Lesson 1: Who are you? Writing your Money Story
How do you manage your finances? Do you make a lot and spend a lot? Do you save it all and never spend a dime on yourself? Either way, this lesson will shed light on how your money habits reflect your own self esteem.
Who Are You?
What is your money story? Is money in your hands one day and out the next? Do you balance your checkbook to the penny and stress out to the max when you are off by a dime? Do you hang on for dear life between paychecks? Are you afraid to say no to your kids when you can’t afford to buy the new sneakers or go on the fantastic vacation? Or maybe you have buckets of money saved but you haven’t spent a dime on yourself in years. Depending on your response, your money management could be riding high and in great shape or riding low in desperate need of a money makeover.
People often use money for non-monetary reasons. Some people have a need for approval so they use money as a tool to prove they are fun and dependable. Others think money is the enemy and resign themselves to the fact that they “just aren’t good with it.” Our personality traits and habits directly influence how we manage our finances. If you deny yourself essential things like clothes and new shoes because you are afraid to spend money on yourself, then this course will help you. If you’re addicted to being the hero who picks up the dinner check and gets all the glory, this course will shed some light on how you can understand yourself. What is most important is that you take steps to improve your financial self esteem.
I have been and may be where you are financially. I know what it's like to be with and without money. I filed bankruptcy in my late 20s and I have worked in jobs making nearly six figures. Throughout this course I use stories from my life, especially the humiliating tales to show you the extreme circumstances we can create when we neglect our finances. However, more than that, I’ll introduce you to research findings that will help you to gain a new perspective on how you handle money.
This lesson is less about how to improve your credit rating and more about how to train yourself to make better financial decisions. I can’t give you a formula for getting out of debt and I can’t guarantee that your bank account will grow if you take your lunch to work. However, I have one central message to give you throughout this course. You have the ability to improve your financial self esteem if you look at your habits and determine what self defeating traits you are carrying around with you like luggage.
If you decide to plan for success, improving your credit rating can certainly be one of the outcomes. I didn’t plan for financial success. I didn’t plan for anything, so I guess filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy in my mid twenties shouldn’t have been a surprise. My financial mishaps included eviction notices, court dates, threatening phone calls and a car repossession all at the same time. After that whirlwind, within a couple days I decided and filed bankruptcy. Before I could say Target, I had summarized all my debts, calculated how much money I owed in arrears to my creditors, paid my bankruptcy lawyer and filed Chapter 7. I didn’t plan for bankruptcy, but my lack of planning led me right to Chapter 7.
Who you are and how you feel about yourself is most likely influencing the way you plan and care for your finances. Because of my own experience as a child, I limited my ability to be a financial success. My parents didn’t do any financial planning. I grew up with the mindset of never having enough money so, when I did have extra cash, I spent it as soon as I could. My financials have plagued me since I lied on my McDonalds job application at age 15 because I had to make money to help my family. I never saw my parents plan out their finances; we didn’t sit around the table and talk about portfolios and blue chip stocks.
Paul Lim, in his book "Money Mistakes You Can’t Afford to Make," says “53% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck.” For most of my life, that has been my reality. I imagine there was a fear of not knowing when I would have more money so I lived for today. As a result, I never acted with confidence regarding money. However, while we are made up of our childhood experiences, we can still learn the lessons we needed to learn once we are adults.
