2009 May | This Way To Debt

Archive for May, 2009

Emotions and Money

Are you an emotional person? How about your emotions and money?

We usually tie emotions to the women in our lives, and sometimes that is true. Women go through physical changes every month and those changes can bring on emotions that are sometimes hard to live with, let alone try to understand them. But men…..we can be emotional too.

Guys, do you like sports?

I love sports. Especially hockey, and right now the NHL playoffs are being played, and my beloved Detroit Red Wings have advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals and will play the Pittsburgh Penguins, a repeat of last years finals. They took four of five games from the Chicago Blackhawks, in a very tough series. Two of the original six teams that started the NHL, played for the right to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals. Great hits and some great hockey.

Whoooo…. See! I am getting all emotional just thinking about it. Emotions are on both sides of the fence. We just can’t say women are emotional creatures, because, men,… we are too.

Now. What about emotions and money? Do we get emotional when it comes to our money? We sure do. Let me tell you what I mean.

What do you do men, when your wife comes home and tells you how much money she saved today, and all you see are bags of clothes and shoes that she wants you to help her bring in from the car. She starts to tell you about all the sales, and how much she saved on those shoes, and the matching purse for this outfit was also on sale. You scratch your head and start to do a slow burn. Are there emotions starting to flow? Yes they are.

But wait a minute guys. What did you say to her about that new fishing rod that you just bought last week? Or what about that new driver that you have to have to help you improve your game so you can finally beat the snot out of Jim, who is always just a couple of lucky shots above you. Did she get mad at you for spending the money? Did you defend your actions, as to why you needed and had to have these items? Were the emotions flowing? I bet they were.

We definitely have emotions attached to our money, and they are different by gender and person. I will think nothing of spending a lot of money on something that I think is important and my wife will do the same on what she believes is important.

It’s all a mind set. How I think and feel about money is totally different than how my wife feels, or my daughter, son or anyone else. But how I feel and think about money is going to definitely be the driving force behind how I use it.

I want you to sit down with a pad of paper and jot down what you would do if you had a ten million dollars. How would you use your new found fortune? What would you do first? We’ve all done this before, when you hear of someone who has just won the lottery. We get together with friends or co workers, and discuss what we would all do if we had all that money. You have fifty different people, you get fifty different answers. Write yours out and really give it some thought. Dig down deep into your soul for the answers. Then ask yourself…..Why?

Getting out of debt is getting the right mindset and thinking process about money. Once you know what your emotions are concerning money, then we need the right mindset, and plan to get back on the right track. The way we think affects the way we act. Why do you think so many people who have won big cash prizes in the lottery end up broke. How could they go though all that money? What were they thinking?

I will have more to say on this next week. Do your assignment and I think you will be surprised at how close the answers to your debt are.

Sorry for the delay in getting this blog update, but I have been moving the last couple of weeks, and I hate moving. I can’t find anything, but it is finally coming around. Just had to get the right mind set, I guess.

Let me know what you think of money. What is important and how would you spend a ten million dollars? Write it out and tell me what you come up with.