I was the bedside company for a friend who underwent a surgical heart procedure on Monday. It took all day...first the prep, then waiting to hear about the results, and then sitting with this friend during the anesthesia recovery.

 

I couldn't talk on the phone because the signs posted all around implied I'd kill a patient if I did. I had to walk down several halls and through a couple of lobbies to be in a space that was more public and read through emails.

 

Most of the day I was quietly reading a book, offering water and ice when my friend occasionally woke. I can't say it was meditatively quiet because the hospital noises are frequent and seemingly continuous...ominous beeps, buzzers and "code grey" announcements. I didn't ask what "code grey" was, but there were no pounding footsteps after the announcements so I assumed it didn't mean anything dire.

 

At first I was uncomfortable. I felt like I was doing something wrong in not staying in contact with email, calls, texts, and all. Then something interesting happened. I started to enjoy it. It felt like a guilty pleasure and I wanted to have it stretch out even longer. We didn't leave the hospital until 5 pm, having arrived at 5:30 am, so it was a full day.

 

When was the last time you were out of touch with the many ways we keep in touch? And what does all this have to do with money?

 

The article this time is about how quiet times with your money can bring you peace of mind and centeredness. Having these concentrated moments with your financial elements can give you great return.

 

In the meantime, I highly recommend finding a place with no cell coverage, no 3G or wi-fi.   There's a certain grace in being in the moment, undistracted and at peace. Do you have any stories about a time like this? Please share them with me. And, in case you're wondering, the surgery went well and my friend is fine.

 

Until next time,

 

sb  

 

If someone asked you what behaviors are best for a sense of financial security, what would you include? You might think of saving money, paying your bills, checking your bank account, but would you talk about the quiet time that you spend with your money?

 

I'm not talking about chanting with your hand on a stack of dollar bills, but rather having certain personal rules where you take a moment prior to taking a financial action. We rarely give ourselves that break in the action, that pocket of opportunity to check in with ourselves.

 

I'm going to address three of those quiet moments that can bring great reward if you include them in your financial behaviors:

 

ONE: Taking a moment to plan your month.

The traditional way of budgeting was to take an annual amount for the year, and divide it by twelve. The answer is the budgeted amount for each month. There are two major problems with this method: first - the budgeted amounts that aren't due this month are rarely put into savings for those months when they will be due, and second - this method of planning your money implies that each month is relatively the same.

 

Is your spending exactly the same every month? That's not my experience. Each month has its own cluster of expenses and events that affect the cash flow. Sometimes the month might have less going on, and sometimes a month is so packed with expenses and events that you don't have any choice but to use a credit card or get into savings. If you haven't anticipated these, you can feel like you've done something wrong.

 

Planning each month before you begin the month is a way for you to be alerted to the month's challenges, take action to change things prior to money being spent and then relax into the month as it occurs. The actions you might take would be to reduce what you plan to spend, eliminate an expense that isn't bringing you real value, or postpone an appointment or errand until a less challenged month. This can only work if you look in advance, before the money gets spent.

 

TWO: Taking a moment to consider your own needs before you begin to pay bills.

Bills are important, and I pay my bills in a timely fashion. But they aren't more important than your needs. I didn't get out of a cycle of struggle until I started to put money aside for groceries, gas and unavoidable errands/appointments before I started paying bills. What finally struck me is that there are always more bills to pay, but there isn't any more money when it comes to groceries once it's spent.

 

One of the interesting elements of a debting cycle, is that the credit card gets used for very necessary items like groceries and gas. The reason that the card gets used is that the bills swallow up all the money. This person is unintentionally putting the needs of the creditor/vendor before their own and this one action can keep a struggle-process going on and on.

 

Take a moment to set aside the money for the necessaries, and then use the balance on bills. It will help you feel less frantic and may help you identify problems that you can solve before your credit card is up to its limit or savings are gone.

 

THREE: Taking a moment when you're shopping.

I took a seminar recently on "How Electronic Banking Affects Spending Behavior." The take-away that I got from this seminar is that there are two actions as we are shopping that can change our spending: one is to check the product reviews on our phones and the other is to check our balance in the bank.

 

Years ago, I had someone tell me that they had a "24 Hour Rule" regarding small unplanned purchases and a "One Week Rule" for more expensive items. She would write down all the particulars for something that she'd found, and then walk away. In her experience, 95% of the time she wouldn't go back for the item and if it was still on her mind after the time period, then she would return to buy it.

 

Taking a moment to read a review, check your bank balance, or to walk away from an unplanned expense in the moment, can give you that quiet time to consider. Breaking the "wanting" momentum is a great way to make sure that you're spending your money in ways that bring you the most value.

 

Quiet, concentrated time that you dedicate to your finances can really pay off. If you find that taking these moments still isn't solving your issues or if you can't seem to get yourself to take the time, then please call or email me so that we can find ways tailored to you to achieve the peace of mind and financial security that you want.