3 ways to improve your relationship with money

When you’re in a relationship Valentine’s Day usually means date night – hopefully not the only one for the year!  A chance to spend time with the special person in your life, device-free, allowing the conversation to flow around what has been happening in your life and what your futures look like.  Reflection, resetting and planning all in a beautiful, relaxed setting.  These date nights allow you to nurture your relationship and take a breather from the day-to-day to really connect with your special person.

When was the last time you had a date night with your money? 

You may not want to have a romantic night out with your spreadsheets, yet it’s important to pay attention to your relationship with money. It’s not all about the daily grind of record-keeping!

Here are three ways to improve your relationship with money.

CELEBRATING

Everyone loves a celebration!

It’s always great to have a celebration for your wins, and the wins of your special person. Sometimes even if there is no specific reason to celebrate! Throwing a party for the fun of it gives everyone a lift.  How many times have you dragged yourself to a party and come away with a new sense of invigoration and enthusiasm? 

Money is no different.  Why restrict your record-keeping to just compliance work? Take it out and find the reason to celebrate your results.   Running a business can be hard at times and we can forget to recognise how far we’ve come.

Celebrate that your sales were higher than last month or this month last year. 

Celebrate that your expenses are a lower percentage of sales than last month. 

Celebrate that you have cash in the bank accounts to cover your short-term debts – such as GST, tax instalments, or monthly software provider fees.

One of the best causes of celebration is when you’re able to pay yourself out of your business profits.  And even better when you can pay yourself a regular amount each week or month without impacting your business cash reserves. 

Then, you get to celebrate big when you can pay yourself a bonus because your profits have grown.  So, Cheers to you Money!

 COMMUNICATING

The most important thing in any relationship is communication.  Many times, disagreements occur because there has been a misunderstanding.  Date nights are about communicating and listening to dreams, feelings, and reflecting on what has gone before.  Communicating about the challenges or hiccups in the relationship helps to provide clarity to move forward.  And so it is with money.

Tell your money what you want to use it for.  Do you want to drive a Maserati or travel to the Maldives?  Or maybe you want to launch a new program or a new webinar?  Offset your mortgage or payout your personal loan or credit card?

Tell your money when you want these things.  Well yes, of course, tomorrow for the car and travel, but let’s be honest that is unlikely.  So, make a realistic plan for the dates you want these things.  

Tell your money what you expect from it, how you want it to work and when you want it to be ready.  Communicate by talking about it! 

You could have fun communicating by doing a dream board with photos of what you want.  Write it down with coloured pens and fancy sticky notes.  Or create a spreadsheet. Add in the details including the dates and the amounts if you know them.

Whatever form you choose you’ve just done a budget!  It’s not a formal budget but it’s still a budget and that is a great way to communicate with your money.

 COMMITTING

Are you committed to your relationship with money?  Do you want to make your relationship successful, stable, and reliable?  Are you prepared to do your share and not just leave it all to money to do the work?  Are you prepared to keep your money safe?

For me, commitment to my money relationship means keeping an eye on it, both business and personal finances.  I track my money on a daily basis because regular tracking means that I know what is happening with my money.  I know how hard it’s working, and when the big returns are going to show up. 

My commitment also means being ready to take action when hiccups occur.  If an unusual transaction shows up, I can get straight onto it and sort it out. 

I also want to make sure my money is as safe as I can make it.  When I need a hand to make an investment decision, I ask someone experienced to help.  And because my relationship with my money is a close one, I’m able to easily find the information that expert needs before giving me advice.  I can then make sure their advice makes sense for my money.

 This Valentine’s Day I’ll be spending time with the special person in my life, winding down from watching the Superbowl. The day after Valentine's Day I’ll be having a date with my money; reviewing what it's doing and celebrating how far it has come compared to last year, refining how I want it to work for me and working out when I’ll need it.  Budgeting for business expenses and including the future travel plans we made on Valentine's Day, ready for another exciting year!

What are you going to do on your Money Dates?  Celebrate? Communicate? Or Commit?

If you are ready to improve your relationship with money book a 20-minute power meeting to discuss how we can work together to improve it.