Instead of Saying “I Can’t Afford That”…

…why not ask “how can I afford that”?

While browsing the The Carnival of 20-Somethings Finance, I saw a post called Tori Spelling - Unsung Financial Hero? that caught my attention.

If you like reality shows (me, not so much, but I actually caught part of this episode on one of my ‘unable to sleep’ nights), you may be familiar with Tori and Dean - Home Sweet Hollywood.  On a recent episode, Tori and Dean were looking at new houses to buy, and they were looking at one that was twice their budget.

While that in itself isn’t very remarkable, what was remarkable was Tori’s response to her husband’s objections that they couldn’t afford the house.

Instead of saying “we can’t afford it”, Tori’s attitude was “how can we afford this house?”.  She was willing to start a business - or even two - to be able to afford this house, even while 9 months pregnant!

In my financial planning business I work with a lot of people who are in debt.  I’d like to take Tori’s “how can we afford this house?” attitude and challenge those of you who are in debt, to consider…

Instead of asking, “how can I get out of this debt hole I’ve dug for myself?”, ask yourself, “how can I make more money?”.

By focusing on how to make more money, you’ll have a more positive attitude towards your money, and you’ll probably pay your debts off much faster than if you took a negative approach and spent your time worrying all the time.

What do you think?