| Copyright (c) 2008 Stephen Lau | | | | value will be reflected in your attitude towards your |
| We are living in a stressful world: stress comes from | | | | financial success and financial priorities, and hence |
| all directions - health, work, relationships, and, above | | | | your financial decisions. |
| all, money. Financial stress is responsible for other | | | | You will do all you can, and do it. You will make the |
| stress factors in life. For example, if you have a hard | | | | commitment to do it. You will become more flexible |
| time making both ends meet, most probably you | | | | to change in order to make it happen. You will |
| have frequent arguments with your spouse over | | | | acknowledge that you can do it in spite of the |
| how much money to spend, what to spend on, and | | | | difficulties. Integrity makes money become a means |
| when to spend. Financial strive is the root cause of | | | | to an end, but not an end itself. Integrity puts your |
| many breakups and divorces. If you are financially | | | | focus on efforts, rather than on results. This takes |
| strained, you may not have full health insurance | | | | away much of your financial stress. |
| coverage, and any major medical bill incurred due to | | | | Financial stress is often caused by financial problems, |
| medical emergency will put more strain and stress on | | | | which are inevitable. Don't spend time on reacting to |
| your finance. | | | | a financial problem: reacting would only exacerbate |
| Stress is an underlying cause of diseases and | | | | the stress. Integrity will make you seek a solution to |
| disorders. Stress ages an individual hard and fast. | | | | any financial problem you may encounter. You will not |
| To overcome your financial stress, you must begin | | | | leave it to chance, nor will you ignore it. You will do |
| with your core values in life, which should have little | | | | everything you can to solve the problem. For |
| to do with money. However, your core values in life | | | | example, if you find yourself in debt, you will not |
| affect your financial priorities and your financial | | | | ignore it. Instead, you will have a plan, a budget, and |
| decisions. Therefore, your core values must not be | | | | a roadmap to get yourself out of debt. Integrity |
| compromised under any circumstance, because any | | | | alleviates your financial stress. |
| compromise will generate conflict and undue stress in | | | | Because of integrity, you value money, not because |
| your life. To illustrate, if you value your health, | | | | it can buy you things you may not need, but |
| compromising it with poor eating habits will only | | | | because you can use money to help others who are |
| create disharmony in your health. | | | | in need. Because money has a value, you will spend |
| One of the most important core values in life is | | | | less, and save more, and thus the financial stress due |
| integrity. Life is all about living - it comes with some | | | | to overshooting the budget can be avoided. |
| hard work and simple integrity. Integrity is an | | | | What is the real value of money to you? |
| important personal value that has nothing to do with | | | | If your financial priorities are based on accumulation |
| money. Integrity is an important value that God has | | | | of wealth, then all your financial decisions and |
| bestowed upon each of us, and its availability is the | | | | priorities will be based on that flawed value system, |
| choice of an individual. This important personal value | | | | which inevitably will lead to financial stress down the |
| can influence your own value of money. Essentially, it | | | | road. |
| is the value of what life has to offer, not the value | | | | Changing yourself - especially your attitude towards |
| of things purchased with money. | | | | the value of money - can take the financial stress |
| If integrity is an important value in your life, that | | | | out of your life. |