The phrase “live within your means” will look and feel different for everyone, so this month figure out what it means for you. Grab a pen and paper, and use the following questions as a freewriting exercise:
• What does “having enough” mean to you?
• Is there a sum of money that would make you feel content? If so, what is it?
• What is most important to you in terms of spending money? What is least important?
When you live within your means, on your own terms, you feel like you have enough. You set financial goals for the purpose of peace, but not as a way to try to buy happiness. And you’re thoughtful about what to spend your money on. So if you’re not currently living within your means, use this writing exercise as a way to identify your pain points and figure out if you can make a change—perhaps you used to define “having enough” as having a huge home, but you’d actually like to downsize in order to be able to travel more. Or you’d like to transition from spending money on loved ones to spending time with them. Whatever the case, start envisioning what living within your means could look like three months from now, and what you can do today to create change.
TRY THIS
For the month ahead, budget from a starting point of zero. Write out every line item with a mind-set of what you “get to” have or do—such as I get to pay my mortgage to live in this warm home or I’m lucky enough to buy toothpaste and paper towels and food at the store whenever I need it. This flips the perspective of budgeting from something negative, where you have to “sacrifice,” to a more positive mentality of gratitude.