Does how you spend your money, time, energy reflect your values?

Does your bank account match up with your values? 

I don’t know if you’ve ever thought about this or been asked this question, but this is a pretty interesting question. 

What are your top values? What are the things that are most important to you in your life? Often I get people saying things like family or health, for some it’s their career. 

But when we take a look at our bank account or take a look at our credit card statements, does our spending match up with what’s most important to us? 

Sometimes we can find that those two are out of alignment. So the things that you value aren’t actually matching up with where your money goes every month

I think this is a pretty interesting exercise: 

Take a moment to have a think and write down your values. 

What’s most important to you? Write it down.

If you’ve ever done the type of exercise where you just jot a bunch of things down, just do a brainstorming exercise, put everything down that’s important to you, and then try to categorize them.

Put them together and then decide, what are the top three? What are the top three that are most important to you? 

It’s okay if maybe yours is freedom or if yours is money. I mean, whatever it might be, be true to you and who you are. 

Then take a look at your bank statement, take a look at your credit card statements and see where you’re spending your money every month. 

Where does your money go? Where does your time and energy go? Because those resources are just as important. Where does your money go? Where does your time go? Where does your energy go? 

Are you spending those valuable resources on the things that matter most to you? If you’re not then there are some incongruencies there. 

You might realise you are spending money on the things that aren’t the most important to you. Maybe you’re spending money on things that used to be important to you, that are important to your partner, your parents or somebody else.

It can actually be very draining to be spending your resources on the things that aren’t the most important to you. 

Spending your valuable resources on the things that are the most important to you can fill your cup, can give you energy and can make you more satisfied with how you spend your days. 

When you’re spending your time, your money and your energy on the things that matter most to you, you feel better and show up better. 

If you recognize that this is not how you’re living right now, you can make little shifts to start doing that. 

Sometimes what I also see is that people say, “Well, family is most important to me.”

That’s great, but how they spend their time, their money and their energy is not always so supportive of their family when they look a little bit deeper. 

What I mean by this is a lot of women want to prioritize their family, but in doing so, they don’t prioritize themselves. They put themselves last. 

In doing that, you’re not actually showing up your best or you’re sometimes not even really showing up for your family. 

You’re tired, you’re drained. You’re not really yourself. You’re not really present. Maybe you’re too busy to call a family member. Maybe you don’t have the energy to really do that thing. You know, do that birthday party or create that thing for that family member or be there for that family member when they’re having a tough time, because you have neglected yourself for what you believe to be important, which is family.

So these are some of the things to think about when you are trying this exercise. It’s a pretty simple exercise. Just write down your values and have a good look. Then go look where you’re spending your money, look at your calendar where you’re spending your time and where you’re spending your energy most days. Does it match up? 

This information is for educational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose, manage, or treat disease or serious conditions. Always check with your doctor before making any changes. It’s important to consult a well-informed health practitioner for personal advice about your situation before relying on general information — we’re all wonderfully unique.