Before you get too far into the craziness of the Spending Season, take a few minutes to reflect back on the past year.
The next 6 weeks will be filled with the AdMan’s best efforts to get you to part with your hard-earned money. His one and only goal is to make you spend. Cash or credit – either one will do so long as you’re opening your wallet as often and as fast as you possibly can.
Here’s a little tip from me to you. Don’t spend money on things that don’t matter to you. Seriously. It’s okay to say “No” and to keep your money in your wallet.
And this is why now is such a good time to assess if you’re moving closer towards your dream life and your heart’s desires. Only you know what your dream life looks like. And your best shot of getting it is to be laser-focused on the choices you make with your time, energy, and money.
My blog is about personal finance so I’ll focus on the money-stuff. There’s are a lot of other inputs and factors that go into our money choices. I realize this. The truth is that I can only speak about my personal experiences and my own observations of the world. I don’t claim to be an expert in psychology. What I do know is that the first step to getting what you want is knowing what it is that you really want. Without that information, you’re kind of flailing in the wind.
If not now, when?
This question should be the one you ask yourself every time you think about going after what you really want. Tomorrow is promised to no one. There are no guarantees about the future. An amazing opportunity might come around again…or it might not. You have to be prepared to pursue your dreams every single day. And that starts by knowing exactly what they are.
The next step is to start saving & investing for your dream life. Maybe you want to run a cafe in Paris one day. If that’s what you want, then that’s what you’ll start working towards. First things first, you open a dedicated bank account for that dream. And you set up an automatic transfer to start filling that bank account. It might take you a few years to save up a sizeable sum, but so what?
The time will pass anyway.
Read that again. The time will pass anyway.
So start your automatic transfer today, and stick with it. While you’re working and saving and investing, you’re also going to start researching the steps you’ll need to take to make your dream come true. You’ll go online and search “How to own a business in Paris”. Maybe you’ll plan a trip to Paris and see it with your own eyes for a week or two. You’ll take French lessons or figure out if there’s an ex-pat community where they speak your language already.
And while you’re fleshing out your dreams, your money will quietly and consistently accumulating. It will be working for you 24/7. Keep adding to the pot. Don’t make withdrawals – just leave it alone. When the time comes for you to bring your dream to life, the money will be waiting for you.
Make smart choices in the interim.
I’m not telling you to save every nickel. What I am telling you is to stop spending money on things that don’t matter to you. Is eating out for lunch every day more important that your dreams? Would you rather buy your 27th sweater or take a course that gets you closer to the life you really want? Is it better to impress family, friends, and strangers today instead of being proud of and satisfied with the accomplishments of Future You?
You’re the only one who can answer these questions for yourself. After all, you’re the one who is going to live with the consequences of your choices.
As I said earlier, we’re heading into the full court press of Spending Season. You will be subject to advertisements on every single platform and they will all be exhorting you to your spend money. The unspoken promise is that spending all of your money is the secret sauce to having a “perfect life”. Believe me when I tell you, there’s no such thing as a “perfect life”. And even if such a thing existed, I highly doubt that it could be purchased at the mall. Oodles of gifts ensconced in reams of wrapping paper beneath a beautifully-decorated tree make for a lovely advertisement. The harsh trust is that they don’t give you what you really want, which is more than likely connection and community with the people whom you love best. Strong relationships built on trust, love, respect, and admiration aren’t bought with cash or credit.
Keep that in mind as the Spending Season moves into full swing. Don’t let the endless encouragement to spend detract from pursuing your dream life.
Back to my original point… It’s time to figure out whether you’re any closer to the dream life that you really and truly want for yourself. If the answer is not to your liking, then figure out what you need to change to get what you really want. Then go make it happen.