Guilty.
I just blew nine hundred bucks on a pair of snow skis I don’t need.
They won’t even be delivered to me, just held at the Moment Skis factory in Reno, NV.
With them must come a new set of bindings and… of course, another ski trip.
Climate change has yet to bring snow to our magical part of the World.
Indeed I did experience pangs of guilt and “buyer’s remorse”, even waking up in the middle of the night wondering if I should have done that silly thing (Brian’s mum in Life of Brian springs to mind “he’s a very naughty boy”).
Notwithstanding the 2-months of deliberation, the anguish of parting with my hard-earned on something perceivably frivolous was palpable.
Alas, the deal is done, the sticks are in the quiver, and they will get used, The guilt is gone.
Finalising a refinance with a client/friend the following day whose hubby is a fellow windsurfer we were discussing the use of money and its relationship to the meaning of life.
Yeah, it was deep.
We agreed that spending on things that bring genuine joy (her word) isn’t in our minds wasteful.
Frivolous spending of any kind, is.
I’m stealing her words here, but the phrase “reparenting” came up. Quite apt I thought for its applicability to our relationship to money.
We adopt bad habits from those we spend time around. Our money habits are generally learned from parents and certainly to some degree from those we spend our time with. The Joneses, et al.
You can “re-parent” yourself. In fact, you being the responsible self-reliant type who reads these articles understand that you are the only one who can look after number one.
Immediately before the ski-splurge, I reviewed the previous 6-months of saving, my loans, and felt comfortable that I hadn’t deviated from my plan. I could splurge guilt-free.
It was a 10-minute cross-check. Taking a step back to review my position, “parent” myself, account for my actions prior to taking any, and make a rational, informed decision.
Do you do this? If not, why not? And if you’re not, who is doing it for you?
Tumbleweed.
The most common feedback we hear from clients about our (very thorough) process is that it was like a financial health check, maybe with a healthy dose of reparenting from this guy.
And let me just say this, it’s the high-earners that always benefit the most from this as they have less time to keep an eye on things and more leaks to plug.
If you’ve been in a non-parented money relationship with a bank or low-grade phantom-broker, book your free Introductory Finance Consultation with me here. A bit like a mini-strategy session, 10-mins is what you’ve got, or $54.80 of my time. They won’t remain free forever.
>>book here today or call 94331312 to speak to one of the team.
p.s. We did open up a few extra spots next week after some grumpy callers got the better of us. Don’t be grumpy, just book early.
Cheers,
Brodie Brown
BH Brown Mortgage Brokers