Discover Your Real Priorities - It's Where You Spend Your Money

Reposted from www.thepaulagcompany.com

If you really want to know what is important to you take a peek at where you spend your money. Here’s the thing, by itself money has no use and no power. It is only a tool to create the life you want to live. How you spend it is a reflection of who you are and your relationship with money is a mirror of your relationship to yourself.

When you look into this mirror, do you like what you see?

Or, is it a fractured image of who you truly want to be?

During this wayward economy I see more and more people coming up with the socially acceptable excuse of “I don’t have the money” or “I can’t afford it” to avoid looking deeply and making changes that would bring them the personal and professional lives they truly desire. To make the changes that would bring long-term and lasting results to their businesses, their lives, and their families. It sounds cliché to say that life is not a dress rehearsal, but it is true. There is no “someday” and if you’re waiting for it, now is the time to stop.

This way of thinking is not about spending with reckless abandon. It is not about being irresponsible, but rather being fully conscious about the fact that money is a conduit for commitment and you are in charge.

Are you ready to be in the driver’s seat of your experience and stop the cycle of having money hold you hostage? If so… let’s get started.

Here’s an exercise that will catapult you forward. I first did a similar exercise myself decades ago when I read the book Your Money or Your Life that was very enlightening to me, especially as a twenty something at the time. It has fueled my choices ever since.

Take a look at every dollar you have spent over the last month. If you don’t have great records (meaning you know you had money but you don’t know where it went), don’t fret you can start this exercise today by writing down every dollar you spend over the next 30 days. (Hint: even if you have great records looking backwards, I still recommend writing down your spending for the next 30 days. This exercise is one easy and proven way to raise your consciousness around money fast.)

Now, take a look at your spending. I want you to do this with a loving, nonjudgmental heart. There is no right, wrong, or judgment with this sort of assessment; because ultimately there is no inherently right or wrong way to spend your money.

Ask yourself:

How do I feel about what I see before me?

Does my spending reflect my true and deep values? (If you’ve never done a values exercise, it is an invaluable step in creating the life and work you want.)

Has every dollar I spent either: Satisfied a basic need? Benefited another? Brought me great joy?

Does how I spend my money reflect an equitable balance between living fully today and investing in my future?

What did you discover about your priorities? Are you fully investing in the person you want to be and the life you want to create or are you letting your precious energy slip away?

Regardless of how much money you have, today is the day to stop being held hostage by it and choose to be the conscious steward of it. There is no better investment out there than the one you make in your own growth and well-being.