Recently I have been sharing some content on Facebook about how limiting behaviors around money can increase the sense of lack and scarcity we have around money. You can check out the full series here. I got an interesting question that made me stop and go hmmmm.
The question was this “My husband and I are on a limited budget because of social security and we had to downsize everything. I am trying to get a business going to create more income to pay the bills, I can’t just positive think the money into my life. I have to be careful and stick to my budget. Please explain why knowing you have to buy the cheapest brand is the wrong thing to do”.
I answered her question with the following. “It’s about the intention behind making the expense cuts and the feelings you create while doing it. Sticking to a budget and living within your means is great and not a bad thing at all. These actions can be very positive and help you feel empowered.
If you are making the cuts because you feel like money is scarce and you aren’t able to bring more into your life (like in your new business) or you believe that only certain kinds of people have plenty of money, then those are definitely limiting you. And they are creating more feelings of lack and scarcity.” I then shared this article.
But the thing is, this conversation never left me. I began to feel that there was more to share about this. I began to ask myself how I could make this more relatable and understandable.
I want to honor those of you who are on a budget and sticking to it. That means you are living within your means and not living on debt instruments or creating a hole you have to climb out of. That is amazing and a great place to start. I live on a budget too and I understand this importance. My recent article and content was not intended to encourage people to spend above their means.
The thing I’m interested in is helping people understand that the feelings we have about money – frustration, anger, scarcity, loss, etc – create more of what we don’t want – those negative feelings. And this puts limitations on money. Money responds to ease. Money flows where it is allowed to flow. Now I know that sounds kind of “woo” and likely seems a bit ridiculous. But my life has been a complete testament to that. No, I don’t have millions of dollars. But yes! I do trust that money is going to show up for me. And it always does. As long as I’m keeping myself tuned in to money, it is tuned into me and my needs and more often than not my deep desires and wants.
I have been trying to think of an easier way to explain these concepts. The thing that keeps coming to me is a scene with Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey in the movie Dirty Dancing. At first I was like “Sherry, you are a loon”, but then it struck me. No, I’m not! We have to tune into money’s wavelength (or heartbeat if you prefer)!
There is a scene where Patrick is teaching Jennifer a new dance and he is explaining to her how to know when to dance. He says “It’s a feeling, a heartbeat”. Then he takes her hand and puts it over his heart and with his hand he taps it to the beat of his heart, “gagung, gagung”. And then the music starts (Hungry Eyes by Eric Carmen) and they start dancing. One of my favorite scenes in the movie. You can watch it here, the part I’m referencing starts at 2:05.
Patrick helped Jennifer tune into the undertone of the music, the internal beat. It’s the exact same when we want to change our money mindset and how we feel about money. The goal is to begin to KNOW that money is going to be there for you. You have to be willing to close your eyes and tune in to the heartbeat of money. You’ve got to get on the same wavelength. Now I know you are saying, how can you do that? There is no one here to take my hand and help me feel its heartbeat. Here are some things that will help.
Decide. Behind every change there is a decision. You have to decide that you are going to change how you think and feel about money before anything else can happen. You have to make the conscious decision that money is everywhere, that money is available. Once you decide, you have taken the first step to being on the same wavelength as money. You have taken your own hand and reached out to feel the heartbeat of money.
Release the pressure. We have a tendency as humans to put pressure on ourselves to be a certain way. That pressure often presents in the form of control, desperation and fear. We want to control our spending, we want to control our expenses, we want to control every aspect of our financial situation. But the truth is life isn’t like that. Eventually, the control will be wrested from you due to an unforeseen circumstance. We all know that, so our response to that is to worry about the unknown.
But the truth is, money loves ease. It responds to you placing your trust in its ability to show up. It responds to your letting go of the control, pressure and worry. When you focus on living in that space, then you are beginning to get the rhythm of money’s heartbeat.
There is enough money for everyone. I think that many times we get caught up in the belief that the rich get richer and the poor get more poor. This thinking causes us to lose sight of the fact that every single one of us get to create what we want our lives to be. Does that mean every single person would become a millionaire? Nope. What it means is that when YOU make the decision, you have the opportunity to create exactly what you want. There is enough money in the world for you to live the life you want on your terms.
But before that happens you’ve got to believe that there is enough money. For everyone. Now, you might be feeling that this is impossible, but I’m here to tell you Eunice that it isn’t! In my own life, when I get really clear in my belief in money, it always shows up. There are countless ways that money shows up for me, here are a few:
- A course I wanted to take – and the money to pay for it
- An unexpected tax bill – and the money to cover it with ease
- Renting my dream house with a pool in FL – there is no question, that rent money is in the bank
One of the best ways to change that belief is to create an affirmation that you begin to use daily, multiple times daily even. This affirmation isn’t a magic button, but what it does is give you something to focus on that reinforces the truth rather than the lie. For instance, you could say, “There is enough money for everyone,” vs “Only certain people get all the money.” This affirmation is the true heartbeat of money. Once you believe that, then you ARE on the same wavelength with money.
You can live on a budget without feelings of scarcity and lack. You also have the power to create exactly what you want your life to look like. All it takes is tuning in to the heartbeat of money and allowing yourself to dance.
What do you think? Have you found that money is available to you, even when you live on a budget?
