Have you ever thought of something you wanted from life, but then told yourself it couldn’t happen? This could be something like getting a promotion, paying off your debt, or retiring early.

Well, you’re not alone.

Everyone is guilty of making excuses, and I know that people will continue to make them until they realize that excuses are just that – excuses. My goal today is to get you on the path to living your best life, excuse free.

As a personal finance expert, I hear a lot of reasons for why a person can't save money, pay off debt, live the life they want, reach retirement, and so on. These people see the success of others and give themselves a reason for why they can’t have the same reality.

Just think about the last time you said, “That won't work for me because (insert your excuse here).”

I hate seeing this because you can start living your best life if you just say, “no more excuses.”

Now, there are plenty of legitimate reasons for why some people have financial setbacks, such as job loss, medical emergencies, family hardships, and more. Just because someone is currently struggling doesn’t mean they aren’t trying to work towards financial freedom. Remember, this is a long-term process and everyone’s situation is different.

Today, I’m talking specifically about the people who want something more than what they have but just keep making excuses for why they can’t achieve their goals or for why their life is bad.

Common excuses include:

• “I don't have time.”
• “I’ll hate my life if I start saving money.”
• “I'm not lucky enough to save money.”
• “I don't have time.”
• “Their parents paid for college, and that’s why they are successful.”
• “I deserve and/or need the things I buy.”
• “I enjoy my job and can always make money later.”
• “The city I live in is too expensive to save money.”
• “It’s too late for me to start saving money.”

The problem with making excuses is that this bad habit can hold you back, which means that you may never reach your financial or life goals.

To put it simply, to start living your best life, you have to stop making excuses. Excuses mean a you're giving up before you've even begun.

To reach your goals and get what you want, you'll have to work hard and say “no more excuses.” No one has a perfect life (not even those who make it look that way online), so it’s a waste of your time and energy to compare your situation to theirs, then giving yourself reasons for why that life is impossible.

Trust me, I know how easy it is to make excuses for things, and I've made plenty of them. However, I told myself that I was done making excuses. While it was hard at first, this has significantly changed my life, my outlook, and my mindset.

Sure, it's nice every now and then to make an excuse for yourself whenever you're stressed or you just feel defeated. But, that just won't get you anywhere!

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Ready to start living your best life? Here’s how excuses are holding you back and how you can make a change:

 

Stop wasting time with excuses.

Making excuses means that you're wasting time.

I know that sounds really simple, but it’s true.

One example of this is with investing. Whenever I hear of someone wanting to get started investing, I am always really happy to hear this because investing is one tool that can help you start living your best life. But, I often hear people making excuses like:

• “I don’t know how to get started”
• “I don’t have enough money to invest”
• “I don’t know anything about the stock market.”
• “It’s probably too late to start.”

Well, with investing and everything else you might be making excuses for, it’s never too late to start making a change for the better. Compound interest is on your side with investing, but you can start working on saving for you future at any point.

For those making the excuse that they don’t have enough money, you can easily start investing with very little money, and there are apps like Acorns that make it really easy to get started. Acorns rounds up each purchase you make to the next dollar and invests that money for you.

With investing, if you aren’t doing it now, you are wasting your time and your money. And, the same can be said for many other things.

Instead of finding reasons for why you shouldn't pursue a goal, spend your time creating a plan so that you can start living your best life.

Next time you're about to make an excuse, say to yourself, “no more excuses! I’m done wasting my time.”

Related: 11 Ways You’re Wasting Time And How To Change

 

Excuses won't fix your problems.

The average person is probably making lots of excuses – we all will or have at some point. But, your excuses are probably causing more financial stress than you realize. If you want to start living your best life, you will have to realize that excuses won’t fix your financial situation.

And, the reality is that the average American doesn’t have a very good financial situation:

• Almost 80% live paycheck to paycheck.
• 23% have no emergency savings.
• The median amount saved for retirement is less than $60,000.
• The average household has $15,482 in credit card debt.
• The average student loan debt is $32,264.

Excuses aren’t going to solve any of those statistics, and you can read more of them at Money Statistics That May Scare You.

If you want to stop living paycheck to paycheck, have money in savings and for retirement, take control of your financial situation, and start living your best life, you'll have to start owning up to your mistakes and finding a way to change things for the better.

 

Stop comparing yourself to others.

When making excuses, you may find yourself comparing yourself to others and coming up with reasons for why something feels impossible or for why you aren’t living your best life.

When you compare yourself to others you are doing two things. One, you are forgetting that no one’s life looks as perfect as it does from the outside. You might be jealous, angry, or frustrated that someone else seems to be living better than you, but you really don’t know what their life is like.

The other problem with comparing yourself to others is that you may be minimizing their accomplishments. Many successful people have had their share of financial setbacks, have worked 100+ hour work weeks, and have really struggled to make their dreams happen. If you think you deserve what they have without acknowledging the work it took, you are minimizing their success. Not only is this a waste of time, it gives you unrealistic expectations.

Sure, you may not be able to reach a goal as quickly as someone else or it may require more hard work, but committing to no more excuses will help you reach your goals. Things might be hard, but they don’t have to be impossible. Everyone is on a different path, and there are people who are better off than you and people who are worse off.

Instead of comparing your path to those around you, focus on what you can do to start living your best life.

 

If you truly want something, you'll make it happen.

This might be hard to believe, but you are capable of making your goals and dreams a reality. I promise that if you really want something in life, you'll put the needed effort towards making it happen.

But, if you are making an excuse for why something is impossible for you, you're already quitting.

Who wants to be a quitter?

Reaching your goal will take time and there might be setbacks, but your goal is only impossible if you quit before you get there.

 

Find out why you make excuses.

People make excuses for all sorts of reasons, and most people don’t really understand why they are making them. By figuring out why you make excuses, you’ll be closer to tackling your problem and capable of saying “no more excuses.”

Some of the common reasons for why you might be making excuses are:

• Fear of not reaching a goal.
• Fear of failure.
• Fear of putting in so much hard work.
• A belief that life is unfair.
• Not really wanting it (i.e. you're not motivated).
• Lack of confidence.

And more!

Read more at Stop Making Excuses For Why Life Isn’t Better.

 

Start believing in yourself.

Success isn't easy. If it were easy, then everyone would be extremely successful and that word wouldn't even exist. If you really want to take control and start living your best life, you’ll have to do one of the hardest things – you will have to start believing in yourself.

Next time you think “That's not possible for me because of (your excuse),” you should think instead about how you can make your goal a reality. Tell yourself “no more excuses, I can reach my goals.”

You might be making excuses because you’ve felt like you’ve always failed at things, but if you keep believing that you will fail, you will expect just that. Believe that you can succeed and expect more.

Yes, it may be a little difficult to change your mindset in the beginning, but as time passes, you'll realize that your excuses were just a waste of time and thought. Once you realize that, you can start making active choices for a better future. You deserve to start living your best life, you just have to believe that you can do it.

Related: Be More Confident And Get What You Want In Life

What excuses have you made in the past? Do you believe that making excuses can hold a person back?

The post Living Your Best Life Starts With No More Excuses appeared first on Making Sense Of Cents.

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