Why My Brain Loves My Visa Card

As you know I’m making a huge effort to save more money and lose weight. Here is what I’m learning about saving money.

Don’t buy stuff. Don’t even go to stores. Stores are wonderfully set up to affect the emotional part of your mind.

I’ve written a few times about the emotional mind fighting the rational mind. And my solution is to shape the world around you (avoid shopping). That way your emotional mind is completely taken out of the equation.

The problem is that the emotional mind wins more often than it should. Let’s look at how Costco stores are set up. Whenever I walk into a Costco store there are beautiful flat screen televisions when you first walk in.

My first thought is “It would be great to have a second plasma TV in the bedroom. And it would only be a small one, so only $899!”

As I round the second corner there is always a display case of beautiful watches and jewellery.  I love to look at the luxury watches at great prices. Good thing I’ve learnt not to buy watches.

But the flat screen TV thought I have, comes up every time I step into a Costco.

If I bought the TV It would be a purely emotional purchase.  My rational mind (don’t need a second TV and I don’t have the cash) would severely lose out.

The good thing is that I don’t make these Costco purchases. But…

But I did buy a beautiful Hugo Boss lamb skin jacket the other month. It was marked down from $1500 to $1000 to $262. Did I need this jacket? Noooo. Was it purely an emotional purchase? Of course it was. My prefrontal cortex lost all rational reasoning. AND I used my Visa card. AND I bought a couple of lovely polo shirts. Total bill for one jacket and two polo shirts was around $400.

Whenever we consider buying anything (even cereal) it is a tug of war in between the emotional and rational sides.  That cereal is very expensive but I love it AND it’s healthy.

So the lesson here is to be very aware of what triggers you to purchase something. And be especially conscious of your financial situation. And also be aware that using a Visa card is much, much less painful than having to go out and withdraw $400 cash AND hand it over for a jacket and two summer tops.

Using a Visa card is much more abstract to the brain then using cash.

This is how my brain works. I much more aware now.   What do I do with my Visa card?

Quite Simply, The 5 Most Important Money Rules

1. Have you ever tracked your spending habits? Are you terrified to find out what you REALLY spend your money on?  I once tracked my money habits down to the last penny for two years. I found out I was spending most of my money on miscellaneous items. Itunes, Amazon books, nice clothes, car repairs, dinners out…etc.   It’s incredibly easy to spend money on fun or emergency items. Until you actually see the facts, you have no fucking clue! Facts will help you! Stop being scared and face reality. Track your spending.

2. Hide your money and hide it well. I have repeated this a million times. Out of sight out of mind. Have part of your pay check deposited into a 401k. Make it as difficult as possible for you to extract money from your bank account. Whenever I see my bank accounts with a little extra I say, “Hey, I deserve to spend that little extra”. Justifying spending that little extra is way too easy! You will never build up a nest egg thinking this way. Hide it!

3. Live within your means. The number one rule in money is to STOP spending more than you earn. Stop using easy credit. Stop buying houses you can’t afford. Stop keeping up with your friends, family or neighbours toys.  Your ego is your biggest enemy. Live simple, live free, and live happy!

4. Find out what money means to you. Is it just there to pay your bills every pay check? Is it a way to impress your friends? Or is it a convenient way to pay for items? Are you buying stuff or are you buying experiences. Experiences can last a lifetime while stuff never does. Find out what money means to you. Control it before it controls you!

5. Hang out with your friends and appreciate nature. Turn off the TV.  Avoid advertising. Money is only paper to pay for items in your life. Life is about living each and every day with joy, meaning and happiness. You don’t need money for this. Surprised? Don’t be. Go out and meet your friends and have a great time. Did that cost a lot? No. It’s a fact that your connection with your friends brings you the most happiness in life. Paper money doesn’t even come close. Love nature and love your friends.  They will love you back. Money doesn’t.

7 Ways True Millionaires Think

• Live below your means. You may have read this a hundred times before, but it is THE golden rule. What if you live above your means? You will then spend more money than you earn. It IS that simple. The truly wealthy do not spend more than they earn.
• Your financial situation will improve when you spend more time planning your finances then spending time purchasing luxury items. Spending time planning your finances must be a priority.
• If you dislike planning your financial future, find a good financial planner. Ask your friends who they use.
• Looking rich is not important to wealthy people. What is important is to have financial independence and freedom from all the stress that money creates. Don’t we all want a cosy and joyful life?
• Wealthy people do not raise children that are dependent on hand outs. Their children control their money. They don’t let money control them.
• Most truly wealthy people live a comfortable lifestyle, not a flashy one.
• Most wealthy people give credit to these factors to their success: Integrity, Discipline, Social Skills, a Supportive Spouse and Hard Work.

Resources

The Millionaire Next Door

The Millionaire Mind.

Related Posts

Millionaire Wealth Building Is Not Rocket Science

If you enjoyed this post today, please do me a big favor and use the “Twitter” button down below (click on the + sign) to share it with your Twitter friends and followers (You can also share it on Facebook, Digg, or any of the other sites you see below as well).

3 Ways To Make Peace With Money

I enjoy money. Actually, I have had a strong love hate relationship with money all my life. It has completely stressed me out at times, been a constant worry and also made me ecstatic.

Discover what money represents to you

Are you conscious of how much money you carry around? Is paying bills a chore? Do you whip out a credit card because you want to keep your cash on you? Do you spend more than you make? Let’s face it, money is a huge driving force in our lives. However, first we decide what lifestyle we choose to live and then we try to make enough money to live that lifestyle. Some of my friends are brilliant and thoughtful people yet have no desire to accumulate wealth. As long as they have a roof and food they are happy. Books help too. Some of my friends are wealthy. They love a challenge and some challenges have made them rich. If money has conditioned you to constantly think about it, then you need to change your relationship with it. Do you want a peaceful existence with money? Look first at your lifestyle. Is your lifestyle high maintenance? Perhaps you just need to look around and see how much effort it takes to maintain your lifestyle. If it is too much effort, then make the required changes to live a simpler and less stressful life. Start making those changes today! Start with one small change.

Remove all fear of money.

Most people I know worry about their future when it comes to money. They equate money with happiness. They worry constantly if they will have enough. Or they fall for get rich quick schemes. What if you changed your lifestyle and did not have to worry about money anymore? How would that make you feel? What SENSATION would that bring? It would probably be a huge weight off your back. Your life may even become completely stress free! Don’t you want to FEEL that sensation? Think about waking up every day and not having any money worries. I bet that your lifestyle has become simpler as well. Learn to let all of the fear go. You will love that stress free sensation. Learn to remove all the fear.

Its fine to treat yourself …but

All this talk about materialism on the Internet can make people feel incredibly guilty about buying anything. I don’t think it’s bad to buy yourself a treat for working hard. Even if that treat is a fancy sports car. However, I think it’s important these days to understand whether your purchases are creating a big carbon footprint. I think it’s important to consider the environment when making purchases. A global economy has huge consequences. If you decorate your personal jet with a rare African wood, perhaps you just made that wood extinct. Perhaps the emissions from your jet are seriously contributing to global warming. Perhaps that plastic trinket you bought extracted a cup of oil from the ground. If we do treat ourselves, think about the earth’s resources that went into building that treat. Perhaps you won’t buy it after all. Perhaps your life will also be simpler. And mother earth will thank you. Do you really care? I hope so.

Related Posts

Millionaire Wealth Building Is Not Rocket Science

If you enjoyed this post today, please do me a big favor and use the “Twitter” button down below (click on the + sign) to share it with your Twitter friends and followers (You can also share it on Facebook, Digg, or any of the other sites you see below as well).

How To Start An Internet Business

I will be sending out an E-mail to my nearing 5000 subscribers this week. Some have subscribed to the free version of www.mylifechanges.com and some to the deluxe paid version. I have had many people ask me how or why I started this business and I will now answer you.

Passion

I have had an intense passion to start my own business since as long as I can remember. I also have a deep passion for physiology, sociology, self development and also business. I am constantly reading (hundreds of books) and refining my own thoughts about what is the best life to live. I have also lived an interesting life, being adopted, and half Asian to European parents in North America. I have lived through a couple of very tough health issues that affected me both mentally and physically. Without the passion to try to make a difference in this world my web site would have never succeeded. I believe without a doubt in my mind that this is something I love to do. I love to provide great information. I love to write my own articles. I want you to learn and help me learn. Occasionally I just want to kick people’s asses really hard, because making life changes isn’t that hard. Just start. Today.

Money

Yes, I would love to make enough money to live off this site or at least nicely supplement my day income. I worked hard to design the website, I believe I am providing a valuable service (Do you want to change your life?) and I don’t want to give it away for free. I invested thousands of dollars in the initial start up when the technology was weaker and I required outside consultation. There is nothing wrong with wanting to make money, unless that is your only objective. Then the passion is gone. I am competing on a global scale here. It is a huge market. For 5 dollars a month you can begin to understand and make life changes. Five dollars! Less than a Happy Meal… I think.

Drive

I work on the site after my day job (I have consulted and and worked at some of the most successful pharmaceutical and aerospace companies in the world). It isn’t always easy to do. But I can’t just quit my day job. I would be a fool to do that. So I find myself tapping away on the laptop at Midnight, researching and reading E-mails late at night. Now you can understand how passion comes into play. Without the passion in my blood this would have stopped many years ago. Yes, it takes work and drive, but this work is connecting me to thousands of people and I cannot ask for anything more.

Overcoming failure

I once lost all my feeds to my blog. I was severely disappointed and never understood what happened. So I had to start over and build back a reader base with lots more completion facing me. Just the thought of that can be discouraging. But I will not give up. I will keep learning from setbacks and I will grow stronger from them. The thing about having a business on the internet is that your completion is global and almost every idea has been tried. So there were plenty of times when I thought my idea was fantastic yet nobody cared. I thought people would swarm the site. This happens rarely. When it does, it is most likely because you have learnt from failures and found a winning formula.

Good Luck to you if you decide to follow this path. And send me an E-mail at terry@mylifechanges.com

I will be happy to answer you.

If you enjoyed this post today, please do me a big favor and use the “Twitter” button down below (click on the + sign) to share it with your Twitter friends and followers (You can also share it on Facebook, Digg, or any of the other sites you see below as well).

How I Am Getting Happier While Becoming Wealthy

Do you really want to be Happy and Wealthy?

Do you really want to take the first the first steps towards making big life changes? Do you think about a life of riches and joy but find that years pass by and nothing changes? Most people I know that are in debt, overweight, lonely or hate their jobs, don’t take any steps to make life changes. What they are talented at is bitching, complaining, avoiding and blaming everything and everyone else for their frustrating lives. They allow their egos to rule their lives and won’t even make small financial changes like investing in the company retirement plan. Instead they find themselves night after night staring at the TV. I can’t help these people. They are living in a self imposed world and are pretty much unconscious zombies plodding along day after day. The truth is that life is right outside our door. Is it a nice day outside? Why not go out and take a walk with your brain and begin to think and plan a life of meaning purpose and joy. Or just keep complaining. It’s always your choice. Maybe you like being a zombie?

Do I want to be wealthy?

Of course I want to be wealthy? Why would I not want to be? Would I live in a small shack in the woods, if I can have a modern home overlooking the beach? Of course not. I also like my iphone. I like technology. If it weren’t for technology I wouldn’t be writing this and posting it in a few minutes for you to read. But when I step out onto the deck of my new beach house I don’t want to stress about bills, cutting the lawn or any of that crap. Or else what is the point? My point here is that no matter how wealthy you are (even if you are a billionaire), if you don’t have peace of mind than you truly aren’t enjoying life to its fullest. So living a life that allows ourselves to be fully present to life’s natural wonders, from the tiniest flowers, a spectacular water fall, or even dinner with friends is what truly counts. Believe me. And every time you step away from the present moment you step away from life. So being wealthy is fabulous but learning to be fully present with the world is much, much more important. It is the most important habit to learn during your time here on earth.

How do I get to be happy and wealthy?

Here is what you have to think about. Happiness comes from living in the moment. How can you be happy not living in the moment? How can you be truly happy thinking about the future or reliving the past? As you think about the future or past, your real life, or you may call it your present life, is passing you by. You just lost a few moments of your life. Life truly starts right now. Sink into the now and you will experience an enlightenment you never thought possible. Just go take a walk and pay attention to the ground under your feet. Feel the sun. Inhale nature’s scents. Don’t think, just be. This way of thinking will open many new doors to you including a world of wealth if you decide that is your goal. You become more focuses, calm, creative and content, clearing your mind for bigger and better things. I can’t explain it better than that. Now it is your choice. Continue down the same path or feel everything life has to offer you each and every moment. Which path did you choose?

If you enjoyed this post today, please do me a big favor and use the “Twitter” button down below (click on the + sign) to share it with your Twitter friends and followers (You can also share it on Facebook, Digg, or any of the other sites you see below as well).

True Wealth, Meaning And Happiness

I’ve decided to stop being so damn polite to you in my article/blog writing.

I think most people haven’t a clue on how to make deep, meaningful life changes. In this article I will give you a brief summary on how to find true peace, meaning and wealth. And yes, its fine for you to want more money, it makes life much easier.

Finding Wealth and Peace of Mind

Yesterday I went shopping for polo shirts downtown, lunched at a great French restaurant (found it on my Iphone app) and spent the rest of the stunning day lounging by the pool. I also enjoyed every moment by staying in the present and not worrying about the future, or allowing any negative thoughts to attach to my mind. Staying in the now (the present moment) is the most important habit you can start building. Embracing the now will help you move away from fears, doubts and past conditioning. When I focused on a salary increase some years ago I stayed in the moment (while talking to my new boss), let go of my fears and eventually ended up with a 24 % increase. A few years later, I let go of any doubts and fears and launched this website. Now my passion for sharing the most important self development thoughts is realized and I make money doing it! You too can get rid of your fears and doubts. Starting right now! Why would you not want to?

Letting your mind wander keeps you away from life’s beautiful moments.

Decide on a few key goals in your life and then start getting rid of all those unnecessary thoughts in your head. You are human right? You CAN think what and how you want right? You have the ability to find your authentic and pure self! You can stay in the moment and enjoy your walk, kids, spouse, friends and work. You see the problem is that we keep thinking about the future, past, buying stuff, television, money worries, you get the picture. And every damn time we are not in the moment we lose that moment forever. I know people that can be out in the forest walking and all they think about is paying bills. And they don’t remember the forest two minutes after getting home. Are you one of those people? If you are you can start changing today. Break out of those bad habits.

I think it is time to wake up and really experience life and all that it has to offer. Decide on a few key goals. Stay with them. Stay in the moment and enjoy life to the fullest. Every moment is precious. You will find a deep understanding about how wonderful life can truly be.

It’s your choice. Just do it.

I’m extremely happy today about launching this redesigned website, version 2.0. I hope you like it.

Millionaire Wealth Building – Reduce Debt And Sustain Your Wealth

I’m fortunate to have an excellent financial planner who in turn works with an excellent team of financial specialists. These specialists scrutinize all aspects of finance including taxes, insurance, saving and budgeting. They have a wide range of clients, from the average Joe to multi-millionaires. Knowing whether I am spending more than I earn is probably the simplest and best advice he has ever given me. Here is that strategy plus a few others for reducing debt and living a life with less stress and more freedom.

Read more

Millionaire Wealth Building Is Not Rocket Science

I’ve always been intrigued by wealth in our North American society. I would like to share some of my core findings and get you on the way to becoming wealthy and fulfilled. First, a few questions.
Are your core values in line with most millionaires?

Read more

Wealth, Money And Getting Filthy Rich 101

Lets talk about getting rich. Filthy rich. Rolling in dough. So how, how, how and how you ask? You’ve come to the right place.

Read more

Next Page »