My Money Journal

I began keeping a money journal last year and it has transformed my life. It started out to be just a record of my spending plans and day to day purchases, but soon I was expressing my feelings about how money was affecting all aspects of my life.

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Money is a concept, an object and a symbol. Our economies have been designed so that our necessities must be purchased (except air... for now) and we have been raised to put a dollar value on everything, even time.
It is tied self-esteem if you are in the role of being the breadwinner or amongst a certain group of peers.

We build up our individual ideas about money; we give it a personality and motives. I have often heard things like: 'Rich people are selfish or evil', 'I'm broke and I will always be poor', or  'Trouble always comes when you have some money that you want to save'.

"For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil."

1 Timothy 6:10

Everyone has a money history that is unique because of their experiences in life. Some grow up in lack and some grow up in excess, while others fall in the shades of grey in between the two.
Over a lifetime or even in course of month, we can go from one end of the spectrum to the other and ironically, the amount of money we have may not changed.

This is why a homeless man can feel rich with 10 dollars but for someone else it is a pittance at best.

I poured my heart out in my journal and discovered my own money history. I found that I watched my parents and started building a money mantra based on how they handled money. When I got older, I added in the opinions of my friends, my teachers and concepts I found in romance novels. By the time I got my first job, I had view point on money and how it should be saved and spent, who had a lot and who a little, and where I fell in the mix of things.

Keeping a money journal made me question my long standing beliefs. By re-reading my entries every few weeks, I was able come up with new ideas, and different approaches to problems.

My relationship with money has improved ten-fold in this last year and almost all of the cornerstones of my current success were laid in the jumble of thoughts in my journal.

In short, my money journal supercharged my money evolution.

Consider starting your own money journal

If you find yourself worrying about money a lot and having negative thoughts running through your head at odd hours, a money journal may be your ticket to peace of mind.

Direct these thoughts outward into your journal. You don't have to be eloquent or even make any sense. Just let everything you are ruminating on and feeling pour out of you and fill up the black space on the page.

You can use a traditional journal, start a blog, post on a forum post or use an app on your cell phone. Do whatever works for you.

It may feel silly, uncomfortable or awkward at first, but keep at it. Writing out your thoughts will give you clarity and spring clean your mind. You will be able to notice patterns of thinking or behaviours and take steps to alter them if they don't serve you any longer.

If you give it a whirl, let me know how it is going.