It seems like everyone has been inspired by Netflix’s latest series “Tidying Up” with Marie Kondo. My facebook feed is full of either people showing off their newly organized drawers or sharing memes about throwing out bras because they didn’t spark joy. Even if you’re not inspired to throw your clothes into one big pile and only put back what brings you joy, I highly recommend you at least take some of the KonMari tips and apply them to your money.
Yes, your money.
Take the time to appreciate what you have. It looks like an awkward moment on the show when Marie starts off by asking the family to join her in thanking the home and their belongings for serving their purpose. It’s not something most of us are in the regular practice of doing but there are some powerful benefits to this crucial step. Taking the time and acknowledging what we have focuses us on abundance versus lack. We are wired to look at what we don’t have and therefore tend to only see what we lack, which leaves us in a negative mental and emotional state. Living in a constant state of lack, even if just perceived, increases our levels of stress which can lead to all sorts of physical and mental health problems such as anxiety, depression, high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke.
When we take the time to appreciate what we have, our income and resources, and how those resources allow us to live, we experience a sense of abundance. Those feelings of fullness and contentment decrease our stress levels and increase our resilience mentally, emotionally, and physically.
Keep in mind, if you skip this step, it’s nearly impossible to let go of what you don’t need.
Cut out the excess. Most of us can agree that there’s probably a bit of excess in our spending. It happens unconsciously. With electronic debits and automatic payments we easily become disconnected from our spending. Out of sight, out of mind. Take inventory of where you’re spending.
Look at both your recurring expenses and your discretionary daily spending. With subscriptions for services more common than before, you may still be paying for a service you’re not using anymore. Remember that subscription to Starz just so you could catch up on Outlander?
We’re not always paying attention to the little daily expenses either. A little here and a little there may not seem like much at the time, but it can really add up. A good litmus test is to ask yourself, “Is this expense adding any real value you to my life?”
Keep the joy. Just like you want to keep the sweater that lights you up inside, you want to keep the joy in your spending. It’s not a good idea to deprive yourself of the things that truly bring you joy. Contrary to the saying that money can’t buy happiness, research shows that you can spend money in ways that brings happiness. Spending on experiences versus things, giving, and investing in yourself have been shown to create a more lasting feeling of happiness and contentment than just buying stuff.
The key here though is dig deeper into what it is exactly that lights you up inside. Be mindful of what you’re trying to achieve with your spending and remember to keep it in balance. The memories from all the extravagant vacations aren’t going to heat your house.
Get organized. You aren’t going to know how much money you can delegate to certain areas of your life, if you don’t know how much you have to work with and where it’s currently going. You need a system to keep you in the know.
If you’ve never gotten clear about your personal financial situation it will take a little bit of work initially, but once you have the systems in place to keep you on track it’s hardly work. First off, if you don’t already, you need to track your spending. The benefit of almost everything being electronic these days is that it makes it much easier to track. So sign up for a tracking system like mint.com, most are free to use and they take the work out of aggregating all the data.
When you can clearly see where your money is going, you can see when it’s going somewhere that isn’t in alignment with what you want in life. Just like when you’re organizing the items in your home and eliminating the things that are no longer serving a purpose in your life, you should be applying that same principle to your expenses. Eliminate the expenses that are no longer serving a purpose.
Taking the time to “tidy up” your money and begin a practice of mindful spending will bring back a sense of order and help you spark joy in your spending!