Day 6

How Much Money?

Today you’re going to take a more detailed look at your finances and consider how much money you’d like to have.

How much money do you actually have, right now? Do you know? Do you have at least a vague idea?

If you don’t know where the starting line is, you won’t be in the best position to run the race. Some would disagree with me here. After all, you want to attract more money into your life, so what does it matter where you start from?

We don’t include balance sheets on the “How to Become a Money Magnet!” workshops, but in my own experience, taking time to “face up” to your money is all part of conquering any limiting beliefs that you have around money and its influence on your life.

Exercise: “My Money Bank” List

Take your pen and paper and write out the list below. Draw a line down the page so that there are two columns for two sets of answers. Fill it the first column to the best of your ability, without checking your accounts or statements.

Current Account(s)

Savings Account(s)

Shared Account(s)

Mortgage Account (equity)

Internet Account

Premium Bonds

Shares Property

Investments Business

Investments

Other investments

Piggy bank

Monies owed to me

Now complete the list again in the second column, this time accurately, by referring to any relevant papers or accounts. For some of you, this may involve clearing out drawers-full of old papers.

Clear space to do it now. Need an incentive? The last time I checked my accounts, I found a large investment in Premium Bonds that I’d completely forgotten about. Sounds ridiculous? Have a go yourself and see what you can find.

What’s your total worth? Are you feeling wealthier yet? You may find that you are a millionaire already and you didn’t even know it!

Exercise: Create Your Own “I Attract Money” List

If you have been focusing on the lack of money in your life, this is the moment where you shift your focus.

Again, you may need to double-check your papers as well as your memory. In addition to any regular dependable income you receive each month, maybe from different sources, I’d like you to remember any times in the last six months when you have attracted money from somewhere else. This could have been a gift, a tip, a bonus, or an extra opportunity for which you received money, e.g. babysitting, selling goods on eBay, commission on a one-off brokered deal or some after-hours training for a colleague.

Many of my clients regularly find money literally lying in the street! Have you “accidentally” found any cash in the last few months?

Now take a pen and paper, jot down the following lists, and fill them in.

Regular Income

Salary (full-time):

Salary (part-time):

Real-estate rental income:

Income from shares:

Additional Income

Gifts or inheritance:

State benefits:

The sale of private items:

One-off projects:

Temporary jobs:

“Discovered” cash, on streets, or in forgotten accounts:

Money back on goods purchased:

Free money with a loyalty card (I love getting money off my shopping at supermarkets!):

Needless to say, the above lists are not for accounts or tax purposes. They are for your eyes only, as we assess the current strength of your Money Magnet.

As your mind expands to the many different ways in which you can attract money into your life, you will start to notice even more and, bit by bit, the power of your magnet will grow.

Real Money and “Pretend” Money

Some proponents of the Law of Attraction emphasize that it’s good to spend money whenever you wish to. They present the case that “If you act like a wealthy person, you’ll be vibrating as one and will therefore attract more wealth into your life.” To some extent that may be true.

However, if you are spending money that you know, on some level, you don’t have, this will not work. Remember, it is not so much the conscious thought—for example, “I feel wealthy indulging in this treat”—as the unconscious thought “I shouldn’t really be spending this money right now” that creates your financial reality.

In today’s credit-crazed society, it can be tricky simply spending your own money and not someone else’s. If you’ve ever owned a credit card, you’ll know the experience of “paying” for something without feeling like you’re really parting with any cash. It’s easy to up your spending on the spur of the moment to something more expensive.

This is what I refer to as “pretend” money. It is not the same as making a conscious decision to borrow money for a specific purpose. It is living beyond your means, and it does not come into the remit of being a Money Magnet.

If you use credit cards, take the time now to check how much debt you have. Yes, “debt” is a nasty word, acting like a drain on your magnetic energies. It’s like filling up a bucket with money, only to discover that you’re leaking (those will be the interest payments) out of the bottom!

Act on your debt now in order to plug that hole!

Somewhere in your subconscious, debt will hold you back from being a true money magnet, so take the following actions, where appropriate:

• Pay off all outstanding credit card balances each month.
• Always pay off more than the minimum payment each month.
• Pay off the balances with the highest interest rate first.
• Look at transferring high-rate balances to a low-rate or zero-per-cent card (check the transfer fee and the rate for any incumbent balance on the low-rate card).
• Keep a close check on your financial status each month.
• If you are struggling, get some help: negotiate with the credit card companies.
• Look to spend less and attract more real money.
• Start making friends with money again, and spend a week using only cash.

The money is already there. The only thing preventing you from being rich is you.