“Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants.” So says Epictetus. In this encore episode Sharon discusses money, money, money. Learn about the difference between operating from a sufficiency (“there is enough”) vs. a scarcity (“there isn’t enough”) mindset and explore the 5 guiding steps to ensure that money isn’t what holds you back from going after what you really want. Money ultimately only has the value that we give it; learn how to make sure that your values and your spending are aligned.

 

Ideas Shared

• There is a lot of chatter out there on money. Here are some quotes that really struck me as I was doing research into this topic…

“Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination.” ― Oscar Wilde

“If you want to know what God thinks of money, just look at the people he gave it to.” ― Dorothy Parker

“As much money and life as you could want! The two things most human beings would choose above all – the trouble is, humans do have a knack of choosing precisely those things that are worst for them.” ― J.K. Rowling

“This planet has – or rather had – a problem, which was this: most of the people living on it were unhappy for pretty much of the time. Many solutions were suggested for this problem, but most of these were largely concerned with the movement of small green pieces of paper, which was odd because on the whole it wasn’t the small green pieces of paper that were unhappy.” ― Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

“A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction.” ― Virginia Woolf, A Room of One’s Own

“While money can’t buy happiness, it certainly lets you choose your own form of misery.” ― Groucho Marx

“Don’t think money does everything or you are going to end up doing everything for money.” ― Voltaire

“A Penny Saved is a Penny Earned” ― Benjamin Franklin

“Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants.” ― Epictetus

• Finally, below are the steps I shared that have worked for me and many of my clients to prepare financially for a big personal and/or professional transformation.

5 Steps to Owning Your Money Mindset (and preparing yourself for change)

Step 1: Get clear on your budget

Step 2: Get clear on your values

Step 3: Notice without judgement how your values align or not with your money habits

Step 4: Establish a new budget (or range) that fully aligns with your values

Step 5: Make small changes every day

Resources and Links

• In today’s episode, I also reference the “Marie Kondo effect.” For those who haven’t joined her “tidying” craze, you can learn more here.
• To get more into the distinctions of scarcity vs. sufficiency discussed in the episode, I recommend you check out Lynne Twist’s book The Soul of Money. Here’s a great quote from early on in this little volume: 

“Money itself isn’t the problem. Money itself isn’t bad or good. Money itself doesn’t have power or not have power. It is our interpretation of money, our interaction with it, where the real mischief is and where we find the real opportunity for self discovery and personal transformation.”

• Mint (for everyone) and The Wave (for small business owners) are great free budgeting resources to check out. (And there are many more like YNAB!)