Step 6 Tips for Success
- Do NOT approach this like a diet, depriving yourself of what brings you joy or satisfaction. Remember, this is about respecting your life energy!
- Introduce changes at a reasonable pace that brings an ongoing feeling of accomplishment, gradually building momentum toward your goals.
- Look at your categories. Lowering your expenses will occur painlessly when you recognize the categories where you are not getting proportional fulfillment and those that are out of alignment with your purpose.
- Sometimes changing our spending habits involves taking some risks and stepping out of our comfort zone. This can be especially true in terms of interactions with others. Be patient with yourself, but do push out of your usual boxes – and be open to what you can learn in the process.
Be willing to ask questions of sales people and manufacturers to determine whether an purchase really suits your purposes, even if it exposes your ignorance about the item or activity.
- Keep observing how these changes affect your monthly tabulation and wall chart – and how you feel about that.
- Remember that the purpose of Step 6 is still to align your personal finances with your long-term goals and values – not to be a miser! You may find that eliminating unnecessary spending can actually allow you to spend more for items that satisfy other concerns besides price, like supporting local businesses or buying from toxic-free manufacturers.
- There are many good resources with hints and tips for reducing spending. See the FI website for helpful books and organizations.