It’s a new year. I know you may be struggling with a Post-Holiday Spending Hangover. But you get to start fresh. Really! So let’s start off the year with a simple, but helpful idea. It’s called Do No Harm Spending.
But first, let me throw out a deep thought: You are the most important person in the world. There is no one more important than you. And you have to take care of yourself. And you have to take care of the woman you will be at the end of the month. You have to take care of the woman you’ll be next year. And you have to take care of the amazing woman you’ll be in 30 years. And how you spend money affects these future selves.
So, when you are out shopping, I want you to practice, “Do No Harm spending”. Simply ask yourself the question—“Will I be financially harmed by buying this?” Because really, as in all money matters, this is about self-care. If you spend the money, will it leave you with sufficient money to save? Will it drive your credit card debt? Will it take money away from something you value more?
Practicing “Do No Harm spending” sounds like a simple thing to say, but it’s about taking care of yourself now, and all your future selves as well.
If I am eyeing $400 boots, I ask myself, “Will Mikelann be financially harmed in the buying of these boots?” Sometimes the answer is yes, and sometimes it is no. When I was car shopping, I had to think of the future Mikelann. “Will Mikelann be financially harmed next year by large car payments?” Yes or no. When I was considering a very large vacation, I had to really think of the future Mikelann. Because the current Mikelann just wanted to wander through Europe and not come back. “Will the future Mikelann be financially harmed by doing this?” Well, that one was particularly irritating, because I was also trying to fund my ROTH, and I was having trouble doing both.
Practice Do No Harm Spending. You are the most important. What you do affects yourself now, at the end of the month, possibly next year and maybe thirty years from now. When you spend, don’t harm yourself, and don’t harm that awesome woman waiting for you in the future.
Thank you for this wonderful dose of tough love. There is such wisdom and truth in your words. I used to associate financial discipline with the joyless deprivation of my parents. It is so easy to confuse impulsive “treating myself to feel better” with kindness to oneself. But it is a false kindness and recovering from this can take a long time. It’s taken me a many years to learn loving financial self-care. Thank you for explaining this in such lucid and simple terms.
What a concept of do no harm to yourself. You are so right we are influenced by many medias and various way to part with our money. Like buying something will make us better or someone to be admired. We are seduced into thinking we can and should have many items we simply do not need. It really hit me the title of “Do No Harm Spending.” For the first time I realized that that is what I am doing when I use my credit card. It was a wake up call and some mental protection for myself. I felt that I had something to hold on to to remind me to protect myself. thank you I will take this mantra with me when I am shopping.