Have you ever said “I don’t have enough money”? Well, you are not alone, many Americans feel this exact same way. Unfortunately it is impacting how much we can do both financially and emotionally – it is stressing us out, draining us emotionally, increasing our worry and frustration and that does not even touch on the financial side of the equation.
As much as you would like to win the lottery and have all our problems go away, that is not a great plan.
If you would really like to feel like the weight has been lifted, the stress is gone and in general just feel good about life, then it is time to tackle the real issues in your personal finances.
Reality Check
It is time for a reality check. More money is not going to solve your money problems, unless you are living at the poverty level.
Winning the lottery is not going to instantly take away all the stress and worry. (In fact it has been shown you have a bigger chance to go bankrupt!) Until you can control what money you have today, any new money that comes in will just be managed the exact same way you are managing what you already have.
More money will not instantly teach you how to manage money. (Click to tweet)
Change is Hard
It is hard to face the fact that our lifestyles might be out of line with our income. It is hard to change for many reasons, but one of those is because as we get more money our reference point on what we “need” changes. (Think about what you lived on in college versus today!)
Additionally it has been shown that your mind will stick with a decision line that you have made even if it is wrong. You want to be right, so your mind won’t allow an alternate reality in. So between your new standard of living and your mind forcing you to believe that you have no other options you decide to stay in the same money management cycle.
Well, that is going to end today! You work hard for what you have, you are smart and you can handle change, so instead of playing the lottery let’s begin to work with what we already have. Then when you do get more, it will feel even better!
Learn to Live on What You Have
What is the first step in getting your money under control? Live on a budget, so that you spend less than you make. This might not sound like fun, and I won’t lie to you, it won’t be at first especially if you are spending more than you make. However, this is the key to getting control over your money and reducing the worry that you are feeling.
Learn to Like Yourself
One of the keys to being able to enjoy your money and appreciate what you have is to be content with who you are today. So while you are working on how to manage your money, make sure you like whom you are. When we are unhappy with ourselves we look for ways to cover that feeling.
We end up spending what we don’t have thinking a new couch, or car or vacation will make us happy. We spend so we can have what our neighbor does, because they seem happy. Nothing you can buy will make you like yourself more. (For more on this: Can Money Buy Happiness)
Once you begin to realize that you are enough and that you can have control over what you already have, then you are ready for more money and the added benefits of having extra cash and managing it well.
Need help budgeting? Check out our household budgeting ebook.
Photo courtesy of Andrew Magill
