3 Mindfulness Principles You Can Apply to Personal Finance

Unless you’re passionate about physical fitness and wellness you possibly don’t get as excited when talking about weight, speed and workouts, food portions or good sleeping habits as an expert on the topic would be.

The same can happen to many when talking about personal finance habits, wealth, or?money management ?techniques. As a?Certified Financial Planner ? I understand it can be quite technical and not as stimulating as other topics.

But when the concept of fitness or overall wellness is explained to us from a different perspective like…

• Exercise can help you increase your overall happiness and reduce stress.
• You can extend your life expectancy and enjoy more time with your loved ones.
• A healthy body has a positive impact on your motivation and focus.

THEN we start paying more attention to why those sets of lunges or that clean diet are important, don’t we?

Because far from being a boring calculation of tiring movements or a combination of foods we’re not thrilled about, we start seeing it as a process that will ultimately bring us closer to a goal that we carry close to our heart.

Once I understood that it became clear to me that finance is more than having your bills paid or completing a transaction to purchase a home.?Financial planning ?and wealth management are about being able to live an active and inspiring lifestyle that’s only achievable through financial freedom.

I call that approach The Mindful Wealth? Project because just as when you’re trying to build muscle or improve your overall wellness, achieving your financial goals requires:

Components of Mindfulness and Their Applications in Personal Finance

Mindfulness 1)The quality or state of being conscious or aware of something, or 2) It’s a mental state achieved by focusing one’s awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one’s feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations (Oxford Languages)

There are three important principles or components in mindfulness that I believe also help set the guidelines for?financial success . Let me tell you more about how they can be applied:

1. Intention?– Just as a healthy body requires a balance of proper nutrition, exercise, and rest, a healthy financial life requires a balance of proper saving,?investing , and spending. But for this to happen, you must be honest and clear about what matters and what the intention is behind each decision. It requires implementation of lifestyle changes, aligning goals, and setting control measures.
2. Attention?– The awareness and acknowledgement part. It involves being aware of our financial habits and decisions. It helps keep your goal front and center in your mind and keeps you aware of the economic and non-economic beliefs and habits you may be seeking to change or maintain. A great example of how this applies to finances is how intentionally pausing to envision your?financial goal ?becoming a reality helps you avoid impulsive or emotional spending.
3. Attitude?– This is all about how you feel about money more than what you know about it. It requires understanding that your historical relationship with money – for example growing up in financial scarcity or abundant household – and the symbolic meanings for dealing with it you may be accustomed to will influence your financial personality.

Here’s where emotions come in, as they also play a significant role in everything we do, including our physical and financial health. For example, stress can lead to emotional eating or overspending, while fear can lead to avoiding exercise or taking unnecessary risks with investments, etc. To maintain good health, it is important to recognize and manage these emotions. This is something a financial planning and?wealth management ?professional can help you with.

“Money is just a means to an end — a way to buy the meaningful experiences that make up your life.”

Bill Perkins

Have you heard the phrase “fitness it’s a lifestyle, not a trend”? Well, so is?financial mindfulness .

Being more thoughtful and intentional about your money habits can help save you from decisions that can put your financial success at risk.

You may not think that passing over the activities your family enjoys just to put them in a house at the new hot neighborhood – even though you can’t afford to maintain the lifestyle – or neglecting healthcare to pay for the latest luxury car so you can be the cool kid on the block are significant decisions.

But if those decisions are not aligned with your ultimate goals and your enjoyment of life, how will you know how much overspending is enough? Or how will you control that from turning into a negative and destructive relationship with money? My take is that if it ultimately leads to an unfulfilled and unhappy life for me and my loved ones, then it’s not worth it.

Create Inspired Financial Objectives

Achieving your ideal future state and?leaving a legacy ?you’re proud of behind for your loved ones requires having clarity in your aspirations and goals and taking the actions required to materialize that reality. Putting a successful financial plan in place will take much more than having tons of money and assets in your pocket – after all, dreams are qualitative, they’re not numbers. Your mindset, intentions and attitude will play a significant role too.

I invite you to ask yourself this every time you make a?financial decision . Look at it as a “workout” for your financial health:

Will this bring me joy because it helps me benefit from an experience and create memories or does it not serve a purpose?

Don’t romanticize it but see if your decisions align with your intentions. Then, highlight the areas for improvement and celebrate the positive steps.

If you need support aligning your financial pursuits with your goals, dreams, and aspirations,?contact me . I’ll be happy to help you create a mindful and purposeful plan that serves your short-term and long-term financial objectives.

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Advisory services are offered through CS Planning, Corp., an SEC registered investment adviser.

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