How To Shift Your Relationship to Money

While a shift in your relationship with money can happen overnight, permanent change takes time and commitment.
Here are steps that you can take to get you out of the starting gates - that place where you may be fearful of change, not knowing what to do or how to do it.
Strap yourself in as it can be quite a ride of self discovery!

1. Make the decision that you want to improve your relationship with money and you are ready to take the first step towards that change. That you’re ready to draw a line in the sand and no longer accept the way you were.
   
   Yes, there will be moments of falling off the wagon, but, with awareness and education, you can pull yourself back up and continue on your journey.
   
   It’s not about beating yourself up or getting into the blame game.
   

2. Once you’re ready for change, you need to know what your starting point is - both on a practical basis, and from an energetic/emotional/mindset perspective.
   
   What is your relationship with money?
   What are the stories and beliefs that you carry around with you?
   What is your current financial position?
   Yes - you need to list all your assets (what you own) and liabilities (what you owe).
   It can be quite sobering to write those numbers down.
   But it can also be quite enlightening - oftentimes it isn’t as bad as you thought.
   Whichever way it is, it gives you a starting point, and from that you can create a plan to reduce any debt you have - something that may have been weighing heavily on your mind, but you’re now ready to address
   How does it feel when you look at those numbers?

3. Our feelings act as our GPS - guiding us to what lights us up. Now is the time to work out what your sacred feelings are - these help you define what is important to you and help you create the life you want.
   
   I believe it is important to define these feelings for yourself, so that they are meaningful to YOU
   

4. Analyse your past expenses and review the results.
   Was your spending in line with what you said above was important to you?
   If not, why not? No judgement - just bring curiousity to the review and see what motivation was behind the purchases
   

5. Now you’re ready to start looking towards the future - where do you want to be? You want to be guided from a place of abundance, not a place of scarcity.
   
   What purpose do you want your money to have?
   How do you want it to enrich your life?
   
   Use this information to start deciding how you want to allocate the money that you currently have, and any money that you receive in the future.
   I hesitate to use the word “budget”, rather, I prefer to use the YNAB rule of “Give every dollar a job” - that way you are allocating the resources you have, rather than making plans for money that you don’t yet have.
   

6. Decide how you want to process your information - there are so many options out there from paper based, to spreadsheets, to software.
   My favourite for my personal finances in YNAB
   
   What you want from the option you use is for it to act as a tool to guide you with your spending BEFORE you spend, as opposed to after the fact when you discover that you’re down a deep, black hole!
   

7. Process regularly
   Have money dates where you can review and reflect on your finances
   Check it against your GPS to see if you’re still on track
   Decide on what changes you would like to implement
   

8. Remember that this is a journey that you have embarked on - there is no “there” - we’re constantly adapting to what is happening and what our priorities are. And these can change as our life changes.

9. Educate yourself on money - know that you can increase your knowledge over time.
   It may seem overwhelming in the beginning, but it gets easier when you stick to it and build your knowledge over time, rather than feeling that you need to know it all now.
   

If you’re ready to create this change in your relationship to money, I invite you to sign up for my Meet Your Money meditation here