Today I want to talk a little about using values to guide money management. Values are personal beliefs about what you regard as worthy and true. They tend to reflect your upbringing, and they tend to change very little without conscious effort. Values are the worth of something in terms of the amount for which something can be exchanged. People do what they value.
Your goals should be based on your values. The more harmonious your values are to your goals with money, the greater the likelihood of attaining them.
To understand better how you value money, answer this question. If you had an extra $1000, what would you do with it? Seriously think about this. There are a lot of things you could do, but you decided based on your values.
Understanding Values
Whatever you decide, it’s your decision, and it’s not about right or wrong. It’s about your values and your awareness. Understanding your values will help you be a better steward and create a better spending plan. Remember, people do what they value.
One of the things I ask clients to do is to think about and understand what they value. Because people do what they value, knowing and understanding your core values can help you in all that you do, especially in managing your money.
Once you a better understanding of your values, you can consciously connect your spending and your spending plan to your values. And you can create a spending plan that works for you and is easier to stick to.
Additionally, by understanding your values, you can make goals for your money and your finances that reflect your values, and therefore you have a better chance of reaching your goals and the goals are better. Because your goals reflect your values. So, instead of buying a big-screen TV with a credit card, maybe you make a goal to save money and buy it with cash because you value the freedom of not paying the interest you will be putting on your credit card. Now you are using values to guide money management.
Determining Your Core Values
So how do you determine what your values are? Below is a listing of values that can get you started to help you determine your values.
Ambitious, Caring, Charity, Curious, Dependable, Enthusiastic, Ethical,Flexible, Freedom, Generous, Growth, Happiness, Health, Innovation, Intelligence, Loving, Loyal, Optimistic, Personal development, Popularity,Professionalism, Punctuality, Quality, Recognition, Relationships, Reliability,Safety, Security, Service, Spirituality, Stability, Thankfulness, Traditionalism, Understanding, Wealth, Well-being, Wisdom
If I asked you what you valued, what would you say?
- Write down the values that resonate with you. Add any you think of that are not on the list.
- Select the values that you think most accurately describes you and then categorize values into related groups
- Once you have related groups of values, identify a central theme of the group.
- Next, determine your top core values by ranking your central themes in order of importance. If you must narrow your list to under 6 to core values.
Values are unique and influenced by upbringing and experiences.
Keep in mind that it’s important to stay conscious of your values throughout your life because, like spending plans, they can change as your career and personal life develops.
Thanks for reading and sharing with others who may benefit. Take care.