I know. How NOT to focus on money doesn’t seem appropriate for a blog claiming to be a money blog.
But hear me out, as I bet you can relate.
If you’re here right now reading this blog, you have an interest in money. Now, I don’t claim to know where your money interests lie. Maybe you’re working toward financial independence. Maybe you’re paying down debt. Maybe you want to make more, spend less, save more, and become a billionaire. Or maybe you clicked on this post because money stresses you out and you don’t want to think about it anymore.
Whatever the reason, you have chosen to focus on money today. Now think about how often you do that.
Is it every day? Every week? Every month? Or is it every minute of every day?
I can’t tell you the appropriate amount of time to spend focusing on, thinking about, or managing your money. But I can tell you that I sometimes spend too much time focusing on mine.
When I was first starting to learn about how to take control of our money, I was legit obsessed with the topic. Really. I couldn’t get enough. I wanted to know every little money-making, debt-paying, invest-for-the-future, frugal hack I could get my hands on. And it worked.
We were able to turn things around in a few years and eventually started down the meandering path to financial independence.
But, my obsession didn’t stop there. Though I’m (mostly) better now, Alan has to reign me in from time to time. He’s had to remind me that life isn’t about the money. And I know that – but I really like (love) the idea of being financially secure for all of eternity. But that’s not even a thing.
So I still need a reminder sometimes. But I have come to a point where I know it’s best to enjoy life now…instead of pursuing the ever-moving target of our money goals.
Things I do to NOT focus so much on money
I was thinking about why things have gotten better for me, you know, on the obsessive money-focus front. There are a few things I do that help me focus more on the important stuff today, while still having the reassurance we’re on the right track, financially speaking.
Think about my 80-year-old self
Of this entire list, this is the one that most helps me NOT focus on money. I got it from the book, The Five Secrets You Must Discover Before You Die and it’s stuck.
Almost all of the decisions I make now start by with these questions:
- Would my 80-year-old self tell me it’s okay to sacrifice for ?
- Will my 80-year-old self look back and regret not doing this? Will she wonder what might have happened if ?
- Is it worth spending the time? Could I be doing something that adds more value to my life today?
These questions really help take the focus off spending, making, saving, investing, and thinking about money. They force me to take a step back and look at the bigger picture of my life.
And there are always trade-offs, friends. If you make the decision to do one thing, it means you can’t do another. It’s like Paula Pant says, you can have anything, but not everything.
Set it and forget it
Having our money set up to take care of itself helps me relax and know we’re on track.
Since our finances are mostly automated, we don’t have to put a lot of time and energy into managing them. The retirement accounts, savings accounts, and most bills are automated. Even my spend tracking is automated (though I do have to categorize it – which I like to do anyway – is this weird?).
Create a money routine
My routine for money management has been very much the same for well over a decade. Though it’s been tweaked and updated over the years, this routine helps me feel like everything is taken care of and I don’t worry or stress about it.
Of course, my routine will be different than your routine. But here are some of the things I do:
Weekly:
- Note checking account balance and update my records, if needed
- Pay bills – I pay any bills that aren’t automated online at least 2 weeks before they’re due
- Mark bills as paid – I have a list of our monthly bills and I mark them off when they’re paid
- Deposit checks on my phone – if we receive a check (which isn’t often)
- Process receipts – I use Tiller to automatically track spending, so as I go through the receipts for the week, I check them on Tiller and categorize them into their budget categories. This takes about 5-10 minutes tops.
Monthly:
- Update net worth
- Pay taxes (if needed, I pay quarterly)
- Check savings balances
- Move money around as necessary (maybe move some savings into checking or the brokerage account)
- Take 5 minutes to run FI numbers. I can’t help it.
Be intentional with spending decisions
We’ve made some stupid spending decisions in the past. Mistakes were made. Lessons were learned.
To squelch my fear of making any more regrettable spending decisions, I usually wait a while to make a decision. Sometimes I never take action. Sometimes I do.
- If it’s a larger spending decision (say, more than $200), I ask myself a lot of questions, like:
- Will this thing still add value or make life easier 1 year from now?
- How soon will it be junk?
- How much space will it take? (Not just physical space, but mental too.)
- How much time will this take?
- Is this something I will regret not doing? (This one is mostly for experiences.)
How does this help me not focus on money? With the focus on the future impact of a decision, I can move forward without continually brooding over it. What’s done is done and I made the best decision I could at the time.
Focus on creating
Whether it’s writing, cooking, painting or building something, creating works.
Not only does it occupy my mind, but so much more! It’s a great way to spend my time, facilitates learning and growth, and, sometimes, adds value to other people’s lives too. It’s a win-win-win.
What about you, friends? Do you focus too much on money? How do you keep from obsessing about your debt, savings, investing, retirement goals?
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Danell says
Automation makes not focusing on money so much easier. It allows me to focus more on creating and doing other things I like. Great post!