MANAGE YOUR MONEY WITH INTENTIONAL LIVING

WHAT IS INTENTIONAL LIVING?

Intentional living is living with purpose. When we do something with intention we are doing it deliberately. It’s making choices that are in alignment with what you value most. You make decisions with your goals and what you want out of life in mind. With managing our money it means that you deliberately decide where your money will go. It takes work to be intentional and make sure that your money goes where you want it to go. But it makes such a big difference and allows you to live a better life. It allows you to make the most of what you have.

WHY IT IS IMPORTANT TO BE INTENTIONAL WITH YOUR MONEY?

When you take control of your money you can greatly improve your financial situation. You can determine where your money goes, instead of just letting it happen. When you make purposeful decisions about your money your stress level as it relates to money will decline. Uncertainty about your finances causes stress. When you are intentional with your money you remove that uncertainty.

THINK ABOUT YOUR VALUES

What can you do to make sure that you are spending your money in ways that are in sync with your values?  Take time to really think about what it is that you value most in life. That could be travel with family. It could be caring for animals. Maybe you enjoy a particular recreational activity. Would you like to have more money to enjoy these things that you value? If so, take a look at what you are spending money on and see if you can cut back elsewhere. You might find that you are spending money on things that are less of a priority to you. Of course, there are certain things that we must spend money on, but there are usually some areas we can cut back to allow some extra funds to go towards what is most important to us.

BE CLEAR ON WANTS VERSUS NEEDS

There is nothing wrong with spending money on “wants”. You just don’t want to let it happen too much without putting thought into it. When you are purchasing something that is a want versus a need consider what you are giving up. Whenever you spend money on something, that means you no longer have that to spend on something else. When you are spending your money intentionally, you take time to consider what you are giving up. It does not mean that you do not purchase things just for enjoyment. It means that you are thoughtful about your purchases.

SET GOALS

Having specific goals in mind helps you prioritize your spending. Take the time to think about what your financial goals currently are. If you have already identified your goals, maybe take a little time to review them again. Keeping your goals fresh in your mind can help you make better choices when it comes to spending your money. It’s best to focus on a smaller number of goals at once. When you are trying to achieve too many things at once you often lose motivation because no one thing can really gain that much traction. Seeing progress on your financial goals can help keep you motivated to make intentional spending choices.

PUT THOUGHT INTO YOUR PURCHASES

It’s not about not spending money. It’s about spending on purpose. Buying something because it will add value to your life that you have a budget for feels so much better than buying something on a whim with no budget to cover the cost. Many financial experts suggest giving yourself some time to think it over (at least a day) before making a purchase. This allows you to decide if the purchase is in line with your financial goals and covered by your budget. Often you will find the next day, you don’t even want the item anymore. I regularly put things in an amazon cart and “save for later”.  More times than not, I end up forgetting about them.  Had I just clicked “buy now” I would have spent money on something that I could definitely live without, and clearly wouldn’t really miss.

TRACK YOUR EXPENSES

We often think we know where our money is going until we actually start tracking it. It’s hard to believe how much those $5 and $10 purchases here and there add up over the course of a month. By tracking expenses we can get a much better picture of where we might be able to cut back a little bit to reallocate money in another way.

USE SINKING FUNDS TO SAVE FOR IRREGULAR EXPENSES

I have a couple of separate episodes on this topic if you are interested in hearing more details. Basically sinking funds are just a way to save up each week for things that occur at irregular times during the year. By putting a little bit away over the course of time, when the expense comes up you are prepared to cover the cost. Do you take your pets to the vet for an annual visit that costs several hundred dollars? If so, you might want to set up a sinking fund where you would put away a portion of the cost each week. When the vet visit comes, the money is already set aside and won’t impact your current period budget. I have many sinking funds at this point but started with only a few. Each time I got hit with one of those expenses that I forgot was coming, I would set up a new sinking fund so that I would be prepared next time!

SAVE UP FOR THINGS WHEN YOU CAN

Maybe you decided you would like to take your family out to dinner once in a while but it’s not in your budget. Try saving up a little bit each week until you have the money saved up. You can do $5 or $10 a week.  Whatever you can find in your budget. Sometimes we end up with a little extra cash for whatever reason.  Maybe a budget line item came in less than we expected.  You might have gotten a bonus at work, or maybe got some overtime. However, you might end up with a little extra cash, and having things that you are working on saving up for helps you put that money to a purpose that means something to you. It is such a different feeling spending money on something that you specifically saved up for.

IT TAKES TIME AND PRACTICE TO DEVELOP THESE HABITS

Depending on where you are at currently it can sound a bit overwhelming to put all of this thought into where your money goes. Start small.  Pick one thing to focus on and start there. I would suggest starting with tracking your expenses if that is not already a habit. Getting a good understanding of where your money is currently going is always helpful. It’s definitely a great start to begin being more intentional with your money Just work at it a little at a time and it will get easier!

Thanks so much for checking in! If you would like to hear the podcast version of this topic to check out Lola’s Frugal Life Podcast! Also, be sure to check out my other blog posts on this site!

I would love to have you join my mailing list! Sign up here:

Email address:

Leave this field empty if you’re human: