Good morning! On this wonderful Monday morning I want to spend some time talking about money. For some people, the topic is addictive… they love it! For others, when it comes to anything related to money, they’re totally ignorant. Which one are you? Or maybe you’re a little of both!

Several decades ago, I was in that same boat. I had no financial upbringing. I didn’t know what investing was, how to save or anything like that. When I was growing up, the only skill sets I learned was the fact that we didn’t have any money and that we spent everything we had.

You see, my family started off on welfare, but my mother suffered a tragic accident. She was victim of doctors who made decisions without consulting her first and she ended up in a wheelchair. Our financial situation changed because now there was disability and a malpractice lawsuit.

So after that happened, my parents bought a bigger house, a Cadillac, a jeep with a trailer, a boat. Instead of pasta, margarine and a little bit of garlic salt, my parents served steaks every night. The lawyers who fought for my mother’s case asked her how much settlement money she had left, and it was shockingly little. Thankfully, at this point they convinced her to put it into an annuity that would send her a pretty decent sum of money on a monthly basis for the rest of her life.

But here’s the thing, although there was so much more money, and even though they were now receiving a meaty monthly income, my parents were still living paycheck-to-paycheck. And the violence and verbal abuse in my house doubled! Because now my parents fought about money all the time.

My family is living proof of what happens when you go from a $500-a-month income to a $10,000-a-month income, and they still blew everything with what they bought. That isn’t wealth! It was just spending money.

And I don’t want you to make a similar mistake. Maybe you’re just getting started in your career, home business or you’re just entering the workforce altogether. And I know this, because this was me when I had my first job. I blew my entire first paycheck on clothes. That was a direct result of my financial upbringing.

But you don’t have to do that! If you want to be financially independent, if you want to work toward accumulating actual wealth it starts with making those financial decisions NOW – no matter how little or how much you make. It’s never too late, or too early, to start making the right financial choices.

Generating wealth is not about how much you make, it is about how much money you keep. I can help you make more money, I can share my personal financial blunders to help you make better financial choices, but ultimately I can’t force you to stop living paycheck-to-paycheck. That lifestyle choice is all on you!

Thank you for taking the time today to read this! Leave me your comments and share the story of your financial upbringing! Were you taught to spend everything you make? Have you been living with the belief that higher profits will increase your financial status? Be sure to Like and Share today’s message and spread the word about financial responsibility!

Let’s start the week out right. I’ll be here at lunch time today on The Dani Johnson Show at 12 pm ET/11 pm CT to share more financial tips, strategies and skill sets with you! You can tune into the show on either your TV or radio and please remember you can always stream today’s show right on our website.

In great faith,

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