Create Money Boundaries

in Plan by Lacey Langford, AFC®

Because it’s muy importante (thank you high school Spanish), I talk a lot about setting goals. To plan money with purpose you need to know where you’re going, what your goals are, but it’s equally important to know where you’re not willing to go financially (your money boundaries), to stay focused on your priorities. money boundaries Here’s an example: Let’s say your goal is to make enough money to take your family on a deluxe Disneyland vacation each year. This requires you to work overtime, which increases your childcare costs—it also increases your fast-food expense and decreases the time you’re able to spend with your kids. You may be the type of person who isn’t willing to spend extra time at work; life is short, and you don’t want to waste an extra minute of it at work. If you’re an individual who really cares about the type of food you put into your body, then eating fast food isn’t an option, you’re willing to pay a premium for healthy food. Or, you may not want to spend extra time away from your children and, therefore, will forgo a trip to Disney for a less expensive local trip to a waterpark. When a person crosses their money boundaries, that’s usually when things get uncomfortable. In my Disney example, by deciding to ignore your boundaries and push forward with the trip, it may start with feeling tired because you’re suddenly eating bad food to have more money for the trip or the overtime isn’t producing the extra income you hoped for considering your childcare expenses and time away from family. money boundaries Creating money boundaries will help in deciding what roads you aren’t willing to go down in life. It sometimes limits the paths you take but, it also saves you from going the wrong way and becoming unhappy with the results. Take time to be aware of your money boundaries to plan for your goals. Have a great week and I’ll talk to you soon. Lots of gratitude, Lacey