Ok...sorry it has taken me so long to get back into the swing of things...please excuse me--this blog thing is quite new for me but I have lots to share--
Lets do a quick review- you have thought about what money means to you and you have thought about where you think you would like to start taking a hatchet to your spending...you have a snap shot of where your money has been going and I would assume by now your heart has started beating again and you have gotten over the shame of where you have been bleeding money...no worries...this is why you are working with me to wake up from your zombie state and start making your money work for you...while you were at it you also have defined what money means to you and what you want out of it in honest terms...like for me...I once thought that saying that I wanted to be wealthy was somehow a bad thing..."I am middle class and damnit I will always be middle class"....that people who have money were somehow "different"..I now know this to not be a fact but only a self limited thought in my head.
This is where I am going to need your patience and willingness to stick with it here...now we are going to talk about the psychology of money and what it means to you on a deeper level. I am going to go over this briefly in multiple blogs, but there will be more learning when you read...read....read....
I personally believe that people who don't save money do so for several reasons, biggest one of which is that they have never seen an account grow without touching it once it reaches a certain amount ("hot damn I have $200 dollars...Best Buy here I come)or never saving past a certain amount("Oh hell...I've been saving for months and all I have is $100 dollars. Screw it..I'm going to go shopping..I deserve it). I call this the savings threshold and you need to determine yours. If I was to give you $20 what would you do with it? Immediately spend it? save it? save half spend half? what about $50? $100 $200 $400 $500?? determine what you have in your head as the scale tipping amount that you personally feel is worth saving and hanging onto IE NOT TOUCHING...and let this be the amount that you head for...your Bulls Eye ....write it down where you can see it and look at it every day...kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, office, car- you get the pic...everywhere and I mean write it down with pen and paper old school style...and start your Bulls Eye fund (name it what ever you want) where ever you want but somewhere you can't or won't touch...in a jar, savings account (that you don't have an atm/debit card linked to it ), or with a trusted friend/family member. Add to this piggy bank every time-every moment you can, even one dollar at a time any week you can....challenge yourself..Make it yours...It is my belief that once you achieve this number, while no magical pixie dust will rain down on you and you will wake up on a beautiful island vacation...the sense of achievement that you will feel will be a small success and a solid foundation to build on. It is soo much about small, success, and building.
I will leave you with this last thought..this money thing is all about your brain and how you mentally/psychologically wrap your mind around it...its behavior modification and learning to make smarter choices automatically..its not about a quick fix or just filling out a spread sheet....change your thinking and how you see things and the world is yours... and I am not just talking about the mighty dollar :)
Tootles-
Heather
