A thought occurred to me today as I was playing with my youngest son (I don't want to make it sound like I rarely get thoughts - I just rarely remember to share them!). Anyway, I watched him complete a puzzle that he was unable to do by himself a few weeks ago. Each time I saw him struggle with the pieces, I would take the pieces from his hand to show him the right way to do it. But no matter how many times I did that, he still would try to put them in the wrong way each time. A few weeks pass...and now with this particular puzzle, he is getting the pieces in right, everytime, by himself. Trial and error, combined with a little guidance, and he's got it.
Rings true for finances, too. How many of us have been frustrated by watching family and friends make finanicial mistakes, and tried to give them advice? And how many of us have been ignored? If someone is not a point where they are ready to make a change, we can talk ourselves blue in the face - and nothing will change. However, by being there and leading by example, down the road that same person might compare their path to yours and decide to make that change.
For me, I decided to live below my means after college, when DH and I were living paycheck to paycheck. First, we decided to keep a $500 cushion. That grew to $2000. Now we have 6 months of expenses tucked away. Other people may not have decided to make the change until they were facing a mountain of credit card debt and were at rock bottom. Whenever the concious decision is made, it's nice to have the support of people here.
I guess all I am saying is that we can share our ideas and lead by example, but we can't help others change until they are ready (no matter how much we hate to stand by and watch!). Just like I can't force my son to get that piece in right until he sees how to do it for himself, no matter how much I try to help him