I have a problem. My problem is this. I say I value pursuing my calling. I say I value being generous with our time and our money. But if you looked in my bank statements, you might prioritize my values differently than what you get by reading this blog or by talking to me.
I think this is true of a lot of us. For some of us, we like to think we value some things, but in reality we don’t. In other cases, the values we profess are our values. We just don’t have alignment in our money, our actions, and our life.
Either way, it’s time. It’s time for us to get real with ourselves and either stop professing values we really don’t hold or get our actions to speak what our lips profess.
There are a few ways to do this:
- We can get an accountability partner. This person must have our best interests at heart. We must be able to trust them. And this person must be able hold us to the highest standards, get in our face and tell us that we’re not doing what we committed to do. Then this person needs to be able to encourage us and help us recommit, so we can try again.
- With our money, write down in advance how we plan to spend it, so we’re not making decisions in the moment. (see: Don’t Track Your Money, Plan it)
- We can put money on the line. Set it up so that if we don’t do what we committed, we’d give a sizable chunk of money to a charitable organization we hate.
- Put it on auto-pilot. For our money we can set up automatic withdrawal or auto-pay. Have your money automatically taken out of your account and sent to the things we profess to value. For example, have a repeating electronic bill-pay to your church or charitable organization. Or better yet, have your employer distribute part of your pay to the organization as part of your paycheck processing.
What about you? What would you suggest to someone who wants to get their spending in alignment with their values?
