What Bugs You about the Pieces of Your Financial Puzzle?

Have you ever solved a jigsaw puzzle?  Anyone who has learns something through the process.  One thing is certain, puzzles require patience. Without patience you are hopeless especially when the puzzle has many pieces. The more complex the puzzle, the more difficult it is to solve.

Did you know there are appropriate steps to solve a puzzle? The first step is to begin with what we know.   We first look for the outside border pieces. These straight edges help define the boundary. Then the other pieces are sorted into piles by colours, patterns, and shapes.  Particular attention is given to the tiny details on each of the pieces. These intricate details help place the pieces in their rightful place creating a final beautiful image.

No doubt, we may not be interested at all in solving jigsaw puzzles.  Ever!  But perhaps we are interested in solving our financial puzzles. There’s a correlation between solving puzzles and fitting the pieces of our finances together so we achieve and create a beautiful image of our lifetime goals, dreams and aspiration.

Looking at the disarray of our finances may resemble looking at pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.  We can’t see the whole picture when the pieces of our finances look like they’re broken and shattered into one big heap.  Debt here and there! Savings who knows where! Lifestyle expenses unknown! Consequently the more pieces to our financial picture, the more confusing and complex it can be.

Working slowly through the intricacy of our financial pieces is the same advice a puzzle solver knows only too well. When we work too long on any project, the tendency is to become overwhelmed. The frustration leads to giving up on the puzzle.  Most puzzle-solvers know their limitations. They walk away only to return later with a new burst of renewed energy and fresh eyes to see something new they hadn’t seen previously.

We know a myriad of steps could solve our financial puzzle.  Here are a few simple rules that we can extract from puzzle-solver enthusiasts and apply them to our needs.

1.  Grasp the big picture.

I am an advocate for putting your goals in writing.  When you refer to your list, you will not be swayed by distractions.  Your vision will be clear; and you will focus only on your concrete desires.

2. Be determined to see the picture come together one piece at a time.

When you first sort through your lifestyle needs, debt obligations, and savings plans, you may not see the whole picture.  But if you are persistent and determined to create a beautiful image with your finances, you will be astonished with the results.  You must tell yourself that giving up is not an option. 

3. Work with a partner.  

There are many advantages to having an accountability partner. Two such advantages are motivation and clarity.  When you find yourself in a slump, knee-deep in financial confusion, you need someone who will shine a fresh perspective on your circumstances.  We could all use someone to help us see what we can’t understand, analyze what we don’t how to fix, and especially achieve what we didn’t think was possible. Your spouse, friend, family member, or financial planner could be that person in your corner.

These three simple, yet concise, steps sound so easy when you are making sense of your financial puzzle.  The power is in knowing what to do and doing it. Any time you embrace knowledge, you are empowered to change your circumstances.  When you manage your money and debt wisely and save for the future, you will achieve what you want to achieve.

So one question remains…“What bugs you about the pieces of your financial puzzle?”  

Post your question below!  Every question deserves an answer.