Creating Intention with Your Spending

We live in a spending obsessed society. Everywhere we turn we are being sold to, advertised to, and pressured to spend money. According to one statistic, Americans spend at least $18,000 a year on non-essential items. This begs the question, are our purchases worth it?

The pressure to spend in our society is ever increasing. Take one minute to scroll through almost any social media platform and you’ll encounter at least five ads or posts to buy something. This has only been compounded by the rise of social media influencers pushing brands and products on their followers (or really anyone who will listen). It’s a constant noise of buy this thing and your life will get better in this way. As a female in her, *cough*, late twenties, the pressure I feel to “keep up” high. While I almost always keep scrolling when I see an ad for a thing that will make my life better, there is often a voice in the back of my head that says, “I mean, I might need that though…”. Do I actually need it, of course not, but the thought is still there. And sometimes, I do buy the thing. Recently, I saw a Tik Tok of a girl who explained how to correctly fill in your eyebrows. Something that I am not ashamed to admit, I have been trying to figure out. She mentioned three products that you need, and you better believe that the next time I was at Target, I bought those three products. Did I need those products? No. And the only person who has noticed the difference in my eyebrows has been me.

So if spending money isn’t out of necessity, then why do we do it? Well, one reason is that spending brings a sense of joy. Even if it’s fleeting joy, we get joy from buying new things. I was super excited to go home and try out these new eyebrow enhancing products. It’s thrilling to get new things. Think back to when you were a kid and you got a gift. You were over the moon. The idea of having a new toy to play with was almost too amazing to handle. The only difference between being a kid getting a new present and now, is we pay for our new gift. But the excitement is still there (even if it’s to a lesser degree). Another reason is that spending can bring a sense of fulfillment. Having more things can seem like the solution when we feel as though there is a gap in our life. Mental health plays a huge role in this. From personal experience with my own struggles with mental health, I remember frequent trips to Target buying anything because it made me feel better. It didn’t matter if that feeling was brief. All that mattered was that the feeling happened.

This issue with this type of spending isn’t that the item is not a necessity. We’re allowed to spend money on things that we don’t need. But the issue is that we usually don’t even want the things we buy. A quick glance around the room I’m currently in, I have spotted three things that make me shrug my shoulders and ask, “why did I buy that?” Take a look around the room you’re in, spot anything that makes you ask the same question?

So what happens after we buy the thing? I like to call this the aftermath. After the initial joy, excitement, fulfillment has worn off, we are often left with regret, frustration, and disappointment. Sometimes those feelings happen even earlier in the process of spending. I have many memories of being at the checkout, scanning an item, seeing the price, and feeling regret. I haven’t even bought the thing yet and I’m already regretting it! The next thought that runs through my head is, “well it’s too late now, so you might as well swipe your card.” And I do. The simplicity of the swipe means that I don’t necessarily have to see my bank account balance go down. So that’s a problem for future me. But, spending shouldn’t always lead to the aftermath. Yes, there will be purchases that we have to make but don’t want to. But the goal is to eliminate the aftermath feelings. And we do that by bringing intention into our spending.

Spending shouldn’t be random or mindless. Notice that I didn’t say impulsive (more on that later). Spending money should be the outcome of reflection and the identification of what is most important to you. Figuring out what is most important to you comes from creating financial goals. Having a clear idea of what you want your life to look like and by extension what you want to spend your money on can curb the randomness of buying things. Take a look at your bank account or credit card statement. Do you have a clear memory of all the purchases you’ve made in the past month? Your bank statements should be a reflection of who you are and what is important to you. If you looked at my bank statement you’d realize that I’m a runner and I enjoy eating out. Both of those things, running and eating out, are important to me.

Impulsive spending can be another factor that leads to the aftermath. However, impulsive spending isn’t always a bad thing to a certain extent. My fiancé and I go grocery shopping every Sunday. Usually when we’re standing in line at Trader Joes we get confronted by the dark chocolate peanut butter cups. And every so often, we lose that confrontation and buy the treat. Was that purchase necessary? No. Does that purchase fulfill a financial goal? No. So, one would think that we regret that purchase. But that would also be wrong. Enjoying those chocolates on the drive home from the grocery story definitely makes the whole experience a little better. An impulsive buy like isn’t the end of the world. Now impulsively buying 10 packs of chocolate peanut butter cups, or a bunch of new clothes, or a stack of new music might lead to the aftermath. Creating space in your budget for small impulsive buys relieves the aftermath feelings. And if you are an impulsive spender, then finding ways to eliminate temptation might be the way to go. I’m an impulsive Target shopper. So, when I need something from Target I eliminate temptation by purchasing the item through the app then doing drive up pick up. The sales associate brings the item to my car and I never go into the store. Could I walk into the store and buy the item just like everyone else? Sure. But ordering through the app eliminates the temptation and the need for self control. It’s an easy option for me.

Intentional spending will bring more joy, excitement, and fulfillment that lasts longer to your purchases. Reflection and the identification of what is important to you leads to intentional spending. When you buy something that you truly want, the aftermath doesn’t happen. You can then start creating a life with things that are actually important to you, rather than surrounding yourself with stuff.

Do you feel like your spending is a little of out control? Not sure if there are places for you to cut your spending in your monthly expenses? Schedule a free 30 minute call with me!

Dissecting the Paycheck to Paycheck Cycle

For the majority of my life after college I lived paycheck to paycheck. It always seemed that I just had enough money for rent and bills, or during the really bad months, I turned to my savings to cover those last few expenses. I felt like I was walking a money tightrope and could fall off at any moment. I was embarrassed, frustrated, and anxious.

The paycheck to paycheck cycle is when your entire paycheck goes to paying your living expenses with very little, if anything, left over. When you are in this cycle, some months your paycheck may not cover all of your monthly expenses, which leads to a heavy reliance on credit cards or savings. Ultimately leading to a bigger hole that you’re in. Living paycheck to paycheck can also mean that individuals have very minimal savings or are depleting their savings very rapidly to cover monthly expenses.

One of the main reasons why getting out of this cycle is so difficult is because there is very little “wiggle room”. If all of your income is going towards paying your bills, then it can be very difficult to see any opportunities to pay off debt or save money. For some individuals, they may find that there is nowhere in their budget to cut expenses. If your only monthly expenses are your living expenses, then it can be tough to try and cut back anywhere. There is no room to try something new with your money management because you’re doing a financial balancing act. When you’re living paycheck to paycheck, it can be incredibly unclear what the problem is that is causing this cycle, and how to solve it.

Factors That Can Contribute to the Cycle

Living paycheck and paycheck can seem never ending. For many people, I find that there are usually 3 factors that are contributing to this cycle.

1. Not knowing the numbers

Mental budgeting is a sure way to get caught in the paycheck to paycheck cycle. Mental budgeting is when you have a rough idea of how much you make in a month, and as expenses come in, you have a general idea of how much money is left over. The issue with mental budgeting is that it is highly inaccurate. How many times have you opened your bank account and been surprised by the low amount in it? That is due to mental budgeting. There is no way you can keep track of all your monthly expenses in your head.

It is crucial to know down to the penny what your monthly income and expenses are when you are living paycheck to paycheck. Often just writing down these numbers can give you a sense of control and power. 2. Inability to see the problem area

What is causing the paycheck to paycheck cycle? Often it comes down to either a spending issue or income issue. If you are mental budgeting, you may not realize how much you’re actually spending in a month. So, when you get to the end of the month you don’t know where your money went and once again it is a struggle to pay those last few bills.

Alternatively, you could know your numbers forward and backward, and because of that you know there is no place for you to cut back with your spending. This means the issue lies with your income. Perhaps the cost of living in your area is outpacing the income rate of your job. No amount of cutting expenses will help, the only solution is to increase your income. 3. Too much debt

There is a responsible amount of debt you can take on and an irresponsible amount of debt you can take on. If your debt payments are causing you to barely be able to afford your living expenses, you’ve taken on too much debt for the amount of money you make. When you take on debt, always be sure you are able to continue to save and set money aside for retirement at the same rate you were before you took on the debt

It’s important to note that these are not the only factors that contribute to the paycheck to paycheck cycle. Beyond these there are other external factors that cause individuals to live paycheck to paycheck. These include income disparities, the rising cost of living and stagnant minimum wage, and systemic socioeconomic oppression.

Preventing the Paycheck to Paycheck Cycle

The paycheck to paycheck cycle doesn’t have to be forever. If you are just entering the workforce or are just starting to get out of the paycheck to paycheck cycle, here are some ways to prevent falling (back) into this cycle:

Build up savings

Establishing your emergency fund is the best way to do this. This will give you a cushion in case your income varies unexpectedly or you lose your job. Pay off debt

Each time you pay off a debt, you get an immediate pay raise…because you’re no longer making payments towards that debt. As you pay off debts, you’ll notice the amount of money you have left over at the end of the month increases. Build good financial habits

Keep your monthly expenses below your monthly income, don’t take on more debt than you can handle, and as a musician, continue to grow your business.

Ask for help

There is no shame living paycheck to paycheck. If you feel like you are being crushed under a financial rock, it is time to ask for help. There are ways to get out of this cycle and sometimes you need support to do so.

If you are ready to stop living the paycheck to paycheck cycle but are unsure how to break it, then check out the Music, Money, Mastery Program!