"It takes 20 years to make an overnight success."

 

Eddie Cantor

 

 

 

The Art & Science of Spending

"I spent a lot of money on booze, birds and fast cars. The rest I just squandered."
George Best

Spending is lots of people’s favourite hobby – Saturday afternoon shopping as a leisure pursuit is certainly not restricted to Bridget Jones. “Retail therapy” is a 21st century form of healing it seems. We spend often to feel differently – because we no longer want to be bored, miserable, trapped in our jobs … we have such busy lives we do not stop and ask what it is that would really, truly make us happy.

Our spending becomes unconscious – we buy quickly on the run and seldom slow down enough to enjoy where our money went. We have lost the art and science of spending! The science is pretty well covered in the prosperity tip, so this is about the art of spending – it is about spending in a way that feels luxurious and lovely even in very small amounts.

When you are next spending money, slow down and see how it feels. For the sake of the science of spending, we tend these days to have lots of direct debits and credit and debit cards. Many of us rarely spend cash above a few pounds and we even see those who pull out a pile of cash as being “flash”.

Coupled with the sheer weight of most people’s hang ups with money, we handle the stuff as if we cannot wait to get rid of it or at least anxious to distance ourselves from it physically.

In the same way that many people hardly even taste their food, we hand over our hard earned money without stopping to digest the experience. Money can actually become an amazing, positive energy when we choose to have it be so.

My current (it changes frequently) definition of prosperity is when the ways in which we create, save and spend our money falls into direct alignment with our values and sense of purpose in the world.

Slow down next time you are spending money – what was the trigger to the spending? Does that fit with who you are? Are you spending because you are bored? Miserable? Feeling directionless? Or feeling badly about yourself? Or do you genuinely need and want the item you are about to pay for?

Once you have the trigger in mind, just check in and find out whether buying this item is right for you. Imagine already having paid for it. How will it feel later today? Tomorrow? Will it add to life either as a necessity or as something that will give you great joy and peace?

Now, if you have decided that yes, this is for you then spend the money with love – hand over the money knowing that this is an amazing exchange – your financial energy in return for the item you are receiving. The most profound exchanges are the ones where both parties are getting more than they put in.

Turn this around – when you provide a service or go to work, does the person paying you get more out of you than they pay in? I like to think that my work goes in this manner. Someone pays say, £49 to attend a seminar. Hopefully they go away knowing that they can generate thousands of extra pounds AND they have usually had pretty major emotional rewards too. Is it worth far more than £49 – yes! Have I undersold? Nope. I go away with the profits from the day and a mass of additional energy to take me through the next week.

This week, I invite you to be super aware of the exchanges in your life – in all forms – business, work, spending and personal relationships. Look for the balances – are you giving more or receiving more? Where is the balance and what needs to change. (Tip – if you feel you are giving more than taking, try focussing on the profound nature of the exchange and give your portion with more love and less attachment and watch what happens to the balance!)

 

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