Making meaningful money choices is not about being frugal or not spending your money. It’s about being mindful and knowing that your money is going towards the things that actually make you happy and help you lead a fulfilling lifestyle.
To us, it’s about being present and realising what you’re thinking, feeling and doing with your money. Spending money is a fact oflife, and some spending is unavoidable – new school shoes for the kids, doctors appointments and bills all add up. It’s the spending that we can avoid that’s important to reign in sometimes. So how do we break bad money habits and create a positive relationship with money that won’t restrict our lifestyles, but will actually enhance our day-to-day?
Practice money mindfulness
This is our number one piece of advice to help bring meaning to your spending. Mindfulness may not be a word most people associate with money, but being mindful is a skill and practice that holds a lot of benefits when it comes to managing your finances in a clear, intentional and purposeful way. A mindful money practice requires you to really be aware of your money on a day-to-day and moment-to-moment basis.
In other words, it’s about being present and realising what you’re thinking, feeling and doing with your money.The mindfulness process begins with observing your own personal experience with money and being honest about your thoughts and feelings towards it.
Create a positive relationship with money
Your habits, actions and behaviours with money will predict your experience and reality with it. If you spend without thinking, leave bills unopened, ignore your bank or credit card statements, delay saving, or procrastinate managing your finances then your money is more likely to control you and cause stress.
Bringing awareness to these habits and behaviours and choosing to continue the actions that support (rather than detract) from your future wealth and future self will play a big role in helping you create better spending habits.
Break bad spending habits
If you’re feeling guilty after a purchase, this may be a sign that you could have gone without. Figuring out your money kryptonite is a great place to start here. What are the things you always regret spending money on?
- Are you eating out when you feel like you should be eating at home?
- Are you scrolling online shops when you’re bored?
- Are you buying things on sale just because you love the thrill of getting a bargain?
As I said before, it’s not about being frugal and missing out on all the fun things in life, but rather, spending your money on the things that bring meaning to your life and make you genuinely happy. If the thing that brings you joy is going out to restaurants with friends, or supporting the small restaurants in your area, then we say go for it!
Figure out what a meaningful purchase is to you
To know what a meaningful purchase is to you, you need to know your goals, your values, your hobbies, etc. If you really enjoy spending time in your garden, why not treat yourself to a gardening magazine subscription instead of going to the shops and making impulse purchases? Anything that will bring you genuine happiness and longer lasting satisfaction is a good habit to practice. It’s all about choosing to add to your life in a meaningful way rather than chasing instant gratification. But, everyone is different, so it’s important to figure out what is meaningful to you and how you can use your money to enhance your lifestyle and your circumstances.
There’s no right or wrong here, and everyone is different and has different goals. The key is to really be aware of how your purchases make you feel. Being aware of this helps you to better understand the role of money in your life and how you can begin to use it in ways that best support you.