How is your relationship to money?
Do you love cash or do you wish you lived in a world where money didn't matter?
How easily do you believe money comes to you?
Is money the thing that you hate to need or is it a means by which you enjoy your life?
Your answers to those questions will say a lot about the boundaries you've created around your finances. When money (having it, not having it, making it, or spending it) is a constant source of worry and fear, you'll find that your overwhelming approach to financial management will be creating emotional walls around money issues.
Instead of creating a budget, you'll refuse to open up bills until payday, pay what you can and continue not opening up letters that come in the mail. Instead of having an honest financial conversation with your spouse, you'll secretly overspend or subtly micromanage household spending. Instead of going to your boss and asking for a promotion or a raise, you'll grumble and gripe about how you're so undervalued at work.
Do you see how fearing money can
cause you to create unhealthy boundaries?
The good thing about knowing what is comes in understanding that awareness precedes action. Once you get that you have money fears that are running your boundaries, there are a number of steps you can take to recreate healthy money boundaries:
1) Choose to see money as a means to an end and not an end in and of itself. Whenever you find yourself with less money than you'd like, ask yourself "Who am I choosing to be today? How would I act today if I had millions of dollars in the bank?" Learning how to consistently be who you are (no matter what the circumstance) is key to having peace and happiness in your life. Your joy is not based on your bank statement; it's based on how you choose to show up in your life.
2) Track your spending for a month so you know where your money is going. After the month is over, see where you've been investing your funds. Ask yourself, "Is this where I want to invest my money?" Be intentional about where you are choosing to invest your money from this moment on and create boundaries that honor those choices. Even if you don't make more money, you'll start to feel more powerful when it comes to the money you do have... and that sense of power will lead you to means and methods of earning more money.
3) Set a one year money goal and do AT LEAST one thing every day towards its achievement. People say "I want more money" ALL the time. But how much money is that? More money could be a penny extra. Is that enough for you? Creating and keeping healthy boundaries requires that you know where to draw the line. It also requires that the line is so clearly drawn that other people know where it is too. In terms of money, it's time you decided how much would be enough for you. Back that up with at least one daily action and measure your results in 3, 6, 9 and 12 month increments. And here's the thing: once you set the goal, DO NOT GIVE UP until you reach it. It doesn't matter if it takes you longer than the 12 months. Where focus goes, energy flows. Identify your money goal, focus on it by taking daily action, measure your results and decide in advance that you will be there until...
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