If you listen to it…just be cool. This stuff is super personal. My situation is far from exemplary and I’m talking about it because I wish people talked about it more. (Don’t hate)

I’ve had a long journey with money. And I’m still on it!

For a bit of context, here’s what I aspire to being:

I feel like I’m solid or moving towards each of these except the last one.

The next journey for me is to get in control of my finances.

In this area, I’ve gone from drowning to treading water.

Now, I want to be able to swim.

I have a masters degree in accounting. I get all of the mechanics.

It’s the behaviours that I haven’t got right.

Keeping in the metaphor: I know a lot about swimming technique but I’ve never gotten into the habit of training.

I’m really proud of the fact that I’m really resourceful. I’m a very practical and capable person. This is one massive area of deficit. It’s the one area that makes me feel like I’m faking the rest of it.

Here’s how I think about it (and it’s helping):

I am a grown up in so many ways. But the part of me that spends money is still about 10 years old.

I’ve done a lot by limiting her ability to actually buy things (I don’t hang around shopping centres, I don’t keep card information in websites, I daily force myself to look at the spending plan to keep my executive function engaged on this) but I think it’s time that I actually just hang out with that bit of me and help her grow up a bit.

I’ve read many books on this topic but I don’t think I was fully ready. I have to do things in the Rosie way, though, so this leg of the journey starts with another book. Unf*ck your finances has, in the first few chapters, convinced me to do a 30 day spending detox. I started yesterday.

I’ll let you know how it goes.