It’s time to stop wasting money.
It’s time you start getting what you really want.
It’s time you start spending better.
When we think about spending better and not wasting money we often turn to traditional budgeting. But you’ve heard me say it, traditional budgeting doesn’t work!
In my previous posts, I talked about why budgets fail. We can’t rely solely on will-power or self-control to stick to a spending limit. We will exhaust what will-power we have. We will rationalize and bargain with ourselves until we ultimately buy or do what we want.
We also talked about motivation, and how using the right motivation makes all the difference. Doing something because we want to, uses energy from within which is more powerful than any external motivation that says we ought to.
So to keep yourself from wasting money on things that aren’t actually adding value to your life and build towards your future, you need to first get the right motivations going. You need to know and clearly identify what really matters in your life. What above all things provide your life with meaning? What are your priorities? What are you building towards? Take some time and really answer those questions.
If you haven’t already, take the iValue Quiz to help you quantify what matters most in your life right now. (It’ll take you about 15 minutes and cost you no money.)
Just knowing in your head what matters isn’t enough though…. You have to feel it. You have to connect your head and your heart. And to do that you have to take some time and give yourself some space to feel, to emotionally connect with what’s important. Visualization is key here, because pictures have the power to evoke more emotions than words alone can.
I’ve created a little exercise that will help you do just that. After you’ve identified what’s important, take the next step and make the connection. (This one is totally free too, other than your time. It’s extremely powerful and worth your time.)
Once what’s really important is front and center. So much so, you feel it with all that you are, you are now ready to start looking at how you’re allocating your resources: time, energy and money. How are things lining up? Are your spending decisions in line with what matters most? If not, what can you do to match things up more?
Of course I have tools to help you there too. You can enroll in the Mastering Your Cashflow course, hire me for individualized coaching, or do it on your own using the free resources and tools I’ve made available. I’ll even give you the bullet points of how to move towards realigning your financial life with what’s really important.
1. Know your resources. You have to know what your income and expenses are. Additionally, what assets and liabilities (debts) do you have? Having a clear picture of your financial life will help you see what’s working and what might not be.
2. Track your expenses. You have to be aware of where your spending goes if you’re going to make any changes. Just do me a favor, track for the purpose of discovery. Don’t get i caught up in too much detail or allow yourself to fall into the blame game and beat yourself up over choices you’ve made before. You’re looking for trends and looking for ways to reallocate money towards what you really want in life. This is about you taking back your own power over choice.
3. Create new habits. Being consistent is the key to long term success. When you create new habits, change is easier to sustain. It will take more intention and attention initially but over time if you create new habits your decisions will align with what matters in your life with ease.
Of course you don’t have to do this alone. I can help you. If you are ready to get serious about how you are spending your resources and you’re ready to stop wasting money and start getting what you want. Sign up for the course or schedule a call with me today! (PS – You’re going to have to do the work in the course so if that’s not really your thing and you’d like an extra hand or a gentle push, better just schedule a call.)
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