Today’s Mandala Message: Spend With a Goal in Mind
This week I’m working through Principles #59 and #60: Master the Spending Game and To Spend More, First Make More of Jack Canfield’s “The Success Principles”. We continue with more principles about money and our relationship with it. I set my intention today to ponder ways to slow down my spending. From an article by Rachel Cruze on RamseySolutions.com about ways to stop spending she states: “Whether we like it or not, money makes the world go round. We spend money for so many reasons, and if we’re just a little honest with ourselves, a lot of those reasons can be chalked up to how we feel in the moment. And that’s where it gets a little dangerous—and can lead us to overspend.”
She shares 5 reasons why we can’t stop spending (the article explains each of these):
- Social Media
- Not tracking your spending
- Shopping to feel better
- Lack of self-awareness
- Paying with plastic
Here are her 5 ways to stop spending (here too she explains each of these in the article):
- Know what you’re spending your money on
- Make your budget work _for_ you
- Shop with a goal in mind
- Stop spending money at restaurants
- Resist sales
Of the five reasons why we can’t spending, #2 and #5 are tied for first place for me. From an earlier MotD post this week that talked about paying with cash, I’ve begun doing so…and it made me more conscious of how much I was spending. Which leads me to another habit I began on December 1: tracking my spending by using the “Spending Tracker 3.0” app. Tracking is also making more conscious of my spending…especially when I’m in my usual stores. I start to put something in my cart and then something inside stops me, so that I can verify that 1) this is something I came here for, 2) I have enough cash on me to buy it/them, and 3) I have budgeted for it.
Looking at her five ways to stop, I realize I need help with all five of them! With #3, especially, I notice that if I shop with a direct purpose, I tend to “go in, find it, buy it, and get out”, while ignoring everything else. If I’m just browsing (physically or virtually), I’m more easily swayed this way and that way to all kinds of “cool” stuff that wind up at the checkout…UNLESS somewhere deep in my soul I hear my inner voice break me out of the trance I’m in, thus stopping me from pressing “place order” or continuing my journey up to the checkout counter.
The big take-away for me today is to shop with intention. Secondly it would be that I need to create and maintain a budget.
FYI: I’m going to explore her list a little bit further with tomorrow’s MotD.
A good mindfulness practice would be to review both of Rachel’s lists to pick the top contenders in both…and then take one action for each one.
So how about you? Which one of Rachel’s reasons for “why you can’t stop spending” would apply to you the most? Which one of Rachel’s ways to stop spending would be the most challenging for you to implement? Which one would be the easiest? (do that one first!)
“When money realizes
— Idowu Koyenikan
that it is in good hands,
it wants to stay and
multiply in those hands.”
Blessings,
Maureen
The Mandala Lady
All Things Mandalas
An Invitation
I invite you to color along with me this year as part of what I’m calling “The Year of Self-Exploration and Expansion” with all of my “Mandalas of the ___” (day, week, month, year). If you’re interested in more of a self-exploration approach to coloring, check out my “Coloring Mandalas as Meditation”. You can download this mandala at MandalaoftheWeek.com.
Mandala of the Day 