Why for women, money should be one of the top goals for the New Year.
Part 2: My mind on my money and money on my mind. The flow.
There’s a yoga adage that says “energy flows where the mind goes.” While I doubt any yogic text says this explicitly, the lesson is there. If you want expansion in any facet of life, you have to devote a little attention and intention in that direction. I still feel pushed up against a personal barrier talking about money in the same breath as yoga. And yet, I do know if yoga is about healing, then this is one place I need to direct some attention.
I am not anywhere near a savvy thought leader in the realm of finances. Sometimes, however, it’s about sharing your own vulnerabilities to create some movement, conversation, and motivation for someone else.
Zen money. The Yin and Yang.
There are two major approaches to financial freedom:
Financial Wellness: How you feel about money. The deep-seated stories, beliefs, and myths subconsciously contribute to behaviors that support or undermine the flow of money through your life.
Financial Literacy: How you manage your money. What you know about investing, saving, retirement, and assets. The details of your finances that will fund you throughout your life.
While exploring both practical financial advice and zen approaches to the energy of money, I’ve found some gems. Ken Honda, author of Happy Money, goes deeper into the principles of financial literacy and wellness through the concepts of Money EQ and Money IQ. He emphasizes the basis for financial flow lies in gratitude, trust, and generosity as invisible assets that are more enduring than money.
Financial Wellness and Relationship to Money EQ (Emotional Quotient)
Receiving Money: Being open and gracious to the flow of money into your life from outside sources. Channeling gratitude for all that comes your way. Believing you are worthy to receive.
Enjoying Money: Understanding the value of money comes in the experiences we enjoy by spending it. As much as we devote our time to earning money, it’s how we spend it that makes memories that fulfill our life.
Trusting Money: Accepting the energy of money is like a tide that ebbs and flows. Trusting that if money flows out, it will flow back in. Even as it fluctuates, staying away from a scarcity mindset and free of worry.
Sharing money: Giving and sharing what you can. Believing in a sufficiency mindset that says there is enough for everyone. Sharing isn’t a generosity of money, it’s a generosity of spirit.
Before you dive into every book on investing or absorb all your free time into a side hustle for more income, devote some energy to your financial wellness. Get clear on how you feel about money and cater to any mindsets that need to heal. It may take a look at your origin stories and money myths to understand the subconscious beliefs that cycle through in this relationship. Any gripping through greed or grasping through worry creates an attitude that breaks the flow. Let money go with joy, gratitude, trust and generosity.
Financial Literacy and Money Management: Money IQ (Intellectual Quotient)
Making money: Being strategic with your income and what you want from that income. Align your passions and skills with how you earn your dollars. Going beyond numeric goals to uncover a greater purpose through your work.
Spending money: Keeping a harmonious equilibrium between saving, spending, and investing. Too much input in any of the three can lead to depletion or stagnation.
Protecting Money: Tending to behaviors, financial cycles, and unexpected circumstances that trigger any loss of income. Being aware of all factors that contribute to money going out.
Increasing Money: Keeping true to your potential. Knowing that sometimes the best opportunities come through investing in your own personal and professional growth.
The foundation of your wealth (and I don’t mean only cash in the bank) comes from your feelings about the green stuff. Even more so from your work in the world. This informs your saving and spending behaviors, all while weaving through your self-perceptions and world view. It can become a tangled mess of misconceptions that not only effects your self-esteem, but your feelings of value and self-worth. Financial literacy is key to empowerment, especially for women, who have traditionally been left out of these kinds of conversations. Take interest.
The art of financial freedom and creative money.
If we understand that money is a currency, like electricity is a current, we know that it needs to flow to fuel every circuit in our life. Is the stagnation through your financial wellness or your financial literacy? Or is it a combination of both? Take inventory. Assess your Money EQ and IQ:
Mindful Spending: What adds true value to your life? What expenditures drain your energy without giving anything back?
Dharma Dollars (Artha Dharma): How would your saving and spending habits best support your work in the world? Can you align how you earn your money with your passions, skills and values?
Educate yourself: How can you most improve your financial literacy? What motivates you to take charge of your own bank account?
Invest in yourself: What feeds your personal and professional growth? What dreams and goals are you saying yes to when you write that check?
Budget based on joy: What kind of spending gives you the most memorable experiences? Where do you you choose living over owning?
We feed the flow in our generosity and gratitude. We are more gracious when we pay our water bill for a tap that pours freely. Then acknowledge inequities by contributing to a cause that works to provide clean water to 703 million people without it. With joy, we willingly sacrifice a new sweater to save for a trip that will create lasting memories with our family. And when we pay tuition for a class, we are sending a message of value to our self-esteem that says “I believe in my own potential.” Riches come alive in our relationships and more vibrant in these invisible assets.
