The last month involved me travelling many, many miles to run seminars.  I love travelling and meeting new people.  The stories you hear when you have the time to sit down and listen are what makes it great for me.  I have learnt so much over the years from listening.

Today’s article is all about listening to what is going on around you… and making sure you take notice.

Many of the new people asked me about some of the basic practices you can follow to take control of your finances.  So today is about putting your ear to the train tracks!

But it’s not what you think.

ARTICLE:  Put your ear to the train tracks!

Last Christmas we went away with family and rented a house at the lake.  It was fantastic to be in a totally unique environment celebrating Christmas as a family.  As usual, plenty of gifts were exchanged.  My father-in-law was given a copy of the classic movie “Stand By Me”, a movie about 4 boys who make an intrepid journey to discover a dead body.  (Not something I did as a teenager!)

Anyway, this journey took days and involved many scary challenges.  In one scene they were on a long rail bridge… crossing a deep ravine.  Of course, the choice was between walking 5 miles the long way around the ravine or taking the bridge as a shortcut.  You guessed it, they took the short cut.

As they were traversing the bridge one of the boys suspects there is a train coming… and he leans down and puts his ears to the track to see what he can hear.  The vibrations of the train travel down the train tracks sending a message that a train is coming.  At this point the boys are in the middle of the bridge with a train steaming towards them – no escape – but serious motivation to run!

When it comes to money it is wise to think as if we are always crossing a bridge.  The point of this article is to encourage you to put your ears to the track to see if a train is coming!

I’m going to make a rash generalization, and that is this;  that most people do not keep a close eye on what is going on in their bank accounts.  Most people do not look out for a train coming, and when a catastrophe arrives they are surprised there is a “train wreck”.

How many of you, if you knew the train was rushing towards you, would continue wandering along the train tracks without changing a thing?

Recently I was listening to an CD by Zig Ziglar.  Zig made this comment which is what caused me to write this article.  He says:  “What you focus on regularly, you improve”.

Zig Ziglar observes that people who focus on what they eat tend to manage their weight, and even lose weight if that is their goal.  He notices that those dedicated couples that make a point to invest in their marriage, reap a harvest of what they focus on.  And, when it comes to money, Zig Ziglar says that the people who are focused on being diligent with their money – taking care of what they do with their money – they are the ones who succeed financially.

How focused are you on your money?

I have a life changing challenge for you today.  Are you up to the challenge?  Do you want to succeed with your finances?  Here is the challenge:

For the next month, keep a diary of every cent you spend.  Be very diligent writing down every time you spend money.  Just make it a simple list at this stage.  Add a column to the right which indicates whether the spending was cash, debit card, or credit card.  Everything must be written down.

At the end of the month take a moment to review where your money went.  You choose how detailed you analyze your spending habits.  But I can promise you that you will think differently about your spending in the future.

When you do this you are taking the time to pause in your busy life and put your ears to the train tracks.  For I can assure you, if you complete this exercise, you will know at the end of 30 days if there is a potential train wreck heading your way!

Good Luck!