How often do your emotions factor into money decisions? Do you shop when you are blue or stressed? Do you believe, “When things get tough, the tough go shopping?” There are a lot of us that feel the solution is in a new pair of shoes, jeans or an outfit. It’s been my experience that no real problem that I have had, has been solved with the purchase of anything, that doesn’t mean I haven’t tried to solve the problem this way! However, in the end, I found that I bought a lot of regret without resolving the issue. When I spend emotionally I find that I am not satisfied with the purchases. They are impulse buys. Sometimes I feel shame that I did something foolish. So my emotions are regret and shame triggered by stress.
When I believe that money is something within my control, I am more successful and ultimately make wiser financial decisions which ultimately increases my checkbook.
Danielle LaPorte wrote in the article, Getting emotional about money, “I tend to think of money in the same way I regard time. It’s a form of energy. It comes and goes according to my intentions. The clearer my intentions, the more the money flows.”
A woman we interviewed during DyMynd research told us about her negative relationship with money and her inability to plan and save. She talked about the sudden death of her father when she was a teenager. It seems her father had been very responsible with the family finances and had deferred spending money on things he wanted like nice vacations or a new set of golf clubs. As a young woman, she made the decision to live life to the fullest because “it can be over tomorrow.” Unfortunately, being young at the time of his death she got into the habit of spending money as though there was no tomorrow. It’s only now, as she approaches her fortieth birthday, that she is aware of how her emotions shaped her financial decisions. She is working to change her thinking about money and implementing a savings and retirement plan. Today she is aware of her negative emotions surrounding money.
Another woman we interviewed for DyMynd research told us about having put her life on hold until she meets her “Prince.” For years, she has been waiting for her life to begin. She hasn’t had a financial plan or a real plan for her future because she is waiting! She was waiting to be rescued. Well the wait is over, she decided to take control of her own future. She is doing all those things that she was waiting to do when her “Prince” came along. She is creating a new fairy tale with herself as the heroine.
Throughout the years, we all have received positive or negative money messages and other types of messages that have impacted our thinking and behavior either consciously or unconsciously. Our job as DyMynd diva’s is to find and keep the messages that help us live happy and prosperous lives. Prosperity isn’t just about money it’s about the abundance of people, work and things that make us joyful. I urge you to not only balance your checkbook but find the balance you deserve in your life.