The end of a year is often a time for reflection. What are we thankful for? What challenges did we face last year? What do we want from the coming year for ourselves, our family and our community? Often the short answer is that we want to be happy. We want those we love to be happy especially given the challenges of the past few years.
A simple, common word that can be hard to explain, because while Webster’s dictionary may define it as ‘having, displaying, or marked by pleasure or joy,” ultimately, we must each define how we achieve happiness for ourselves.
When we founded Money Coaches Canada, our vision was, and still is, to help Canadians do much more than pay down debt, invest for the future and plan for retirement. We want our clients to achieve a level of financial well-being and contentment they never thought possible – in good times and even through the inevitable challenging times.
In 17 days, we begin a new year and many Canadians will find themselves making resolutions about money. Most promises will be about specific actions like spending less, saving more, retirement planning, and paying down debt.
The majority of those resolutions will fail, for a very simple reason. When the cheering and toasting ends on New Year’s Eve everyone will be exactly the same person they were before; the same person who didn’t spend less and save more in 2022.
Some people will ride a wave of New Year motivation for a while, but waves roll into shore and disappear. As Albert Einstein said, “No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it.”
Some people will make lasting changes to their financial situation, but not because they lay out a strict budget, or invest in one mutual fund over another. They will change their relationship to money, and that will make all the difference.
They won’t try to wrestle themselves into making “better” financial decisions that leave them feeling restricted or deprived. They will do something many people can’t imagine. They will make friends with their money. They will begin to see money as a trusted partner instead of something to battle against.
At Money Coaches Canada, we do more than advise on money management and retirement strategies – we help our clients take charge of their finances and lead richer lives. Or using Mr. Einstein’s language, we help them change their level of consciousness around money.
If you want to make lasting change around money, understanding how your emotions impact your financial decisions is key to breaking unconscious patterns and unlocking your financial power.
The first step is to understand where your emotions, assumptions and baggage come from. Just like your relationships with people, your relationship with money is heavily influenced by those around you now and those who influenced you as you grew up. You need to turn off the noise about things you should be doing and discover what matters to you, not to those around you.
Changing your relationship to money takes being open to a mindset shift. Take small, manageable steps towards financial empowerment and be realistic with what you can accomplish at any one time. There’s no need to be an expert overnight.
If you try to absorb too much new information or take on too many tasks on your financial to-do list, you’re more likely to be overwhelmed and abandon your best intentions altogether. But you don’t have to do it alone.
Even more than the advice we offer around retirement planning, debt management and budgeting, improving your relationship to money is one of the unique benefits of working with a money coach.
And improving your relationship with money is the difference between resolutions that succeed and those that fade away before spring.
Money Coaches Canada celebrated its 12th anniversary in October 2022. Sheila and I are so proud and impressed by the coaches and the 3500+ clients that helped us become the leading network of advice-only financial coaches in Canada.
If you need an ally to make 2023 the year you achieve financial happiness and peace of mind, visit our coaches’ page and arrange for a free consultation.
From everyone at Money Coaches Canada, we wish you the all the best for the holidays and a very Happy New Year.
