Do you make money choices consciously? Deliberately? Are you fully aware of the potential consequences for each financial decision you make or action you take? If you are like most people, your answer is “No, not exactly.”
Back in 2008, my eyes were opened again to the art of “Conscious Choice-Making”. You remember 2008, right? I’ll never forget that year…it marked the first shift in my role as a Financial Advisor. Nearly every day as the stock market and the economy continued their downward spiral, I sat with clients to determine whether they should sell their investments, or “stay the course”. With each client that posed that question, my response was “have you fully considered the consequences of each choice?” My response was most often met with a blank stare, a pause, and then they would ask “well, what do you mean?”
What do I mean? Here’s what I mean–when you are faced with making a choice, of any kind, understand that the choice does not have to be made quickly or in haste. In fact, financial and non-financial decisions made from a place of panic, haste, or fear almost always disappoint. Why? Because the potential consequences were never identified or considered. You weren’t operating in the present moment. Those clients that took a deep breath, examined each potential outcome for each choice, made better decisions. By quieting their fears, they were able to stay focused and present. The majority of my clients that made their choices “consciously”, experienced investment recovery more quickly. They felt confident and secure which also created more ease in dealing with other areas in their life.
Recently I have noticed an increased demand for money management tools such as, budgeting worksheets, software and/or cash flow programs. I’m not surprised at all! When you are fully aware of your cash flow (money-in, money-out) and you live by a budget, you are living the art of Conscious Choice-Making. Budgeting teaches you a significant lesson in mindfulness and foresight. By telling each dollar where to go, you create the opportunity to see every choice and its potential consequence. End result? Ease, confidence, trust.
If you have never created a budget or cash flow worksheet before, or it’s been a long since you last had one, no worries— just remember my mantra…
Mindfulness–Patience–Perseverance–Foresight–Trust
Mindfulness will keep you present. Be patient in your efforts to create a budget, take your time, there’s no rush. Stick with it! Don’t give up! Persevere! If you need to revise, that’s ok, just do it! Foresight is created by considering the consequences of each choice. Trust in the process and you will find greater ease and confidence…with money, and life!
That Money Girl 
At this point in time budgeting will not solve the problem we,The USA ,is facing…The purposeful debasement of its currency.Please share with your readers, money girl ,that paper money,is not money ,ITS DEBT.Take a dollar bill out and read what it says on the dollar bill!!!Its a federal reserve note.A note is a debt instrument.DEBT.WE are in the LARGEST debt CRISIS in our US history.Unfortunately,the entire Western world ie Europe ,Japan ,the USA,Canada etc the largest debt supercycle.The powers that be(TPTB) are using financial repression to force savers and retirees into risky assets as they cannot generate yield to overcome taxes and inflation.Real inflation.Google John Williams of shadow stats .com.Couple this with college grads who cant find jobs but paid exorbitant tuitions and are forced to pay student loans immediately.Note ,even if one were to file bankkruptcy,which I am not advocating,student loans are not forgiven.Money girl, this issue is far more than budgeting,but rather a a government and regulatory and Chrony capitalistic system gone wild.Note CPI does not include food and energy???Hedonic adjustments are used to offset increases in consumer goods.Hope this helps your readers.May God bless you all and give thanks for what is so precious ,are family ,friends and are meaningful relationships.There are solutions but this is money girls blog.
Hi David—thank you for your heartfelt comments, I appreciate your perspective as it is shared by many. The perspective you offered runs thick in emotions such as, anger–frustration–disempowerment–lack/scarcity. 99% of an individual’s reality is created by their perspective/perception…which means you can change how you see things and how you react to outside circumstances. There is always a choice. You may choose to be in anger and frustration or you may choose to find ways to better your own situation. Which will yield you satisfying results? Which will, at the very least, move you in the direction of feeling better? Budgeting is an example of Conscious choice-making…it is Conscious Choice-making that provides the context for solutions.
I find that when I want to change my circumstances for the better, it starts with asking the right questions. “Who created this?” “How did we get into this mess?” These questions tend to blame instead of empower. Questions that support positive transformation would be, “What can I learn from this?”, “How have I benefited from this so far?” “What conditions allowed this situation?” These questions promote personal growth and development…as well as set the stage for making conscious choices. From there you may ask, “Am I ready for a different situation?”, “Am I willing to dismantle my structures of knowing?”, “Am I willing to go beyond my own thoughts, opinions, judgments about what I THINK I know?”
When you begin asking empowering questions, initially you will feel super uncomfortable. When you desire a different situation, that which you are letting go of will create havoc in you emotionally, mentally, even physically. Persevere with your efforts…better days ARE in fact just ahead of you…
Another excellent post Christine! I’ll be reposting on my social media outlets.
Thank you so much Amy Jo! I appreciate your positive feedback and support! 🙂