Have you ever done something stupid with your money? Yes, you have, and I have too. I can't remember how many times.
Do you want to be smarter about how you spend your money? Here are some things to think about that will help you avoid making decisions that you will later regret.
Doesn't it make sense to come up with a plan for your money that reflects your personal goals and what you value? Is it the "money" itself that's important, or what you can do with it?
So, what do YOU care about when it comes to money?
It's much more important to make a financial plan that excites and motivates you to live the life you want than to buy random financial products here and there for reasons you can't remember.
Here are some more things you might want to ask yourself. What money ideas did your parents teach you? Were they identical? How did those beliefs make you feel?
What do you think about money the most? How do you measure your own wealth?
When it comes down to it, I think that the most important thing isn't so much the goals you have, but the reasons why they are so important to YOU.
"It's not hard to make decisions when you know what your values are," Roy Disney once said.
To make better decisions about your money, you need to know what your values, guiding principles, attitudes, and goals are. Then you can set priorities based on these core values and goals and take charge of your financial life.
In other words, you can make a plan for your money.
Then, and only then, can getting information, professional mentoring, and financial coaching really help you move forward, reach your goals, and be happy with yourself. And help you sleep at night!
If you have a bad relationship with money, no amount of money will bring you peace. Just look at how many rich people kill themselves or drink themselves to death every day. You would think that since they were wealthy, everything else in the world would be fine.
So, once you know how you feel about money, the rest of the steps start to make sense. Once we know ourselves, we can rank our goals and start working toward them.
Before you make a financial decision, think about whether it will help you reach your goals or push you further away. Is what you're thinking about in line with what you value and what you care about?
By giving your choices this much thought, you will be less likely to make mistakes.
