Financial Capability: Creating a Love Affair for True Liberation

Day 17/366 Days of writing and publishing pieces in 2024.

As a personal trainer/life coach I’ve been on the personal development journey for twenty plus years. And one of the areas I’ve had to clean up in my own life and now helping others has been our relationship with money. I’ve learned a lot through the years studying, examining my belief system, and learning to budget. And I’m finally starting to really feel expansion and abundance in my life. One of my big goals has been to be debt free by age 50. That’s over a year away and it looks like it’s going to happen sooner than I anticipated. So what better time to share bits of my journey on this topic than now.

An Invitation to Sacred Stability: What if you could truly make money grow on trees? Financial Literacy is Intriguing. Would you agree? Do you understand its meaning? Financial literacy refers to the knowledge of making wise decisions with money. However, I believe it goes beyond that—it's about being aware and responsible with your financial choices. It's like engaging in Tantric Sex with your wealth. I know that’s an abstract idea but stay with me.

Allow me to explain further. Just as nutrition is essential for exercise, a budget is crucial for financial literacy. Nutrition contributes to 80% of your health results, while a budget is responsible for about 80% of your financial freedom, if not more. Many people perceive making a budget as restrictive and cringe at the thought of it. But let me invite you to reconsider or reframe for that matter. The budget is like foreplay, setting the stage for a better life. It creates more margin, ease in your nervous system, space, and prepares you to receive. Being in receiving mode activates abundance. In fact, the budget can be incredibly exciting, akin to seduction on the path to liberation.

Due to the lack of financial literacy education, we tend to fear it. We worry that we won't be good at it, won't get it right, or that it will be too challenging. However, when you train yourself to be consistent with it, you'll find that money can indeed feel like it grows on trees. Initially, you may go through a transition period, an initiation of sorts. All sorts of feelings will arise, and you'll have to face and embrace them. Thoughts like "this sucks," "I'm missing out," or "how long will I have to live like this?" may surface. It's all an illusion created by your ego. Often, we make impulsive purchases to numb something we don't want to confront. But once you overcome that initial phase, a sense of relief washes over you. You'll start exclaiming, "OMG! Look at all this money I have that I didn't know I had. Look at how far I can stretch my dollars. Look at how much more ease I have in my body. Look at how much better I'm sleeping." You'll effortlessly say no to spending on things that once left you broke, without feeling like you're missing out. It will feel like you're playing a video game and just scored extra points. Personally, I liken it to playing Miss Pac-Man, a feeling of "FUCK YEAH, look at me winning at money!"

So, how do you create more margin? You need to increase your income and decrease your spending. If you can't figure out how to generate more income initially, you'll have to focus on reducing your expenses. Let me illustrate with a simple example. I used to buy coffee daily, thinking it wasn't a significant expense. However, when you consider that $6 a day amounts to $2190 over 365 days, it becomes eye-opening. That's $182 a month, more than my monthly phone bill. That money could be used to invest in myself, take a course that piques my interest, or create a second emergency fund for unexpected expenses. Now, I play a game of stretching my dollars. When I receive payments, I prioritize paying myself and saving first, and then see how far I can stretch what's left. I have a separate account for fun activities, using money from coaching clients to cover bills and money from art for leisure and travel. This approach keeps the energy around my art clean, as I don't use that money for bills. By pausing and asking myself if I'll remember this purchase in three months when faced with unexpected expenses, I've learned to make more mindful choices. I've embraced meal prepping and making coffee at home, and when I do make a purchase, I ask myself, "What's a less expensive way to get this?" Often, just asking that question leads to finding an answer. Alternatively, I ask myself, "How can I create extra money for this?" When I travel, I book an art show before or after to offset costs, and I budget for the trip in advance. I've created a belief system where I know that every time I travel, more money comes in.

Financial literacy is undeniably alluring. Creating margin is pleasurable and attracts more abundance to you. It's all about energy. The budget can be orgasmic, and financial responsibility is about finding pleasure in managing your wealth. That is true liberation. Imagine having a love affair with financial literacy and birthing a child through the process—Financial Freedom.

How does this reframe land for you?

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