Over the last two weeks, I’ve given you tips to train your brain to stop thinking like a spender and start thinking like a saver. Two weeks ago I advised you to identify a financial goal, and last week I told you to learn to be confident in those goals. This week I want you to focus on being honest with other people about your money-saving and spending goals.
About a year ago, I wrote a post challenging myself to be more honest with my friends and family about my finances. I found that once I told people the truth about not being able to (or not wanting to) buy certain things, a lot of them shared that they shouldn’t be spending money either. The truth is that we end up feeling pressured to buy things we don’t need when we aren’t completely honest about our finances with friends and family.
I tend to over share because I like talking about money with my friends and family. This doesn’t mean you have to be an over sharer too. It is up to you to decide how much personal financial information you want to share. Not everyone feels comfortable talking about money, and that is okay. The main thing is that you need to feel comfortable being honest about your ability to afford something. You don’t have to disclose your salary, car payment or mortgage to your friends, but do be honest if they ask you out to dinner and you can’t (or shouldn’t) go out. It is completely okay to decline an invitation to do something if it isn’t in your budget. It is even more okay to be honest and tell your friends and family that you have new financial goals and certain things won’t fit into your budget anymore. After all, friends and family are meant to support you in all endeavors, even new financial goals.
Time to recap the first three steps to thinking like a saver:
- Identify your goal and continue to remind yourself of it. Post it somewhere around the house and think of it often, especially when tempted to spend money.
- Learn to be confident in your money-saving and spending habits. If you aren’t confident in the way you are saving money, it will be impossible to go on to the next step.
- Be honest with your friends and family about your financial goals.
Next week I will guide you through the process of identifying your money weaknesses so you can learn to overcome them.
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