The first time I ever did a value exercise I was 38 years old. It was an interesting experience because I had no idea what I valued in life or in my financial life. My top value at the time was family. What was scary was I was not living up to my core value in any way, shape, or form.
My family life in fact was a shamble, I was unhappily married and was not spending quality time with my kids, I was always in a bad mood and worked long hours and every Sunday. How could family be my core value when this is how I was showing up for my family every day? Understanding how important that value was to me made me make some big life decisions. I chose to get divorced. We now have 2 happy homes and when I have my kids, I spend quality time with them, and we are all so much happier now.
My values have changed over the years and now a single woman with 3 kids my core value is security, not just security but financial security. Having enough money for everything we need makes me feel safe and I show up each day to deliver on that value. My actions speak for themselves.
Have you ever taken the time to look at what you value? What you and your partner value as a family? Do you even share the same values? I realized my husband and I did not value the same things. We did not value money the same way either.
When you understand your money values you can make decisions around money you will be happy with. If you can understand your money values, which are different for everyone (as we are all individuals), you are then able to align your spending to them. This makes your spending as it happens much more guilt and stress free, as your spending habits and patterns are now in line with your purpose and beliefs.
Despite what it sounds like, having strong financial values doesn’t necessarily mean being wealthy or even having a lot of financial knowledge - a person with very little money can still be driven by financial values.
We don’t normally think about how money and values are linked together. But your attitudes about money are what defines everything that matters to your personal financial situation: how much money you need, how hard you’re willing to work for it, how you’ll feel when you finally get it and more.
Money is not an end unto itself. It’s merely a tool to help us achieve our goals and live our best lives.
Think about this - how could you possibly put together a financial plan unless you know what it is you really care about?
Knowing your values and what you want to spend on is one of the best things you can do to improve your financial situation. Spend and save for what really matters and lose the temptation to spend on everything else. This focus will help you achieve your goals
At Money Savvy we teach you how to find out what your financial values are and then show you how to make and manage your money to live up to those values and achieve your goals.
Kathryn Main
