How to create a home for your money.

Freedom tastes the best when combined with a generous dollop of home.

In other words, it’s easier to spring off into endless possibilities and expansion and ecstatic creation in your life if you’ve got a firm foundation, if you feel safe and grounded.

When I sold my apartment, got rid of most of my physical belongings, and headed out in my Prius to be purposefully homeless for an indefinite period of time while driving around the country teaching about financial freedom I had a strong interior sense of home. The Freedom Tour was only possible because of my strong container.

My mom still lives in the house I grew up in. My grandmother and uncle still live on the property where my grandmother raised her six kids. My dad still spends summers in the home that his mother spent summers as a child. My roots run deep and that’s why I feel so safe to fly.

What does freedom mean when it comes to our money?

When it comes to our money, we have to have a solid container in order to be able to create financial abundance and financial freedom. I define financial freedom as having your passive or residual income greater than or equal to your living expenses. What’s great about this equation is that you can move towards financial freedom both by increasing your passive/residual income and also by simplifying your life to decrease your expenses.

As opposed to models of financial success that measure only your income, financial freedom actually measures your quality of life. When your passive/residual income is greater than your living expenses, you’re officially free to choose to spend your time however you’d like to spend it. And choice is the ultimate currency of freedom.

How strong is your container?

As you’re working towards increasing your passive/residual income by doing things like investing in real estate or paper assets, creating intellectual property, building an online business and selling digital products, building a network marketing business, or joining affiliate programs, you can also start creating a strong home for your money. The stronger your money home, or container, is, the more free you’ll be able to become.

A strong container for your money includes the following:

  • A great financial team (accountant, bookkeeper, financial advisor, lawyer, investment broker, etc.)
  • A regular practice of keeping track of your expenses and income (use a bookkeeper, spreadsheet, notebook, or Quickbooks)
  • A plan for paying off any debt you have
  • A regular practice of putting attention on your bank statements and investment account statements
  • A plan and regular practice of putting money away in savings/investment/retirement accounts
  • Paying attention to your money in whatever way feels nourishing and important

Some of you just read that and practically fell asleep due to boredom, had your eyes completely glaze over, or left your body. For those of you who think paying attention to your money is something that somebody else should do for you, is over your head, or is terminally boring, listen up!

It’s time to start paying attention to your money like your life depends on it.

Because it does.

I used to avoid looking at my bank balance, my account statements, and my credit cards bills with mounting balances that I wasn’t paying off because I thought that paying attention to my money in that way meant a lack mentality. I had read tons of metaphysical books on money that had told me to create abundance by acting as if I had the amount of money I wanted, to trust that the universe would take care of me, and to believe that there was more than enough to go around and that I was deserving of prosperity.

That was all fine and good but somehow I missed a major piece of the equation. There’s a great African proverb that says:

When you pray, move your feet.

I was doing the praying part without being willing to hold up my end of the bargain. And as a result of my financial oblivion and avoidance I ended up in nearly $20,000 worth of credit card debt. I felt like a failure and an imposter.

One day I was on a plane flying from San Diego back to New York City writing in my journal. Something amazing happens to me when I’m on a plane; it’s as though I’m closer to God and I get really good downloads of insight. As I wrote in my journal about my lack of financial awareness and why I couldn’t seem to get myself to pay attention in the way I knew I should or spend within my means, it hit me:

My lack of financial awareness that manifested in me spending beyond my means was a way of keeping myself small.

Woah. I had never realized before that paying attention to my money and spending within my means could be a vehicle for taking exquisite care of myself and a manifestation of self-love. I did a 180 degree turn and started to create a strong container for my money. I looked at my bank balance every day and gave gratitude for what I had. I wrote down all of my debt with the APR rates and due dates of minimum payments. I started opening and reading every single account and financial statement. I started to pay attention to my money as a way of loving myself.

And guess what happened? In record time I was able to pay off all of my debt. About three years after my airplane insight about money and self-love I have more in savings and I make close to 100% more than I did when I was not practicing the proper care and feeding of my money.

I created a strong container for my money with care and attention, all sourced from love. If you want to live a life where you have the choice to spend your precious time, the most valuable commodity you have, in the ways that give you the most joy and pleasure, it’s time to start building your container.

Give your money a strong foundation. Build a home for it and gather your team. Use financial awareness to expand your self-love. And then and only then, from this stable base, can you really fly and experience true freedom.

 

18 comments

  • Stacy

    Great insight! I just had an epiphany myself with this statement:
    “My lack of financial awareness that manifested in me spending beyond my means was a way of keeping myself small.”
    Whoa-I have been trying to keep myself very small indeed! Thank you so much-you are a life changer for sure!!!

  • Loved getting this in my inbox today!
    Interestingly enough I got this realization yesterday, and this has been a great reminder. I realized that when manifesting something, you also gotta make it real (and let the universe help with that ofcourse) but MAKE IT REAL.

    So I decided to stop dreaming, thinking that money was gonna find it’s way to me on the street as an enveloppe full of cash (but keeping that option open! ;-))
    I’m really motivated now to get the near-perfect part-time job, learning, doing what I love and contributing to a greater goal. I sent a facebook message out to all my friends that I’m looking for a job. Also printing my resumé and going into the city today, and let me be guided towards the right workplaces.

    Meanwhile I decided to cut back my spending a little and look for the activities that give me the most value. I realized a lot of these things are actually for free, like doing acro-yoga in the park with friends. Great experiences are all about the people you love.

    Last but not least.. I decided to get off my butt, get over my fears and start getting myself and my starting business out there! Currently it’s probably spiritual art and webdesign that I’ll be doing, but ultimately I want to do creative coaching (on realizing dreams)! As soon as I got this figured out, I wanna teach it to others!

  • Kate, this was just the love I needed in my inbox today! I vascillate between being consistent and then ignoring, though I am much better today than ever at caring for myself in regards to finances. Your message and mission mean so much and I am so grateful for you!

  • Thank you Kate! I tend to avoid looking at statements and account details. We must read the same books…I too put a lot of faith in the universe to just take care of me. But I am also know I ultimately must keep my feet moving in order to get the pay out. If only there were more hours in the day to get it all done!

  • Jane

    Hi Kate,

    First, I just want to say I Love You and Thank you. Your email was excellent today. I feel just about where you were on your plane ride. I have recently realized, I am ready to take active interest and involvement in my day to day money management. Thank you so much also for your words on the metaphysical aspect, that totally resonates. I am ready to move my feet. I thank all ahead of time for encouragement and prayer to keep moving when I come upon any obstacles, Thank you and Bless you. Jane

  • Cheryl

    Great article, and the timing was perfect. I do pay attention to my money, but have not really helped it to grow lately. So thanks for the kick in the pants Kate.

  • Brilliant post! Lately, I’ve been paying way too much attention to this “lack” mentality, and it has been eating me up. While I do have a pretty good handle on my finances, I think it is this overall mental state of “staying small” that keeps us feeling unbalanced and unfulfilled. Monetary issues are just one of the many ways that this manifests. In reading this blog, though, I am re-inspired to keep moving forward and take positive action steps to build my business and a healthy, spiritually wealthy and happy future. Thank you, Kate!

  • Holly

    As I work on my taxes I am realizing how I dread book-keeping and paperwork ie paying attention to my finances. This was a great post to help me shift into spending time and focus on a part of my life that I know is important and that I know I want to continue to grow. My new mantra – I joyfully and easily pay attention to my net WORTH and my net WORTH joyfully and easily grows…

  • Good Day, Kate:

    I’m Jacquette Timmons. Many thanks for sharing your story.

    My good friend, Alexia Vernon, shared your post with me, and I am so glad she did. Turns out you and I are kindred spirits! The focus of my work is helping people demystify the human complexities of money. Said another way: To take people on a journey of discovery to learn how to “listen” to what money is telling them. It’s my belief that it speaks to us all the time, revealing both our strengths and areas of growth.

    In my line of work, I deal with money and the issues it creates in people’s lives everyday. I work as a financial coach, speaker and trainer. I am also the author of “Financial Intimacy: How to Create a Healthy Relationship with Your Money and Your Mate” and the creator of the Financial Intimacy Conference. When I read posts like yours, it is both an affirmation and confirmation.

    Thanks for energizing me by sharing your story! And I hope to have the pleasure of meeting you in person one day.

    All the best,
    Jacquette

  • Chills and more chills. To start, I thought I was the only one who got “larger than life access to God” on the airplane! And yes Kate, you and the wise ancestors are absolutely right, “when you pray, you better move your feet”. Having a metaphysical “understanding” of abundance is all fine and dandy but this is a great reminder to put that into an intentional, measurable practice!

  • Kate,
    Another wonderful post from you. I love the insight you got about it keeping you small – my story is very different but the effect is the same. I have always been very ‘good’ with my money, have only carried credit card debt twice in my life and did so very consciously, and have always balanced my checkbook and paid attention to my statements. However, none of that has helped or shifted the ‘lack’ mentality that still seems to run my financial situation (and my life). It very much keeps me small. There’s so many different levels here, of working on the self-worth and paying attention to money as a reflection of self-worth, and working through those fears of stepping out of playing small.

  • This is such an empowering post! I could feel resistance rise within and then release as I read on. To right you are about spending beyond ones means as a way to stay small and thank you for also providing a proactive list of ways to create a smart financial container…I’ve been avoiding this subject for too long.

  • Seve

    “My lack of financial awareness that manifested in me spending beyond my means was a way of keeping myself small.”

    This is so true to me too ! I can fell how a part of myself is scared to grow up, loing my parents in a certain way, though my relationhip with them is not really existing. I’ve always been very different than them, even if I feel really lucky that they supported me on several way (financially too, for my alternative studies)

    For now, I don’t know how to heal all of this to be able to put myelf into action, leave procrastination, acting my intuitions. I feel stuck, even if I am aware of a lot of thing inide me. I’m totally dealing with a strong mental ! lol

  • Hi Kate
    I am so afraid of looking at my bank statements. Sometimes I don t look at them for months at a time. I have no idea where I am financially. How can I overcome that fear!

    • Katrina

      Hi Marc

      Something I do when I’m scared to look at something (never bank statements in my case, but I’ll use your eg) is to open the envelope without looking inside. Then I’ll sit with the fear until it’s bearable… might even make myself a hot drink to help :-) Then I’ll peek inside and look at the letterhead – rinse and repeat re letting fear die down before pulling the statement out of the envelope with my eyes closed. There’s no timeline on when I have to open my eyes, and I certainly don’t have to look at the statement once I do! It’s a bit like exposure therapy. I find that one of my biggest problems is expecting the “logical” response (eg, just reading the damn statement and getting it done with) to happen straight away. You’re scared for a reason, that reason is perfectly valid, and you’re allowed to be gentle and proceed gradually with it.

      The process doesn’t have to be fast in order to be brave. Hope this can help you somehow.

      Cheers,
      Katrina

  • Nanette

    Hi Kate, just want to say thank you and to tell that you are one of my inspiration to getting better at handling money. As I remember growing up poor but I never felt that I have have problem getting money, but keeping them are. Every time I have surplus, their are people will borrow but never paid back my money. I used to just put it as God always provided me and I am very blessed financially that I thought I have to just give them away. However, I am not fully happy because I felt people tend to just take advantage of me and I couldn’t tell them so. What I do then was to just not talk to them for a while until I feel better about me lending my money away, that I know will not be paid off anyway. But since I started reading financial and motivational books I found out that I need to heal myself the guilt about having money before I can advance myself financially. Now I am on the journey that I am very hopeful and I only have mild bad feeling when I say no to people when they ask for money:-)

  • I absolutely LOVE this container analogy. I also love the quote that Kate shared in Module 1 of the Money Love Course that “Money loves clarity”…It makes so much sense to me, and I have seen firsthand how true it is. I used to be an avid credit-card-statement-ignorer. But not anymore! In fact, I used clarity (and the debt snowball) to pay off over $10,000 in credit card debt in 7 months. Now I am tackling my $300,000+ student loan debt. I look at the statement every month so I can see the interest that accumulates each and be grateful for how my monthly payments (which are $850 above the minimum payment) are helping to decrease the principal. MONEY LOVES CLARITY!!

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