There are many “financial experts” out there that tell us to budget well, sell stuff online, or stop having our daily coffee in order to fix our current financial situation and start managing our money, but if this worked so well, why are so many of us feeling shame around our fiscal situation?

Luckily, there are some real and simple things that we can do in order to conquer this money beast, which don’t revolve around budgeting

• Start With The Gut, Rather Than The Head (Understanding Your Money Story)

This is all about controlling the emotional side of your money story, and then moving onto your goals. Your money story is all about the ancient beliefs that you have learnt from a young age. We need to ask ourselves

What were our interactions with money with our parents?

Were there any incidents that really stuck with us?

Understanding this will let us rewrite our money story. What would our life look like if we didn’t have to worry about credit card debt or paying your next bill?

• Identify Your Goals

To start with this step, think about what I don’t want to happen. Once you have thought about your most dreaded outcome, (eg retiring at 60 and living on cat food) it is far easier to say no to the things that will lead you to that outcome. 

• Overcome The 3 Major Money Problems

These are the 3 problems that we all face. In this step, you need to:

Increase the pain of payment.

Make savings visible

Start thinking long term

• Start Thinking About The 2 Most Important Aspects of Money Management

These 2 aspects are the most important things that we need to come across. These are:

Connection

Accountability

These are some simple steps that you can follow in order to start taking control of your money situation, rather than having your money situation control you.

You don’t need to feel shame about your money, there are alternatives out there for you.