Money Musings 💭 When it’s just not working… 🥴
This week: Something that can make all the difference, week #1 of The 30-Day Money Cleanse, wealth beyond money, and community money wins.
What you’ll find below:
Reflection: The secret sauce
Money Move: Kick off your 30-Day Money Cleanse
You Gotta See This: Wealth beyond money
Reel of the Week: Happy Pride!
When I’m giving a talk, I’ll often poll the room and ask “Raise your hand if you think you should know more about money and personal finance?” Every hand goes up - even if I’m speaking at a bank.
Even so, there are times in our money lives when we know exactly what we should be doing, yet we still don’t do it. I’ve experienced this and have seen it over and over again with my community.
I worked with a client who was struggling to stick with her happiness allocation (i.e. spending plan), week after week. She wanted to save and pay down debt but something always came up.
We dug into her relationship with money and she shared that her family struggled throughout her childhood. When they went out to eat at a fast food restaurant she wasn’t allowed to get the fries with her burger because they cost an additional $0.50.
In those moments, as a child, she decided that when she was in charge - when she had money of her own - she would ALWAYS get the fries.
And that’s what she had been doing her entire adult life. When faced with a decision whether or not to buy something, she bought it. She got the fries.
At the time, as a child, with no control of her own financial situation, that felt like a very powerful and protective choice.
But now, as an adult who wanted to experience peace of mind and financial freedom, that decision was no longer serving her. She was able to let it go.
Through our life experiences we form beliefs and make decisions that we carry into our current money lives. If you know what you should be doing but it’s just not working, I encourage you to dive deeper into your money mindset.
Here are a few prompts to journal on or discuss:
What’s your earliest memory about money?
What was your family like with money growing up?
What’s your biggest financial fear?
We’re doing a money mindset deep dive in The Money Club tonight. I’ll be sharing three strategies that completely supercharge your progress toward your financial goals. Could this be the summer that completely changed your life? I want it to be.
The cost of The Money Club is $29 per month. The events are SO valuable that even if you can only attend or watch one event per month, it’s more than worth it. Plus, I’ll be increasing prices soon so this is your sign to join!
P.S. At an event last night, a new friend shared that she read The 30-Day Money Cleanse and saved $1,000 within one month. Grab your copy and check out the new Money Cleanse series below.
P.P.S. We had an amazing investing workshop last week on risk and how to invest money that’s not for the short-term (should be in a HYSA) and not for the long-term. Join The Money Club to watch the replay.
THE 30-DAY MONEY CLEANSE: WEEK 1
In week #1 of The 30-Day Money Cleanse we do three very important things…
We set our intention. What do you want to accomplish in the next 30 days? Dream big here. What I’ve found in my own life and working with thousands of people is that they tend to happen. Even better, add some visualization to give your reticular activating system (RAS) some work to do!
We become aware. We become aware of our spending by keeping a money journal. Write down or type out everything you spend (and earn). The worse this sounds to you the more you have to gain from it. It’s a new habit so if you forget, it’s okay. Try to remember what you missed and keep going.
We make a list. List out all of your expenses by category. For example, rent, groceries, dining out, utilities, etc. Then categorize each expense as a want (or non-essential), a need, or not sure.
For the next 7 days I’m going to challenge you to let go of all non-essential items on your list. Remember, it’s only 7 days.
What other guidelines would you like to live by during your first week of The 30-Day Money Cleanse?
WEALTH BEYOND MONEY - A SERIES.
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about all the ways we experience and benefit from wealth. Of course, there’s financial wealth, which is critically important, but there are many other forms of wealth that we can cultivate and focus on to build a wealthy life. Over the next several months I’m going to highlight different areas of wealth beyond money.
First up, community. Being part of a community (or multiple), which I define as having connection and a feeling of support and belonging, improves our health (another form of wealth!).
We experience higher emotional well-being, we feel seen, we have cheerleaders, people who think of us for opportunities, and the list goes on and on.
Community can also provide accountability and support for the people we want to be and the goals we want to achieve. It can help us continue moving toward our north star. We achieve our career and personal goals.
Community can take many different forms. It might be something more structured like The Money Club or the magic of a short conversation with your barista every day as you wait for your coffee.
Have you thought about community as a form of wealth? Where and how do you cultivate your own community?
Here are all the amazing money moves you made this week CONGRATS! Celebrating you all!
Tamra: My budget went off the rails in May. Instead of beating myself up about it, I'm starting fresh in June!
Jule: I had enough in my emergency fund to cover my last-minute cross-country flight to support my friend who lost her mom. So glad I was able to be there for her without worrying about affording it
Jackie S: Consistently pay credit card balances and put money in savings or make an extra mortgage payment
Jenny G: Tracking my spending
Maria B: Noticed wrong price on itemized catering invoice and saved $1k!
Jen: Meal planned and prepped so I don't have to order out! Saving nearly $50 this week
Kelly J: Got joint account with husband and set up direct deposit for our bills. Now we have his/her/ours accounts
Naomi: Have the money to pay off credit card but it's not due for a month. So put money in HYSA
Share your money wins here!