[...] Stop Allowing Fear to Guide Financial Decisions – Frugal Dad [...]

Also, who gives a rat’s behind about a FICO score if you are going to live wisely and NOT borrow any money? I don’t buy the argument that you need that score for anything other than getting MORE credit that you don’t need. Case in point: I know someone who declared bankruptcy after two luxury cars were repo’d, two homes foreclosed upon, and he went on to rent two homes (main living and vacation home) lease a new car and get a six-figure salaried job just a few months later. I’m pretty sure his FICO score was almost non-existent when he did all that.

It is possible to punish a company by selling its stock or by withdrawing business. Likewise one can reward a good business by giving referrals and using more of the products or services. If enough individuals do this, both in a personal capacity and in whatever corporate capacity they control, we can and will eventually correct bad behavior.

For too long, we’ve been collectively lying down and refusing to do even the little bit we can by being mindful of our purchasing or financial decisions. We’ve been taking the path of least resistance by not reacting when we get worked over. We’ve been effectively teaching banks to abuse us. We’ve taught them that there is no relationship between their compensation and how mindful they are of customer needs or shareholder interests. We’ve taught them that they can abuse us without losing us as customers and/or investors, and because we’ve taught them that even if we sell our shares and close our accounts, it doesn’t matter because they still have plenty of people left to abuse.

I think that much of what drives all of this worry is rooted in…

1) Too much information, and

2) The misguided belief that perfection is attainable.

We’re literally choking on more information than our minds, and even more, our emotions, can process. We worry because we don’t understand, or we don’t know how to react or to prepare for the crisis du jour. We have just enough information to be worried, but never enough to be at peace with what’s happening. Newsflash: we weren’t meant to know everything, and it really doesn’t matter.

Calvin Coolidge said that if you’re walking down a road, and up in the distance you see 10 troubles, nine of them will have fallen by the wayside by the time you get to them. That’s a lot closer to the truth than all the fearmongering we’re buying into.

On the second point, perfection, it’s been said that perfection is the enemy of progress. When we become obsessed with being correct, we get stuck right where we are, afraid to make a move in any direction for fear of being exposed for being wrong. We aren’t perfect so it’s a vain pursuit.

I agree with Matt (14) that we need to leave room for God in our concerns. We can have hope, even in our imperfections, even in the midst of crisis.

This is really an oustanding post!!!

I have never been much of a worry wart, and have never really been one to “regret” my decisions. I am a natural optimist and have always chosen to take personal responsibility for my decisions rather than regret them, but have found the best way for me to have a “no-fear” approach to my decisions is to include God in the process.

This simple step of stopping and considering what the Lord would have me to do helps me decide what is truly a good decision, and what is not… then I can move forward with confidence! It’s an awesome thing.