financial coaching…

empowering people in money matters

Getting intimate with money

Most of us would love to work a 4-day week as long as it didn’t involve a cut in our pay-cheque. But is money the main obstacle to enjoying life to the full, or are the biggest obstacles we face emotional and/or behavioural?

You have to honestly examine your relationship to money and delve beneath the surface to truly answer this question. Money usually isn’t the real barrier; it may play an important role but in reality it’s just a tool that helps you accomplish some of life’s goals. You can still continue to grow, learn and develop with or without money.

If you observe your relationship to money, you’ll probably find that it reflects your core beliefs. Whether you believe that you’re useless with money, you don’t deserve to have money or that money’s hard to come by - that’s usually what you’ll experience. It’s also linked to your emotions. A fear of failure, or feelings of insecurity, guilt or anxiety often results in our repeating habits and patterns which eventually get in our way – and, unsurprisingly, we often find money slipping through our fingers.

The more practised you become at identifying and challenging any such beliefs and habits, the more likely you are to relate to money differently and stop letting it get in the way of living your dreams. Make goals that are compelling to you. Create a memory from your future as though you’ve been there already and make it as real and alive and meaningful to you as possible. Face up to where you stand financially today – what you have and what you owe, what you earn and what you spend – and use this information to propel you forward, not hold you back.

So - whether you want a 3-day weekend, a more flexible working life or the freedom to not to have to take on paid work - start tackling your money habits and address your emotional connection to money.

Start today! Give yourself permission to have money flow into your life. Work out how much money it would take to give you financial freedom and then write yourself a cheque for this sum and blue tack it to your wall. Who knows, this may just shift your belief system and you’ll find money less of a block!

Simonne Gnessen is founder of Wise Monkey Financial Coaching. She provides individuals with guidance and support on any money issue, integrating the technical and practical aspects of money management and financial planning with the emotional side of money.

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the path to financial freedom