whatever your wish is, now is the time to begin to work towards your new future to make 2025 your year.

Everyone should create a very personal but easy-to-maintain and realistic long-term strategy to become happier, wealthier, and more successful. Our natural instinct is to keep doing what we have always done and what is familiar. This is often referred to as the “definition of insanity” – doing the same thing over and over but expecting a different result – not just with our finances but with our personal lives as well. Remember the adage: “if you always do what you’ve always done, you will always get what you always got.” I encourage you to make the necessary changes for the better and start stacking the odds in your favour. The fastest way for you to create more wealth and to be happier is to believe in your ability to earn more and do more. If that means you have to get a second job, go back to school to retrain, or change careers and get a better paying position – then do it. If you need to downsize your home to lower your debt burden, lower your expenses to save more – then do it. You can go in a different direction, change your life, or begin again if you have to. All that is required is that you shift your mind toward believing you can succeed. Like yourself for making a change. Disregard the inevitable setbacks and obstacles that you will have to overcome. Just keep going until you succeed. Remember, you can always be more than you are today!

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Christine Ibbotson is a Canadian finance writer, radio host & YouTuber. For more advice check out her YouTube channel: ASK THE MONEY LADY – Your Canadian Finance Coach.