What can you do? Far too often when faced with what at first seems like a financial challenge, the first response is to cut back – to immediately look at what needs to be cut out and how you can cut back. There is another way to look at ‘what can you do’ as well, and that is from an expansionary perspective. For example, you might review your various expenses and decide you should cut back on a $20 item. Perhaps, or you can look at your shortfall and ask how much more you need to make, and how could you make up that shortfall to accomplish a balanced budget. If you can earn $20 an hour, then you would need to work only 1 hour to make up the time to pay for the $20 item. If the $20 item also took time to source and cancel or to make up because you now needed to take more of your $20/hour time to do it yourself, you really need to ask yourself if you are further ahead by cutting back on the $20 item?

How do you know which is best and where to start? Simply with a pen and paper and taking inventory of what you have and what you want. Where is the shortfall? How much is it? Then break that down. If you are short by $200 a month, you know you need to make up 10 hours at $20 per hour, or sell 10 items at $20 each, or 2 x $100 or whatever the math is based on what you have to work with. Always remember that your options are not limited to cutting back or getting another job. ‘What can you do’ can help you expand your options far more successfully than it can when you look at cutting back and sacrificing your true desires. It is all about balancing what you have with what you want. What can you do with what you have that also moves in you the direction of your goals??