Money Pearls: 12 Personal Finance Best Practices
1. Bless your bills; love your responsibilities. Your mortgage, your car payment, your kid’s school tuition… All the things you “have to pay for” are also evidence of your level of participation in the world, the by-products of past success, and your present/future ability to provide for yourself and those you love.
2. Stop blaming materialism for soullessness. If your Things don’t have meaning it may be your own lack of imagination.
3. Be conscious about your finances. Even if the truth is ugly and it’s absolutely painful — know your bank account balances; know where, when, how, and why you spend money. You cannot change what you don’t acknowledge.
4. Pick a Pretend Zero. What do need to feel financially safe enough to at least breathe without hyperventilating? Is it three months worth of living expenses in a savings account? Is it six months worth of salary? Is it a goal number in your 401K? Is it to always have $2000 in your checking account? Behave as if that number IS Rock Bottom.
5. Upgrade your income without upgrading your lifestyle. Perhaps the wisest practice of all…Create more wealth than you need to; spend less than you want to.
6. Do not think and never say “I cannot afford it.” Instead, ask “How can I afford it?” or “What can I do to afford it?”
7. Poverty of the mind is a decision. “This card is approved” and “This card is declined” have the exact same number of letters. These extremely opposing statements take up the same amount of space. It takes the same amount of time and energy just to visualize either one… Which message will you choose to work with?
8. Learn how to discern when your urge to consume is a sedative for your desire to create. You’re either consuming or contributing. Both are fine — you should occupy both roles. Just be a Creator/Contributor more often.
9. Don’t try to force yourself to create when you’re stressed about finances. Money may not be able to buy happiness or a sense of self worth but it does buy me the freedom to create — and creating is one of my sources of self-esteem and fulfillment (not to mention, more income).
10. Get rid of unrealistic (short-term) time frames. Wherever you can, throw them away. Financial expectations that revolve around narrowly-defined time frames, deadlines, and milestones make the perfect armatures for disappointment and sabotaging self-criticism.
11. Give. Be generous. You can’t receive money with a closed fist. (I think this is an Oprahism.)
12. Get real. Solve “real world” third-dimensional problems with practical third-dimensional solutions. If your car breaks down, you don’t stand on the side
of the road and “meditate” about it — you hire a mechanic to fix it.
of the road and “meditate” about it — you hire a mechanic to fix it.
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