The Big Easy

[Jenifer Madson]

Financial decision, that is. I have recently become fascinated with what people do with their money when presented with several opportunities to improve their circumstances.

Some jump right in to take advantage of the thing that shows the most promise for moving them along the quickest.

Some go to the place of semi-commitment, willing to spend time as long as there's an obvious exit plan.

And some won't commit at all. And that doesn't make them bad, just interesting to watch when the other options don't ask that much of them to begin with.

I surveyed people once after they'd made decisions at a trade show booth. One bought the materials outright, one joined a mailing list, and one decided right off the bat not to participate at all. When I asked them what made their decision, they all used the word "easy." The woman who bought the program said it was easy because the worst-case scenario was that she wouldn't need all the information, but would be no worse the wear and tear for having experienced it. The man who joined the mailing list said he did it because it was free, and if he didn't like the information, he could easily back out. And the young woman who chose not to participate at all said that even though she desperately needed help in that area of her life, it was easier to pretend that she didn't than to spend time or money admitting she did.

Take A Minute:
Are you making commitments of time and money that easily help you progress or that easily keep you comfortable, but move you past the information you might need to succeed?

Make A Minute:
Look again at a financial decision that may seem hard to make, and find a perspective about it that's easy and will move you closer to your goals.

In the end, progress will be the most certain for the person who chooses a perspective that easily gets them involved with the material at hand.