Last week as we celebrated Heritage Week in Jamaica, I reflected on the lives of our heroes and the tremendous challenges they had to conquer. Today, we are able to live better lives because of their bravery and determination in overcoming various forms of bondage: physical slavery, racial discrimination, and sovereignty to foreign rule.

I wondered aloud to a friend, “Will Jamaica ever attain any other heroes?” “Probably not,” she responded, “there’s nothing left for us to be liberated from.”

But are we really free? The harsh reality is the large majority of Jamaicans are living lives of quiet desperation, bound by the shackles of financial bondage. Unlike some of the chains that kept us down in the past, these impediments to our personal and national success are largely self-inflicted, and are strengthened by our inability to attack the roots of our oppression.

What are some of the signs that indicate that we’re imprisoned in a vicious circle of financial failure? We rely on borrowing to pay for basic necessities; we focus on pointless consumption instead of purposeful conservation; we fail to create action plans to attain long-term goals; we make disastrous investment decisions with money.

One of the main reasons so many people are burdened by money woes is that they are not exposed to a better way of life. Most Jamaicans have never been taught the essential principles of financial management; therefore they can only look wistfully from the sidelines as other people attain fabulous lifestyles that they can only dream about.

Kathleen Gurney, PhD author of Your Money Personality: What It Is and How You Can Profit from It explains: “If you don’t know what’s preventing you from getting money, you will remain a money victim.” Here is a five-step plan to help you to recognise the barriers to money success and to break free from financial bondage:

B- Begin with a budget

If you don’t diagnose what’s ailing you financially, you will never be able to get the right prescription to treat the problem. Most people’s money challenges occur when they don’t have a clear idea of how much money it costs to live their lifestyles. Therefore, they’re not able to make appropriate spending decisions to allocate their money wisely.

A budget, when done properly, will help you to outline all of the things that you need to spend money on, determine if your sources of income can cover your expenses, prioritise on different expense items, identify where you can cut costs, and calculate a target amount to increase your earnings.

R- Review your money blocks

After determining the amount of money that is required to finance your lifestyle, you then need to examine the areas where you may be going astray on your financial journey. Some brick walls that can block your success include a chronic dependence on debt, making insufficient income, and opting for spending instead of saving.

Once you are honest with yourself about the circumstances that are sabotaging your financial future, it’s important to seek expert advice. Read books on finance, watch or listen to money programmes, surf the Internet, attend seminars, or hire a financial coach; make a determined effort to learn the right money behaviours.

E- Establish money goals

Do you sometimes feel that you’re just a cog in a wheel, going round in a circle every day? Like a rider on a stationary bicycle, your work efforts won’t take you anywhere if you don’t establish where you want to go in life. Dr Gurney points out that “If you don’t know what you want from money, you will never reach your financial goals.”

It’s crucial to set specific money objectives for owning your own home, sending your children to university or earning a retirement income. Pursuing goals that are important to you will give you the motivation to make the right decisions with your money.

A – Augment your earnings

Gone are the days when you could expect that your nine-to-five job would provide you with everything you wanted out of life. Today’s economy reverberates with words such as outsourcing, cost-cutting and downsizing. If you don’t create your own plan to earn extra money, then you’re doomed to remain in despair.

Creativity and innovation are the watchwords for financial success. Stop idling away your precious time! Channel your free hours into productive ventures that can create value for others, and always be on the lookout for opportunities to earn more.

K – Keep a positive attitude

Dr Gurney declares, “If you aren’t willing to change your money attitudes, you will stay in your financial status quo.” Too many people give themselves a life sentence in a pecuniary prison just because of their negative mindset. They expect other people to fix their problems, and create endless excuses to counter every solution that’s offered.

The most powerful weapon that you can use to break free is your own mind. Entrepreneur Henry Ford said: “If you think you can do a thing, or you think you can’t, you’re right.” If improving your financial life is important to you, decide today that you will find a way to accomplish it, and commit wholeheartedly to the process of change.

Cherryl is a financial consultant and money coach, and founder of Financially S.M.A.R.T. Services; she is currently writing her first book, “The 3 Ms of Money.” Get more practical financial advice at www.financiallysmartadvice.com and free financial tools at www.financiallysmartonline.com. Please email comments to advice@financiallysmartonline.com