Dealing with a love-hate relationship with money.
It’s interesting how many people have a love / hate relationship with money. A number of other people see ‘money’ as a dirty word. Sadly, some of us were raised where “money is the root of all evil” and “money cannot make you happy”. I’ve coached (business and life) many a client around money; everything from charging their worth and improving their mindset, to budgeting and pricing.
Understand What Money Really Means
I agree that money itself won’t make you happy. However, what money does is give you opportunities, freedom and choices. If your child is ill and needs treatment, those with money can often afford better services. If you have money, you can choose not to work long days and enjoy life. You can choose to have holidays or hop on a plane to see your children or new grandbaby. Money in a business means you can afford to have a new website built, or put on another team member, or pay for some Google Ads. It also can mean you don’t have to stress when COVID hits and things get quiet for a while in your business, or take on a poorly suited client because you’re desperate for a dollar and will do anything for more work. It means you don’t have to work weekends or do huge overtime, versus spending time with friends and family or relaxing. It means you can afford to look after yourself, rest, eat well and generally be in good mental and physical health. Money doesn’t buy these things directly all the time, but it gives us choices. We should never be a slave to money, but rather it should be always working for us. All in my own opinion.
Change Your Mindset
For some, change is easier than others. Maybe just reading this blog will give you enough to change. Maybe you need something more, such as Tapping (EFT) or Hypnosis if your mindset is a little set. You may even need a Money Mindset Coach if it’s really hard to dissuade and overcome the negative relationship you might have with money. Before you move onto some of my practical tips below, you do need to recognise your relationship with money and why. Was it how you were brought up, or perhaps a highly negative experience? If you made a seriously bad mistake before, forgive yourself. Sure, learn from that experience, but don’t hold yourself back because of it either. I feel the first step is acknowledging there is a block for you and then working out what that is. As I said, you may be able to work through this yourself, or may need some help. Money isn’t the highlight of every life, but it is an important aspect of life and especially of business.
Change Your Habits
For some of us, we may have to develop better or new habits. Sometimes people have no problem making money, but holding onto it is the biggest challenge. Here are some simple tips to help with that:
- If saving just doesn’t happen, then set up automatic transfer to happen the day after each pay cycle. If excess cash isn’t sitting in your account, you’re less likely to spend it. If that means having your savings account with a separate bank (so it’s a little harder to access) then do that. If it means not loading that other bank onto your phone for easy access, then do that.
- If spending is a real problem for you, then do what I trialled a few years back, which worked really well. Put a label on your credit card DO I REALLY NEED THIS? Even people at the till, would look and ask “do you really need this?” I don’t need that sticker now, but every time I go to spend money, I ask myself exactly that question. Sometimes the answer is no, and I put the item down or back and walk out of the shop.
- Avoid spending situations (If it’s a real problem) like shopping with friends. That ‘peer pressure’ can force you to buy a dress that you really don’t like, or doesn’t suit you and you end up never wearing it. If online shopping is your weakness, perhaps delete those apps and go cold turkey. This peer pressure now occurs via social media – your FB friend just got a new xxxx, so do you feel you have to do the same?
- Definitely avoid shopping after a few alcoholic drinks – for obvious reasons.
- If use of a credit card is bad, consider freezing it. You put it in some water and freeze. You can’t defrost via a microwave, but slowly, so you can think twice. Or chop it up, or leave it at home and only take cash. When the cash runs out – so does the shopping or impulse buying.
- Spend only with cash – harder now as some places really don’t like cash, but it’s still legal tender. It’s a fact that it’s harder to spend cash than buy on a card because it’s so tactile; you’re actually handing over your hard-earned cash. It’s real!
Set Financials & Business / Life Goals
If you are saving (or not spending for a purpose) then you have a purpose. When we have goals and reasons to save, we are aiming for something which gives us greater strength to not be wasteful. In business, consider also budgets (which you review each month) to help in this process.
Your goals might be almost anything; saving for your child’s wedding, a holiday, a new car, buying a new home, or perhaps buying some shares. What you do want to ensure is that you’re passionate about this goal. If the goal holds little interest to you (perhaps buying shares is as boring to you as bat sh*t, then maybe that’s not a good goal) as you need to have a degree of passion and excitement; otherwise, why would you stop shopping or bother working that bit harder?
For Business Owners – Get Your Pricing Right
I’ve been a business coach for a long time now, and two things which are not uncommon is pricing right and increasing prices often enough. Firstly, you need to value yourself, otherwise, why will anyone else? If you under price you set the bar low. Next, review and increase your pricing at least twice a year – and for some industries, more often. This means you can have smaller/reasonable increases, rather than a huge 30-60% hike which has become essential because you didn’t increase rates for 6 years! Everything is going up, and that is just life. Don’t try to absorb cost increases, otherwise, very soon you are making no profit and will soon be out of business. Yes, do see what your competitors are doing, but also know your costs and margins. Plus, like with asking for a pay rise, when it comes to increasing your rates, there is absolutely a right and wrong way to do it – and a right and wrong time to do it. That’s the sort of thing I go through with clients when I’m business coaching.
Reinforce Your Mindset
As with anything in life, sometimes we need a refresher and reminder. I love this acronym (it’s not mine, but I don’t know whose):
M – more
O – opportunities
N – now
E – exist for
Y – you!
Money is not a dirty word, nor is it something which should control your life. If you’re a business owner, you should be comfortable talking about your prices and knowing you’re worth it. Bit hint here, if it’s in person (or Zoom) look the person in the eye when you do talk moolah. If you need help with pricing, becoming financially savvy, understanding your relationship with money better or simply putting some great business practices in place, reach out to me directly here. – My Passion is Your Potential.
Read How to Lift Your Spirits.
