A lot of habits we develop ; whether good or bad, often emanates from a place of subconsciousness. It is subconscious that when we wake up, our mind tells us we ought to brush our teeth before munching into any meal. Or, right after bathing, we need to wipe dry with a towel. These, seem like a norm, and yet have been built into our minds over time and over a good level of mindfulness.
This is the same attitude we must adopt for our spending and money. A lot of our money habits and mentalities towards money has been subconsciously built from the relationship our immediate family had toward money, be it lack or abundance. We grow with such mindsets and if we fail to be mindful, we get trapped in that vicious cycle of debt.
Mindfulness, not only in our spending, but with how we think of money, is essential to help us develop healthy habits on how we spend our money. Whether you have a 9-5 job, or a 6 figure business, or a magic pot of money which you rely on, you need to be mindful of how you spend.
We often hate the idea of having a budget and tracking our spending but this is crucial to identify where we are going wrong in our spending and identifying the best solution. We certainly don’t want to be that patient who ignores a doctor’s diagnosis and goes ahead trying different treatments and medications for a sickness not known to them.
Stop, take a deep breath and be mindful of the things you spend your money on. Write them down, even the very silliest spend like a candy bar or an envelope. Do this over a period and sit down, take your calculator and section all of these items into categories. This will help you track where your money goes into most, whether it is healthy or not and to identify the areas where you need to cut down spending on.
This is a vital step in your search for mindful solutions to your money issues.
However, don’t beat yourself up. Keep a positive head and remember that mindfulness is the first mental step to a journey of financial freedom.