5 Ways to Think Differently About Money and Turn Money Blues Into Happy Money

It's not always about making more money. Try thinking about what money you have differently to feel Happier!

Women in business - if you're overwhelmed about finances, stuck on the treadmill of "never enough" and wonder how to ever get ahead - hang in there. Every Financially Savvy woman has to start somewhere. I sure did. In my pre-savvy days I didn't have a clue about money, didn't think about it really, except when bills were due and that didn't mean they got paid. Part of that was ignorance, part denial, part resistance.  Sound familiar? 

Here are 5 Steps to Help you THINK differently about Your Money - a Key to Acting Differently.

Step 1) The first step of change is being willing to do something different. It really does take 21 days to settle a new habit into your brain. Pick 1 thing from the following list and commit to doing it!!

Step 2) Focus on Experiences rather than stuff*:  I love this one. My husband and I live a simple life and one thing we value over a big house or fancy cars are experiences. Dave’s a hanggliding pilot, we like to travel and I like to push myself exercise wise – occasionally. This weekend I’m doing a 30 mile bike ride in Napa with girlfriends. Yes, there will be food and wine.

Step 3) Value the Money You Already Have: Research shows that after $75,000 a year more money doesn’t make people ANY happier – zip. Instead of focusing on making MORE focus on how can you get the most out of what you have. Think of your money as a friend rather than an enemy.  Look at your expenses – no, really print them out and look. Notice where you can cut and make conscious spending decisions. 

Step 4)  Pay Now, Consume Later:  We are a want it and want it NOW society. And, we have the debt to prove it. Yes, it feels different to SAVE and plan our purchases but the brain is trainable. Take one small purchase this next week and put it off for a couple weeks. Notice how you feel when you DO buy it.

Step 5) Time Affluence: Buy Time*: We are so BUSY. “…30% of emails are viewed as unnecessary.” (Happy Money) Try having a TECHNOLOGY FREE afternoon and unplug from email, texting, Facebook. (really – they’ll survive & you will too!!).

(* Information from Happy Money – Elizabeth Dunn & Michael Norton)

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Certified Money & Business Coach, Professional Speaker & author, Lynn Telford-Sahl, writes the weekly PowerUP Your Money blog for women in small business and direct sales. If you’re ready to PowerUP your Money, your Business & your JOY get your FREE Strategy Session with Lynn at www.joywithmoney.com

You Don't Have to Be Rich - 4 Steps to Enjoy The Money You Have More

Remember when money was fun? When you were a little kid and it felt exciting to get your first pennies or quarters? With a few dollars in your pocket, you might have even felt rich. Perhaps you had a sense of freedom. Isn't that what we want as adults from our money - a sense of freedom and to be able to enjoy the money we have rather than feel anxious or worried?

Fill in this blank - Rich people are ________. If you're not rich you might say something like - rich people are greedy, or dishonest, or different. When I give talks about money most people respond with a negative statement. That's too bad, because of course those that have money could also be described as generous or giving. But our cultural beliefs about money run deep and quite negative. That's limiting in terms of becoming rich yourself.  

It's true that the rich are getting RICHER. According to The Huffington Post reported Oxfam's "Working For The Few" report that the world's 85 richest people own the same amount as the bottom half of the entire global population." 

But, solving the financial equality of the world is too big a subject for this blog.

Instead, let's talk about the 4 things you can do to enjoy the money you have more. 

A study reported in the book Happy Money by Elizabeth Dunn and Michael Norton asks:  "Would your life satisfaction double if you made $55,000 a year vs. $25,000 a year?" Most people say yes. But, research shows that those making twice as much money - 55K vs. 25K - were only 9% more satisfied than those making $25,000.

Happy Money's research also shows that once you're making about $75,000 a year, more money has NO IMPACT on day to day feelings of happiness. 

Since making more money to be happier is really more of an illusion than reality, what can you do to ENJOY and VALUE the money you do have?

4 Steps to Enjoying the Money You Have:

As a Money Coach who works with women in small business and direct sales I coach women to look at how they value the money they have and in the process can enjoy what they have, right now, more.

1) Buy more experiences than stuff. When we buy experiences, like the 3 week vacation my husband Dave and I just took, they are more lasting and meaningful than material things. Buying experiences contributes to happiness much more than stuff.

2) Make things special by having treats. For example, people that ate chocolate once a week anticipated and savored the chocolate vs. those that ate it every day.

3) Give away small amounts of money - like putting a $1.00 in the Food Box at the grocery counter.  It feels good to give and it's a good Law Of Attraction action.

4) Voluntarily Simplify:  If one has to live in a small house because they lost their big house in the Great Recession, that's one thing. But, my husband and I choose to live in a small home, drive moderately priced cars and take 4-6 weeks of vacation a year. Living within your means can feel very empowering.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR NEWSLETTER OR ON YOUR WEB SITE?

You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it:

Certified Money & Business Coach, Professional Speaker & author, Lynn Telford-Sahl, writes the weekly PowerUP Your Money blog for women in sales and small business. If you’re ready to PowerUP your Money, your Business & your JOY get your FREE Strategy Session with Lynn at www.joywithmoney.com