Many of us derive a great deal of pleasure in being careful with our money. Do you remember the last time this happened to you? By researching over the internet, you were able to save ten dollars on a new flat screen monitor or you by digging into the details and negotiating on your insurance policy you were able to finagle a fifty dollar annual reduction. Triumphant and elated, you want to find the next bargain that you may have missed. In these tough economic times, it is very appealing to be smart stewards of our assets. Frugality is a lesson many of us learnt in childhood and early in our adult lives where a small amount of money had great impact. However, is focusing on saving money all the time the smartest expenditure of your time, your efforts and energies now? Your unique talents may lie elsewhere that could be developed further. Hours spent trying to save a few dollars could have been time spent with your family or on building your business that could have created greater value, great wealth or satisfaction. There are time consuming tasks that do need to get done. One alternative is learning to become the greatest delegator by shedding important however less impactful work to others. Hiring help may seem an additional expenditure at first blush, however the longer term payoffs of a more relaxed, less complicated and focused life may be a far more desirable outcome. Collecting pebbles on our path to our goals is a great way to be busy and is one of the five barriers to wealth. It takes effort and skill to stop paying attention to the pebbles and refocus our resources on the big rocks – what matters most to us in our lives. I have developed a simple exercise to help refocus. If you would like a copy emailed to you, please send a quick note to akhila.aiyer@gvfinancial.com . subject: refocus exercise.