Too many people are letting their money serve everyone but themselves.

• They spend to meet expectations.

• They budget out of guilt.

• They buy things to keep the peace, not because it brings them joy.

Money should serve you.

• Money shouldn’t be used to assuage your guilt.

• Money shouldn’t be used to buy someone else’s idea of success.

• Money shouldn’t be used to pay off constant emergencies.

Your money is for what you WANT to do, not what you think you “should” do. When you plan in advance how to use your money, you can use it in service of creating your life, not as a way of reacting to your life.

 July 24th - Your money should serve YOU 

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Q: What did the duck tell the store clerk?

A: Just put it on my bill!

Many money jokes are punny and harmless. But since so many of us deal with stress by making jokes, and money is a source of stress for many of us, money often becomes the thing we joke about. On the surface these jokes, sayings, and phrases seem funny, but their hidden meanings can be demoralizing.

For example:

"Treat yo’ self!"

Of course, life is to be lived! And spending money is a part of that. But when people use it as a justification for spending beyond their means or outside their plan, it becomes a flippant way of brushing off responsibility.

Just like all the cliches that have become toxic ways of looking at money, some of these not-so-funny money sayings need to go.

July 23rd - Money jokes. But seriously...

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“I just want a better life.”

"I just want more money."

Statements like this SOUND good, but what do they actually mean?

What does better look like?
How much is more?

Words like “better” and “more” are meaningless unless you define them.

Do you want:

• $5,000 in your savings account?

• To be debt free?

• To make 20% more?

• To pay cash for a car?

These goals are useful because they are specific. It’s more obvious what kinds of actions will lead to achieving these, and it’s clear when the goals have been reached.

Want to learn how to set meaningful, motivating, useful goals and plans? Specificity creates success.

July 22nd - "A better life" is meaningless

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“Why did I even start this financial plan?”

Sometimes your original reason fades.

Sometimes it never wavers.

Sometimes it evolves as your life moves into a new season.

Sometimes you don’t fully know your why until you’ve taken a few steps forward.

And that’s okay.

Your “why” isn’t carved in stone, it’s something you discover and revisit as your life, goals, and values grow.

Regularly revisiting your “why” can keep you motivated and focused, and allow you to shift your “why” as your life evolves.

July 21st - Revisit your "why"

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