"…allowing your life to be taken up by financial struggle and strife is playing smaller than you’re capable of."
- Money: A Love Story, page 205
"The first stage to becoming financially free is to tell the truth of your story to yourself…."- Money: A Love Story, page 2
Northrup describes freedom as choice. “Freedom doesn’t necessarily mean opting to do crazy, wild things or living a life vastly outside the box. But it’s the option to do so should you choose.”
The reader who rolls up her sleeves and dives into changing her relationship with money will learn some valuable lessons, and will look at her money in a new way. When that happens, freedom is close at hand, according to the author. Take self-care for example. According to this author, taking care of your finances is an act of self-care. Being aware of how you spend and how you earn your money brings you closer to the freedom to make choices about these two things.
"…getting your life in financial order includes implementing some basic paying-attention practices. Because what you pay attention to grows."- Money: A Love Story, page 111
Northrup challenges her readers to get their heads out of the denial that comes so easily with things that are uncomfortable and hard. By framing it in this way – pay attention to what you want to see grow – she shows the reader that there are “…action steps that are quick and that can be done regularly to build up your financial consciousness tolerance baby step by baby step.” Here are some examples: daily balance checking, daily expense and income tracking, weekly reading of something about money, monthly creation of a spending plan, regular meetings with a financial team, and so on. The list is long of ways to be aware of where our money comes from and where it goes.
Beyond this, the reader is urged to keep with it. Keep on paying attention. Getting help/support will not only require you to be honest with yourself about your finances, but will get you on your way to creating a team. This team of experts can be there to answer your questions, and to help you see everything more clearly.
Maybe it’s even possible to make finances fun and pleasurable. Northrup sprinkles the ways that she has created this for herself throughout the book. For example, she refers to her bills as “Invoices for Blessings Already Received”. She also refers often to putting on good music, lighting candles, maybe even putting on a stunning outfit when you are about to spend time with your finances. Given that what we pay attention to grows, why not pay more, and better attention, and make it fun along the way?
"The action steps taken with a positive mind-set toward paying off your debt or reining in your spending will be easier to stick with and will have a more profound, sustainable impact on your financial situation."- Money: A Love Story, page 144
As the reader grows her awareness of her financial situation, she’s also nudged along the way to learn that it’s all her! Northrup titled one of her chapters “You Owe You” and shares the concept of the Money for Me account. It goes something like this: Every time you make a choice that saves you money, put that money into a Money for Me account. That account can then be used to pay for something that feels like a reward, or even to pay your bills. How to get money into that account? When you are standing there deciding whether or not to buy something, and you choose not to buy it, that money could go into the Money for Me account. When you negotiate a better rate on something, when you get a raise or increase your rates, put the extra into this account. The Money for Me account is a tangible way of knowing that you are in charge of your choices, and your choices determine the state of your financial health.
Kate Northrup has created a lovely book that gently accompanies anyone who is ready to take a good look at their personal finances. She has shared her own story, and stories of others, throughout this book in an effort to show the reader that shaming ourselves about our money choices to date will not do anyone any good. She takes us along the path of learning more about the choices we have made, why we have made them, and making new ones as we move forward. Here’s something that demonstrates the “feel” of this book, and of her approach.
Kate Northrup created financial freedom for herself at the age of 28 through building a team of more than 1,000 wellness entrepreneurs in the network marketing industry. Her philosophy is that if you free yourself financially you can be fully present to your purpose on the planet. She is also the author of Money: A Love Story, Untangling Your Financial Woes and Creating The Life You Really Want (Hay House, 2013). She continues to mentor entrepreneurs in creating financial freedom. Find out more and take her free quiz to find out what your relationship with money says about you at http://www.katenorthrup.com.
