Fierce Friday | Put your money where your goals are.

It's Friday and many of you might be receiving a paycheck today.  If you're anything like me, the very first thought on payday is how to divvy up the funds towards various bills and expenses.  Then, whatever's left is considered "spending money" to be used on random expenses that occur over the next couple of weeks.  Then, payday happens again and the cycle repeats itself.

Here's the thing.  We really have only two main resources to creating what we desire. We have our time and we have our money.  Both can be easily squandered mindlessly if we aren't careful. In the past, we've discussed how to purposefully allocate time by using a calendar and scheduling in time to work on your goals.  Now we talk about how to use your money in a way that propels you forward.

One fun activity you can do is to take a look back at the electronic records of your spending in January.  When I looked back, some of the transactions were eye opening.  Although I didn't make any major purchases, I had quite a few random small purchases that were insignificant in the grand scheme of things.  For instance, one day I had a craving for garlic flavored plantain chips and made an impromptu trip to Walgreens to satisfy my urges.  While there, I picked up a few other small items and incurred an expense of $9. 00. Yesterday, I visited the beauty supply store near my home that carries infinite varieties of NYX lip pencils.  After picking up 4 more shades and a couple other things, I left with $21.00 less than I had when I entered.   Was I wrong to spend that money on those items? Absolutely not.  We work hard, we are rewarded with money and we have a choice with how we spend our money.

But, what if instead of buying more lip pencils (I already have 100 of them) and plantain chips,  I decided to allocate those $30.00 towards something of more value.  If I had taken the same $30.00 and bought a quality candle instead, I would have received more value.  Why? Because when I burn one of my favorite smelling candles while I work, it elevates my mood, boosts my creativity and increased my productivity.  Or, I could have used the $30.00 and treated myself to a mani or pedi. Doing so could have a positive confidence and encouraged me to put a little more time in my daily appearance.  Maybe could have purchased enough organic vegetables to cover a week of juicing.  Or perhaps, I should have applied the $30.00 towards and experience that brings immense joy in my life like visiting my favorite sushi restaurant or having Sunday brunch with my husband. The possibilities are endless. The point is that I could think of 50 "better" things to do with the $30.00 based on the value I received.

Money is a tool exchanged for value.  Your goal should be to allocate your money towards things that bring greater value than what you spent.  When I bought those chips and other stuff at Walgreens, the value I received was short lived. On the other hand, if I bought organic kale + other veggies with those $9.00, the value (or benefits) would be greater than my investment.  Even in the case of the lip pencils.  I really do like the colors I chose, but the value is minimal because I already own so many brownish lip pencils.

 Now, before I spend money, I will ask myself, "Am I getting the value back for my investment?"  Another important question to ask "what else can I be doing with this money that could bring me more overall value?"

One really HIGH value action is using your money to generate more money.  We've talked about this a little in the past.  If, you have invested $0.00 last month towards generating more money, I invite you to rethink how you spend.  It could be something as passive as an interest bearing saving account or 401(k).  Or maybe you're taking even bolder steps like investing in a business. Whatever you decide to do, make it a goal to allocate a little money every month to work for you.

What about your goals? Do you have a dream car or a vacation on your vision board?  How much of the money spent last month could have been saved/allocated to bring those goals closer to reality?

What I plan to do is print out my bank statement and highlight all the charges for 2015 that I consider of "low value".  Then I'll also look for any charges of medium/high value.  Finally, I'll check to see how much of my income spent last month will bring back a return.  One last thing I'll do is look at my written goals for the year and see if any of my spending correlates with the goals I want to achieve.  If it doesn't, I plan on changing my spending strategy ASAP.

The moral of the story, kids, is to be an active participant in the flow of your money.  Let's not spend based on past behaviors, habits, and spur of the moment desires, let's be intentional so that every dollar that comes into our lives brings forth a harvest of great abundance and value.