“If I’m struggling to make ends meet on a monthly basis, how can I get focussed on achieving something big?”

You want focus? I’ll give you focus! Al Pacino in Scarface: “Say hello to my little friend!”

My “little friends” in financial motivation are “fear” and “greed” and you need a bit of both or you will struggle each month. They are two of life’s most powerful forces for good.

Fear. Does living on the government age pension scare you? (It should.) Concerned you’ll never pay off your home loan? What if you die – how will your family survive financially?

Greed. Do you want to be in a position to retire when you’re 55? Do you want to send the kids to good private schools? Do you still dream about a beachside shack for the family?

They are just examples, but if you’re looking for focus, fear and greed should provide it. They show hunger to achieve (or not to fail).

Write down some one, two, five and 10-year goals. Put some numbers around what they’d cost. Hang the list somewhere you’ll regularly see it.

Then draw up a proper budget (there’s one top right at www.debtman.com.au). Everybody has fat in their budget. It comes down to how badly you are prepared to sacrifice the “fat” to achieve a big goal.

It’s not easy turning around your finances. But focus on some small goals first and then start working towards the big ones.

“Greed, for lack of a better word, is good,” said Gordon Gekko in Wall St. Sure, it’s one of the seven deadly sins. So what? Make it one of your “little friends”.

Bruce Brammall is the author of Debt Man Walking (www.debtman.com.au) and a licensed financial adviser.