When you think about your finances, do you hear the sound of a cash register? Perhaps you can feel the cheque in your hand when you think about money, or do you envision yourself holding cash. Then again, you may be the person who cannot bear to look at their bank or credit card statement.

Let’s go back for a minute to grade school when you learned about your five senses — hearing, seeing, touch, taste, smell. As you get older, one of these senses becomes the dominant way you receive information.

With financial education, we do a lot of telling people what to do about money. However, if you are a feeling person or a visual person, a lot of the messages may miss you. In fact, this message may miss people who like to hear about things rather than read.

GET FINANCIAL INFORMATION TAILORED TO YOUR MOST POWERFUL SENSE

However, if you are able to determine the best way to receive information, it puts you ahead of the game in terms of creating financial freedom. Why? Because you can now look for the institution that best communicates with you.

Do you need a lot of graphics to understand money concepts? What about an audio tape? Is hearing about money in a particular way the best method of understanding for you? Do you need to actually handle cash in order to get a feel of where it is going?

It may sound strange at first, yet knowing which of your senses is the most powerful communication tool for you can open the doors to reaching your financial goals very quickly. For example, if you are searching for a licensed financial advisor to help you create a particular plan, you can build a relationship with the best one for you based on how they present the information.

So rather than being confused about what they are saying (and pretending that you are not), you are empowered.

If you are a visual person, the right financial advisor will give you the images you require. Same thing if you are more into what you hear, you can find an advisor that “sounds” right.

So hearing, seeing, and feeling money opens up new avenues of gaining the financial goal that is important to you.

And it is not just about the financial advisor. What about your career? Are you stifling your earning potential by being in the wrong environment? Are you a visual person trapped in a cubicle? Can you make the decision to learn how to make money using your strengths, which include your most powerfulsense?

We in the financial services industry love to talk about goals. Save for a house, invest for your future, pay down debt, et cetera, et cetera. And these are very worthwhile and highly recommended life achievements.

The issue is connecting the dots from where you are now to where you want to get to in the future.

I challenge you to think about which of your senses gives you the most information and use that as a tool in building your financial path. And always, reach out to a financial coach or a licensed financial advisor to give you help along the way.

Dennise Williams, MBA (Banking & Finance) is a journalist, TV producer, certified practioner NLP coach and has 15 years’ experience in the financial services industry. She can be contacted at financiallyfocusedtv@gmail.com and you can see more of her work at www.youtube.com/financiallyfocused.