Principle #1: Spending is emotional part 2

Get in Control—You Can Do It! 

Understanding that spending is emotional is the first step toward financial control and the key to true contentment and happiness. The remaining nine Money Mastery principles are based on understanding this first most important idea. Having come this far with us already, you’re obviously making an effort to better understand your own emotional approach to money. And that means you’re beginning to take control. Taking control is tremendously rewarding and we encourage you to continue! To see just how rewarding it can be, let’s go back to Doug and Sally Smith. As they worked with their coach, the Smiths began to understand how their emotions were affecting their spending. They realized that they had a problem telling their children no. They understood that they were spending money to make themselves feel better in the short term and jeopardizing their long-term financial security. 

They began making changes by denying their children when it was necessary. This was not easy to do in the beginning. The children were not used to their parents’ new behavior and resisted it. But in a short time, they began to accept their parents’ new way of doing things. When the Smith’s daughter had the opportunity to go to Europe for a high school academic event, instead of stressing out about how they would send her, Doug and Sally encouraged her to get a job and earn the money to go herself. Once she realized her parents were not going to hand her the money, she got a job and earned her own way. Later, she commented to her parents that she had actually enjoyed the satisfaction of making her own money for the trip and had appreciated her experience in Europe much more than if Doug and Sally had just given her the money. Today the Smiths have stopped overspending and have actually begun saving an extra $300 each month. They have begun to look at every expenditure as an emotional decision, determining whether the object of their spending is something that fits their financial priorities or not. We encourage you to think deeply about the first Money Mastery principle by looking at how you emotionally spend your money. 

Take the challenge to complete the following short assignment before going on to Chapter 2. It will help you go further in your commitment to make important changes to your life. Go ahead! Take the challenge! You’re worth it!