How to Improve Your Relationship with Money During a Pandemic
No matter who you are or what you do for a living, you’re probably experiencing some type of financial hardship. Whether you lost your job, your hours were cut, or your business has taken a hit, there’s no better time than now to improve our relationship with money.
Pay attention to your past
It wasn’t until I became an entrepreneur two years ago that I stopped to evaluate my relationship with money. Until then, I thought I just didn’t like money. I mean, I knew I needed it to survive and afford fancy things, but nothing more than that. It took some digging, questioning, and meditating to realize that my financial struggles growing up were still with me as an adult.
As we all navigate this new normal, take some time to ask yourself how your past has shaped your future, especially when it comes to money. You’ll be surprised how much can come out of asking yourself a few simple questions.
Be aware of your current situation
While it’s important to meditate on your past and plan for your future, there’s nothing more important than the present. Where you are now and how you can tackle today’s, responsibilities are your most important tasks. Check-in on your current situation and see if there’s anything you can do to make it better.
Can you apply for a second job, start a side hustle, or apply for a loan to get you by? There’s no shame in doing what you need to do to take care of yourself and your basic needs.
Too often, our financial struggles have little to do with how much we make and everything to do with how much we spend. Of course, taking care of our basic needs is a given. We need a roof over our heads, food on the table, and running water, but when was the last time you identified your unessential spending. Yes, I’m talking about all the unnecessary trips to Target, Starbucks, and online retailers.
If you’re currently struggling financially, revisit your bank statements, and separate your expenses based on wants and needs. You’ll be amazed by how much of your spending is unessential. Trust me, I had to learn the hard way.
Schedule money dates
I’m a big advocate for consistent money dates. This means you regularly schedule dates to review your finances and go over upcoming expenses. For my husband and me, this is the perfect time to go over the prior week’s spending and review how we can do better. During this time, we often catch spending habits we often overlook. Whether it’s the overpriced coffee, unnecessary take-out, or overspending at the store.
If you don’t already do this in some capacity, I highly recommend it. As someone who grew up with an unhealthy relationship with money, this has been the one habit that has made it all easier.
Start a savings
I know, I know. You’ve probably already heard this a million times, but that’s because having an emergency savings fund is more important than ever. I can’t even begin to tell you how much peace it gives me to know my family has enough in our savings to get by in case of an emergency.
While no one wants to think about the worst-case scenario, we can’t ignore it forever. Start now. No matter how small your initial investment is, you can always grow it.
