Smart Cookies believe that just like any other healthy relationship, your relationship with money needs to involve an element of respect and kindness.
Improving your “wealth health” as we like to call it, can be done in a few easy steps:
• Ask yourself, what does my wallet say about me? Is your cash organized in a wallet or purse? Or are coins and bills crumpled and shoved away in a ragged old handbag? If you are serious about attracting more money into your life, you need to first treat the money you have with the respect and value it deserves.
• Make a list of how you are both respectful and disrespectful towards your money. Do you spend money on others when you can’t afford it? Do you wash your clothes, when they are still clean and could be worn a second time? Do you wait until the last minute and send a package with express delivery, when it could be sent regular mail, with just a little bit of planning? We are willing to bet that in the instances in which you have respected your money, pleasurable things have happened, while in the other instances, you have experienced unhappy consequences.
• Be positive about money. Being a Smart Cookie is not about doom and deprivation. Rather it is about focusing on the positives and attracting more money into your life. If you grew up believing that money was evil, that you needed to hoard your money, or that to want to make money is selfish, you likely still allow these beliefs to control you and the way you approach life.
If you catch yourself talking about what you don’t have, stop yourself. Instead, shift your thinking. Start focusing on what you really want and how it will feel once you have it. And of course, be grateful for what you already have.
• Pay yourself first. We’ve all heard this before, but are we actually doing it? Respect yourself and what your money can do for you in helping you reach your goals. Even if you can only afford $25 each month, make sure that that money is automatically transferred off the top each month into your dream fund.
• Respect your stuff. Although material items are just that, you need to respect them, and the amount of money you spend on acquiring them. Think of all the money you could have, if you stopped spending money on replacing things.
For more on figuring out what you really want out of life, go to our website, smartcookies.com, and complete the “Perfect Day” exercise. If you have comments or questions, email us at smartcookies@metronews.ca.
– Tune in Monday nights at 10:30 p.m. EST/PST on the W Network and be sure to visit www.smartcookies.com for more tips.
