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Three New Behaviors

I was thinking today about how much this journey has helped my "everyday". Since tackling this goal, I have a more positive mindset. When considering the next few years, I'm excited to think about where I'll be. I've learned that my mental energy is best directed towards something with purpose. That probably sounds obvious, but sometimes life inside the 9-5 working schedule can become a little bit flat inside the walls of it's monotony. If my daily thoughts and direction aren't set to a specific path, I can often end up feeling like a ship in the midst of a storm. With purpose, even if some life turbulence happens, I have a course to get corrected back on when things settle back in.
There are a few behaviors and mindsets that have taken hold this year. While they serve a purpose for my financial journey, I think that they will serve me well for life after these goals are met.
1. Forget the Jones's - I've mentioned this here before. The money we spend and the effort we put forth to get noticed by other people has to end for the health of all of us. It's not good for personal finances, and it's not good for our personal well being to continually be comparing ourselves. Some may argue that it can be motivating, but when do the comparison's end? It's alright to have and desire nice things, if those nice things provide you value in life. Personally, I'm more aware now to what my motive is. I've benefited from learning how to value myself over finding that validation elsewhere.
2. Do not spend is my new default - Instead of having the mindset of "I have x amount of dollars this week after my bills are paid, I can now spend it until the next paycheck comes in", I now have a budget and a plan for that money. Spending outside of that budget has become tough. It still happens, but the intention now is "do not spend". This has made debt repayment easier, and will eventually become much easier to increase my savings when the debt is gone.
3. Adopt an attitude of abundance - This isn't very easy in today's environment. Feeling grateful is much easier when you have an attitude of abundance. It's also easier when you compare your life differently, as I talked about in this post. Feeling content helps you live with less, helps you more easily discern between needs and wants. It helps you to appreciate the things and the opportunities that we may take for granted. Making the choice to live with less is actually a great luxury. Setting a goal to ONLY spend $400 for groceries per month is a luxury. While choosing to live more frugally than I was before, I've come to realize how grateful I am for what I already have.
Hope you enjoyed your Monday.


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