It’s not nice to admit but I have a weakness. However, I have acknowledged my weakness and I feel like I have gained control over it. My weakness was that I was not able to keep money in the bank.
WHAT?
Yes, that’s the thing that held me back financially – my weakness. If you’re not careful YOUR WEAKNESS CAN HOLD YOU BACK FINANCIALLY.
So, do you know what your weakness is when it comes to your finances?
HOW MY WEAKNESS CONTROLLED ME
I didn’t think it was a big deal until one day – a day before Pay Day I felt like I wanted to spend my last money on pizza. Pizza! Because I was getting paid the next day, I had to get pizza. I’d always spend all my money whenever I knew “new” money was coming in.
I realise that I would say to myself: “I need to make more money just so that I won’t have to think about when Pay Day is coming…” Although making more money helped a lot, I was still bad at keeping money in the bank. I felt the need to always spent it.
MOVING FORWARD
What did I do about the weakness after I had identified the problem?
I started paying more on bills, like I’d pay more on my domain hosting or rent. That way, I’d have a little minus or I would pay less the following month. Eventually I opened an investment account so that I could send money in there to be saved.
This went on for months – where I’d sent money elsewhere, paid more on an account or have my child go for some class/ lesson. I even looked for reasons to give money away. It went on for months where I just had to spend all my money.
Eventually I realised “NO! This has to stop! I want to be in control here.” I decided I don’t want to spend just for the sake of spending. I want to also have time to think about where I am spending less.
I started thinking about what’s important to me long term and I started setting long term money goals.
I’ve also realised that I kept on saying “I’m living hand to mouth” and saying these words determined my actions. I’ve decided to no longer say these words.
IT’S NO LONGER HOLDING ME BACK
I’m now at a place where I can have money in the bank, just have it there. Of course, I try to save more money but I do keep money just in case I need it for some emergency.
So, my question to you: have YOU identified a weakness you have when it comes to money? Realising you have a weakness is a start, it means you can work towards finding a solution to the problem.
Thanks for reading! Let me know what part of this blog post you liked – in the comments below.
It’s So true. We all have weaknesses that cause financial strain.
Mine is similar to yours. I always find reasons to spend money. These reasons are always valid and some times I would go over the estimated budget. For now I don’t have solutions. My husband though helps to balance things because he is not that much of a spender. He saves money.
Maybe my solution would be to learn from him.
Thanks for sharing Mandisa. You can learn from him. But I think it’s good that we start with acknowledging our weaknesses, because that way we can make changes to our behaviour. Take it one day at a time and see how you can start small to change your weakness. Ultimately it won’t be a weakness any more. All the best.
So proud of you for making this choice. It’s really difficult especially if you never grew up with any financial structure. It really is a mindset thing and damn is it hard to change a habit!
You’re so right, it’s hard to change the habit. It’s a journey, one day at a time.
This was a great blog post, Melissa. I enjoyed reading it. I think many of us can relate to feeling the need to spend money just because it’s there.
This was a great blog post, Melissa. I enjoyed reading it. I think many of us can relate to feeling the need to spend money just because it’s there.
I like that you realised, “NO! This has to stop! I want to be in control here.” That’s what prompts us to move in the right direction!
Thanks so much for your feedback. I appreciate it a lot.