Expanding on the recent idea of changing our Money Mindset, let’s look at a couple more tools to use on our journey towards feeling financially confident!
When we identify our Core Values and our WHY, we can align our purpose with our decisions and habits.
This matters in personal finance because we’re much more likely to produce sustainable money habits when we have direct knowledge of why we do what we do.
Identifying our Core Values and our WHY can help to create a solid foundation to work from.
Let’s dig in!
Core Values are personal ethics or ideals that guide you when making decisions, building relationships and solving problems.
We can think of our core values as our personal “north star”, guiding us along our way.
When we’re off track, doing something counterintuitive to what we value most, we feel it.
When we make decisions from a place that is not aligned with our values, we suffer.
Some of the most popular personal core values are:
Altruism, Dependability, Generosity, Integrity, and Courage.
If any of those sit with you (there are many others!), how might we link them to our personal finances?
How might you be Altruistic, or Dependable, or Courageous when it comes to your money?
Are you someone who values giving to Charity? Meeting deadlines and paying bills on time? Comfortable taking on risk when it comes to investing? If Integrity strikes a chord with you, are you living in integrity with your finances?
What might that look like?
You can see how identifying the most important things in your life can directly translate to how you handle your money.
In order to narrow down your Personal Core Values, visit http://webmedia.jcu.edu/advising/files/2016/02/Core-Values-Exercise.pdf.
It’s a long list! Keep reviewing and crossing out values until you’re left with a handful you just cannot cross out.
What’s left on the list are your Personal Core Values!
The other motivator when it comes to thinking about our finances is identifying our WHY.
Core values are the components of your WHY.
To identify your WHY, think about what excites you most, your vision of where you want to be, and who is there with you.
Express your WHY as your personal mission statement for your life.
It might read something like, “I do X in order to help Y because Z is so important to me.”
For example, when it comes to identifying your WHY for your personal finances, it can be as simple as “I manage my money wisely so that I can reach my goals. My goals are X, Y, and Z.”
Keeping our WHY in mind, as we move through life, in alignment with our core values can produce really powerful results!
Take a moment to identify WHAT is most important to you (your core values) and come up with a statement reflecting WHY you do it!
Unlocking Abundance 