My budget loves this time of year. I’m so busy working nights and weekends during tax season that I just don’t have time to spend. I’ve heard this same from some of my coaching clients who are in the summer hospitality business. We all express the same thing, our expenses go way down during our busy time of year. And – we love it!
Suddenly, our budget opens up, savings start accumulating and our money worries are on hold. It’s a good thing and we feel great! But, it makes me wonder – if we feel so good about it, why don’t we keep it going the rest of the year? Why do we let our spending get the best of us when we’re not busy?
Good question. I can only speak for myself, but sometimes I think I’m just plain bored. And, when I’m bored, those media messages and ads get through to me and I fall into that financially unconscious place where all I hear is buy, buy, buy. That, along with wanting to jazz up my life, results in spend, spend, spend. You’d think with less on my mind, I’d be able to tune them out, but because that unconscious place is so much stronger, I fall back into the old pattern.
The solution? I try to focus on the great feeling of freedom in my budget, savings growing and distant money concerns. By keeping my eye on this positive, conscious place, the spending problems go away. And, best of all, I’m following what’s important to me rather than those unconscious beliefs planted by others. Because isn’t that what it’s all about? Living our life, rather than someone else’s?
Taking that blindfold off – one day at a time…
