Add Money to Your Life’s Toolbox

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Forbes magazine published an article on the Top Five Money Mistakes Women Make. The first mistake given is being emotional about money. I believe that this trait ties back to the fact that money provides for our most basic needs of foods and shelter. After all, without this, we cannot even live for long.

It is interesting that physical money is actually paper, and paper has little value. Once we add those familiar “dollar green” graphics, that paper takes on a life of its own triggering emotions ranging from security to fear or greed.

One step to overcome the mistake of being emotional about money is to recognize and own the emotions you do have around money. Then see if you can figure out whether or not those emotions are valid. You may find they aren’t, but instead are based on ancestral money issues. If they are valid, however, they may be your intuition calling for you to take the actions you need to take that will allow those emotions to calm. These steps can be anything from getting paid market value for your work to committing to improving your financial education.

A second step to reduce the emotions tied to money is to think of money as a tool to get the things you want in life that money can buy. I call these things your money reasons. Like other tools that are used to bring about the end result we desire, money can be managed so that the result is, in fact, achieved.

The third step to reduce emotion around money is to create a plan, and then live that plan in your daily earning and spending habits. That overwhelming desire, or emotion which creeps in and grabs you when you pass the designer purse sale, when you really don’t need, or even truly want, another purse will vanish when you live from your plan and purpose.

These three steps can help replace fear and anxiety with harmony and security. Sometimes we can use our emotions as a guide to get the life we want. Turn your emotions around money into an asset instead of a liability on your personal balance sheet.