Deconstructing & Appreciating Your Income (No matter how much you make) | A BLOG SERIES ON MONEY Part 2 of 5
This is part 2 of a 5-part blog series on money and what it means to be authentically wealthy.
It’s a miracle that we even make the amount of money that we make in the first world! It’s a true blessing.
Money and I have had an interesting relationship. In fact, most people I know have had a complicated relationship with money. We want it, but we may hate using it. Or we secretly despise it at the same time that we crave it.
Having travelled a lot, I’ve learned how to be ridiculously happy with little money. This has been a huge blessing in my life because it means that I have an internal benchmark that feels me satisfied. However, I am also a member of the first world: I hold a passport from Canada. I have a university degree and all of my immediate peers are earning at least 5 figures. If I was born in a developing country and my parents sold trinkets from a cart for a living, this would all be a different story.
The reality is, we are so blessed! SO blessed! If you are reading these words, you are so blessed. You have access to the Internet which is itself a huge portal of opportunity. We are literally surrounded by wealth left, right and centre.
It’s a miracle that we even get to take the amount of money that we do make in the first world! Right now, let's make a conscious decision to decide that you are extremely blessed. I am extremely blessed. We are all blessed.
What having a Steady Job (and Income) Has Taught Me About Money:
1.It’s not about the amount of money you make, it's how you feel about.
It’s a curious thing to realize that there are people to make more money than me and they more financially insecure than me. The more that I observe how people relate to money. (Instead of just adopting the same viewpoints that other people relate to money with), the more I have come to realize that it doesn’t matter the exact dollar figure. If I’m relying on external forces to dictate for me how secure I will feel, I’ll never win. However, when I learn to find my security and comfort from a higher power, which I call God, but you may relate to other words, I am free.
When I look at my bank account figures and I feel relieved that there is a certain amount of money, I know that I'm focussing on the wrong thing. I'm training myself to focus I'm finding my security in my relationship with God. I trust that God is my provider. I know that God is providing for me in absolutely every single aspect of my life. Providing money and jobs, but also providing friends clothes food Happiness joy, fulfilment, and purpose. some of these things are much more important to our happiness and life anyway.
2. it’s not about the amount of money you make, it's what you do with it.
Money can buy a lot of things in life. It can buy a lot of material possessions, experiences, and options. As I've observed myself and how other people use their money I've noticed a difference and how it can change our lives. You can have a small chunk of money, but use it in a way that increases the meaning and purpose in your life tenfold. You can also have a big chunk of money, and use it in a way that only increases your happiness by two or three-fold.
Rating Your Purchases: A Revealing Exercise
Here's an activity you can do that will alter how you think about how much money you actually make.
I learned from this Laura Vanderkam’s book, All The Money In The World. I highly recommend you check it out this topic is something that you want to learn more about. She's got tons of ideas in the book that will remind you just how wealthy we really are, how much we actually have to give, and how to use your money in a way that actually helps you fulfill your soul purpose in your lifetime.
It’s simple but powerful: look at every item on your bill and rate how happy or fulfilled it makes you on a scale of 0 to 10. You’ll notice, looking back, how some purchases make you quite satisfied and others you regret.
Through doing this exercise several times, I've learned that sometimes it's worth spending a little bit of money on things that are treats to myself. I choose to spend money on the things that add value to my life and I do not spend money on the things that do not add value to my life. This is about being really focussed on where you actually put your money and making sure that your purchases actually match your values and the kind of life you want to build.
How spend our money is how we spend our lives
Why does this topic even matter? It matters because how we spend our money is how we spend our lives. As citizens of the first world, we are so blessed. If we pooled all of our resources, monetary and our skills, our passions, we could absolutely create A Whole New World. When we learn to spend our money and ways that actually align with our souls we create lives that are energized by a life force energy beyond our own.
Reframing and Appreciating My Income
This topic also matters to me because I currently work for two companies and one of them is nonprofit. At first, I was quite happy with these jobs and grateful that I was making a steady paycheck. This was my first time and my young adult life that I was making a steady paycheck since I had been an entrepreneur from the time that I graduated from university. After a few months though, I became dissatisfied because I knew that my contemporaries in the city were making more money than me. I had a lot of conversations with God about what to make of this. “God, why am I wasting my talents in a job where I don't get to use all of my skills and I'm making less money than I can? Shouldn't I be working at a fancy job and making more money? Then I would be able to make an even bigger difference with more money.”
The more I talked with God about this though, the more I knew in my gut that I wasn't meant to be making more money right now. I am supposed to learn how to use the money that I do have to make the deepest difference in my life, in the lives of others, and in the world.
When I know what to do with little, I will be given more because I will know how to use it more effectively.
Summary: How To Shift Your Perspective Around Money
1. Take a look at how much money you actually make and remind yourself that it is the exact right amount for you right now. Even if it's a lot less than you would want or even need, trust that more will come to you as you learn how to steward amount well. (I’ll be unpacking this topic more in Parts 3 and 4 of this series.)
2. Look at where are you actually spend your money. You could track your money but I have found the easiest way is to just go back and look at my bills and rate every item on the bill on a scale of 10. 10 being “this financial spending brought me a 10 out of 10 amount of joy, fulfilment and purpose.” 0 is “I completely regret spending money on purpose money on this and I never want to do it again.” I've found that putting numbers makes it really blatantly clear to me how to watch something actually adds to my life.
3. Based on your observations from rating your last month’s pending, create a plan for how you would want to spend your money differently next month.
You’ve just read Part 2 in a five-part blog series exploring into the money, how to use it and what it means to be authentically wealthy.
Dive into all 5 parts of the this blog series on Money:
Part 1: What It Means To Be Truly, Authentically Wealthy
http://www.anitawinglee.com/blog/authentically-wealthy-money-part-1-of-5
Part 2: Deconstructing and Appreciating Your Income (No Matter How Much You Make)
http://www.anitawinglee.com/blog/deconstructing-appreciating-your-income-part-2-of-5
Part 3: The True Purpose Of Money
http://www.anitawinglee.com/blog/the-true-purpose-of-money-money-part-3-of-5
Part 4: How To Spend Your Money Most Wisely
http://www.anitawinglee.com/blog/spend-your-money-most-wisely-money-part-4-of-5
Part 5: Totally Surrendering My Finances To God
http://www.anitawinglee.com/blog/totally-surrendering-my-finances-to-god-money-part-5-of-5
