The ideal Place

Before learning about money and how to manage it, I had an ostrich approach. I’d bury my head in the sand, but constantly worry if there was enough or whether I’d made some mistake in my mental accounting, checking and rechecking my accounts. Once I started learning about money and personal finance, I became obsessed. I would say this was a move in the right direction, but nevertheless, an obsession. I was checking and rechecking my accounts, but this time because I was excited. Now, I am in a place between the two, and I feel it’s the ideal place to be with money. This place is a happy middle ground – it’s confident, aware, and mindful.

This middle ground looks like this: Once a week, I log into our bank accounts and credit card accounts and input the purchases we made into our spending log.  Our spending log tells me how much we have allocated for each category. I make sure we’re doing well in each category and make any lifestyle adjustments we might need – if we’re on track to spend too much in our food category, I’ll be more mindful of our food purchases. I confirm that we are following the plan we’ve set forth. It’s simple. It has taken the focus off worrying about money.

How do you get to this place with money?

The peace comes from the planning. The plan, so long as it’s realistic, is the groundwork for how to use your money. The plan is the check and balance against the regular spending. So long as we’re keeping mindful of our spending and that it is in alignment with our plan, then we know we’re on track. There is no worrying if we’re going to be able to cover a big expense, a missed bill, a debt we can’t pay – our plan contemplates those and tells us exactly what to do. Our task is to set out a clear plan and then follow it.

The biggest benefit in getting to this place is the mental and emotional freedom from worrying about money. When we remove that worry, or even just mitigate it, we open room for the world to look a little brighter, for more joy, for more excitement.

Where would you say you are on this spectrum?