I met with “Susan” this week and asked if we could review the record she was keeping of what she spent her money on; her expense log. She pulled a notebook out of her purse with some apprehension and quietly told me that it was “pretty embarrassing.”
Susan went on to tell me that she had been afraid to keep this record; that she feared it would make her look like a bad person because of what it revealed about her decision making.
She continued, “This morning, I reviewed my notes and they confirmed my worst fears. I made a lot of really bad decisions.”
This is a very common reaction when people first begin keeping records of their spending and taking responsibility for how they manage their money. They feel like the record they keep is full of bad news. It was fun to tell her that the record is actually full of GOOD NEWS.
“Susan, your expense log may feel like bad news, but it’s really full of good news; and, here it is.
• “First, you took a really big step in choosing to keep this record. It took real courage and commitment. It’s very important that you give yourself credit for taking this big step.
• “Second, each of us has a personal board of directors in our minds. Think of your board as those little voices that are always whispering “good choice”, “smart move”, or “ooo, you could have done better”. This board is always looking at what we’ve done in the past and what we can do in the future with the goal of helping us do our best. When you reviewed your expense log this morning, your personal board of directors expressed its disappointment in some of your spending choices. As the CEO (Chief Excellence Officer) of yourself, you agreed with your board of directors and said, “yes, I could have done better”. The GREAT NEWS is that you took a responsible step and decided that you wanted to make changes in your future spending decisions.
• Third, the even GREATER NEWS is that your get to make your own plan for making those changes!”
By now, Susan was smiling as she realized that her fear of confronting what she thought was a real weakness had turned out to be a winning move as she took a big step toward financial independence.
Want the secret weapon that Susan used in this real life story? Here’s what you can do …
1. Identify three areas where you do not like the choices you have made about how you’ve spent your money.
2. Set a goal of what you want future decisions to look like.
3. Write down how you want to reach that goal.
4. Promise yourself that you will make the changes that will enable you to reach this goal; and, continue to write down your expenses so that you can measure your progress. (Bonus … if you just sighed and thought that this is too much work, take a second and write down just 1 thing you spent money on today. Just one. How long did that take? Don’t let your emotions fool you into overestimating how much time this will actually take.)
5. Set a date when you will review this record and decide if you have reached your goal.
Susan left our meeting with renewed confidence that she could control her money rather than have her money control her.
Ironically, the effectiveness of this process is not confined to personal finances. It can be applied to all aspects of life. Our internal board of directors is always conducting an on-going performance review … looking at our goals (or lack of goals), the plans we’ve created for reaching those goals, the progress we’ve made toward the attainment of the goals, and rendering a judgment every day; exceeds expectations, satisfactory, or unsatisfactory. When we receive the board’s daily verdict, we choose how to respond.
• We accept the accolades for a job well done and vow to keep up the good work;
• We take credit for the accomplishments and responsibility for the shortcomings and make a plan for improving performance where it is needed; or,
Well, the third choice is giving up; but, that is not an acceptable choice. The board of directors is not an external body that we can choose to ignore. Rather, it is a living, breathing, part of who we are and it will always be whispering in our ear. It cannot be disregarded.
Has your board of directors conducted today’s review? If it has, you know what you want to work on. If not, there is still time to make today’s review a favorable one.