Episode 82: Mindset Makes Your Money Matter

Written By Tiffany Parke
 
 

What You’ll Learn

  • Mindset (01:05)

  • The "B" Word (01:27)

  • Starting with Abundance (02:07)

  • Owning Your Money Choices (03:13)

  • Making Room for Goals (05:04)

  • Check-In Regularly (06:51)

  • Pivot Often (07:55)

  • Recap (08:12)

  • Invitation (08:48)

The truth with our money is that we're often just budgeting to avoid loss rather than work toward or enjoy a gain. This small, but simple shift can make ALL the difference in how our budgets play out and how we behave with them.

Budgets aren't just a tool to cut back, but a tool for intentional spending based on what is most important to you...aka your priorities and your goals.  

Mindset (01:05)

We need to start with the right mindset...that your budget is here to work FOR you...not take-away FROM you. One of the best ways to do this is to get clarity on what your budget is allowing you to do and to make plans for what you want it to do.

If we're honest, our money is doing A LOT for us and with the right direction it can do even more.

The “B” Word (01:27)

If the word budget starts to well up anxiety and stress in the pit of your stomach…just call her Snickers…I know you're laughing…but our mind is so pliable and we get to mold our thoughts and maybe the best place to start is by removing the stigma and starting fresh with just the name…of course, followed by building a relationship with Snickers (and we're not talking about the candy bar).

This might sound a bit woo, or just downright crazy, silly, or unworthy of your time and attention if you're a mindset skeptic…BUT stay with us, give it a chance, because you aren't alone…Brittany is a recovering skeptic…and proof that it can make ALL the difference.

Starting With Abundance (02:07)

When it comes to the actual budget (aka Snickers)…Start from scratch by listing your income at the top.

We do this because when we start with our income it's freeing to work from the top down allocating from a place of abundance and choice.

When we work from our bills and expenses…we aren't making a choice about how our money is being spent, we're coming at if from a place of scarcity, that it's happening TO us. When we only view them as a necessity and not a want or a choice it's easy to view those costs with resentment and bitterness. In that scenario, we're trapped by the money going out. It's just where we have to make sacrifice and cut back. The focus is on loss, and scarcity…and speaking from experience…this is a dark place to live. So…Bottom line, it just doesn’t serve you.

Owning Your Money Choices (03:13)

Next, consider what priorities and goals you WANT shaping your budget…AND how you need to Shape your mindset around it. 

Chances are your necessities really are things you WANT!

Safe place to raise your family (your home/mortgage)

Nourishment

Comfort (a/c, lighting, laundry, running water, cooking)

Freedom (a vehicle)

Truth is these are all a choice. You can stop paying on them and quit choosing them anytime you want.

But if you are choosing them…quit acting like you’re not and it’s happening to you

Making Room for Goals (05:04)

Goals are often seen as an after thought, but including them in your budget can affect on your mindset…thus affecting your budget! One supports the other.

If a family vacation is important to you…and saving money requires you to cut back in another area, those cuts become easier because you know that you ARE choosing it and you know WHY

This will protect the money in your budget and get you where you want to go…see one supports the other.

Our mindset work isn’t easy with our necessities, but it is simple…

But our mindset work around our goals is going to require a bit more

  • Get family buy-in and get them excited about the choice

  • Break down the steps so you won’t be tempted to make it feel impossible when the first hiccup happens.

  • Visualize…A LOT…Who'll you be with, how you'll feel, imagine where you'll be so you don’t start to veer off.

  • Get so connected that it's not just an idea, but a plan or a way of life

Once you have a plan for what you want your money to do for you, it reflects your priorities and goals…AND you are coming at it from a mindset of abundance…

Check-In Regularly (06:51)

Check-in REGULARLY and make sure your money is showing up where you want it to.

When you look at the budget you created…is it representing your priorities?

If you say travel or being charitable are your family's priorities…is your budget saying that too?

If you spent $150 extra on eating out this month…your budget is saying convenience is your priority.

If you spent $42 on Starbucks this month…your budget is saying that treats are most important to you.

If you saved $50 on the grocery budget and put it in an account for traveling…your budget is now saying travel is most important to you.

If there's space in your budget for charitable giving and it's not being eaten up by overspending…your budget is saying charity is most important to you.

Pivot Often (07:55)

Pivot OFTEN as needed.

It's an every day, every week, every month, every year process of ensuring our money is a financial representation of our priorities in our lives. We have to keep coming back to that because everything is going to be working against that in little and big ways?

Recap (08:12) 

The truth with our money is that we're often just budgeting to avoid loss rather than work toward or enjoy a gain.

  • We need to start with the right mindset. Our money is here to work FOR us, not take away.

  • Our mind is pliable and we can change the stigma surrounding our budgets.

  • We can work from a place of abundance and choice right from where we are.

  • When we work from a place of scarcity we’re trapped by the money going out.

  • You have a choice in where your money is going and you’re making that choice…so own it.

  • Goals deserve space and will serve as a driving force in supporting our budget.

  • Check-in REGULARLY and make sure your money is showing up where you want it to and representing your priorities and goals.

  • Pivot whenever it isn’t.

Invitation (08:48) 

If you're the skeptic and you're still with us, OR if you've been IN from the start…but you still aren't sure exactly where to begin doing this work, we have something that will help you.  We know that hearing this information is just the first step, and we have something that can help you take the next step, and it's a resource we created called the Deliberate Start.

There are many different sections that will serve you, but specifically for starting from where you are and getting you to where you want to be with your finances, there are two sections we want to highlight…which are the financial reflection and the financial beginnings.

These two sections will help you build a relationship with your finances and get clarity and focus on how to move forward. 

Because we need to take ownership of our money and how it's being spent and we all need a place to start.

Look for the link to the Deliberate Start here.

And remember…

YOU are doing beautiful work momma.

 
 
Tiffany Parke
Previous

Episode 83: Survival-How to Lean-In
Next

Episode 81: 11 Ways to Get Your Budget Back on Track