It seems like everytime I go to the supermarket lately, I am becoming more and more aware of how high the cost of food has become, and continues to grow. With rising mortgage fees and the cost of living, we need to put more focus on our spending than ever before.
I was chatting with a friend who is struggling financially, on the age pension, and was complaining that she can't afford to take holidays. Yet I notice that she spends money on things that don't give her any benefits, like her ATM fees.
So I suggested that we sit down together and explore where her money leaks were. We all have them, an app we no longer use, a gym membership that we pay for and never attend. A website we've joined and forgot to cancel the subscription to. That extra treat at the cafe.
For me it was when I first started learning Hypnosis. I thought I'd paid for a course, and a few months later realised that I'd been paying a subscription. It may be buying food you never eat and throw away, or paying too much for a phone or internet contract. If you think about it, something will come to mind.
Anyway, Susan and I worked out her ATM fees alone were costing her over $300 per year. Now when you're on a pension, that's a lot of money, going nowhere. She said that she couldn't change that habit as if she had the money in her purse that she'd spend it.
More recently she discovered a money leak where she'd been paying out $18 a month each month to a photo designing app that she'd never used. The money was coming out of her PayPal account. The money counting exercise from The Artist's Way came to my mind, and I shared it with her.
(Susan has given her permission to share her story here, not her real name.)
Counting, An Exercise from The Artist's Way - Week 6 on Recovering a Sense of Abundance.
"Some years ago, when I was paying off my mortgage, I damaged my hands and couldn't work for a while. Budgeting suddenly became very, very important.I started to pay attention to where I was spending little amounts of money. It turned out that when I stopped spending money on small amounts, it became so much easier to save. When I sat down and worked out where my money was being spent, I decided to stop paying out money on media style movie programs.
I worked out that over the years, I had paid out thousands of dollars. That really got me starting to think about where I was directing my money and what was more important to me. So Week 6 on The Artist's Way was a reflection on some of those times for me, and a rethink about my finances and what I want to be doing with my money and my abundance."
So this week, I invite you to think about your money leaks... get a notepad, and jot down where you're spending money, and then consider if it's where you really want to direct your money. If it is, fine, if not, then perhaps you could take action to change the direction that money is flowing in.
If you would like a session to explore something in your world, give me a call today on 0408 792 747.
I offer sessions in The Artist's Way - a 12 week exploration. click here to find out more.
