“Financial responsibility” is one of those terms that, to many people, pretty much sounds like “no fun”, “dull”, “boring”, and “misery” all rolled together.
In actual fact, being financially responsible doesn’t mean you can’t have a fun and exciting life, and it doesn’t even mean that you can’t spend money on somewhat frivolous things for the sake of entertainment. Being “financially responsible” is simply a matter of ensuring that you can afford to spend what you do spend, so that you can remain financially secure and independent while living your life.
While it may be the case that your business venture failed due to a series of bizarre events that you had little control over, and thus forced you to seek the help of a chapter 7 bankruptcy attorney, most financial mishaps have at least something to do with your money-management skills.
Here are a few tips for improving your financial responsibility.
Work on improving your impulse control in general
Compulsive spending is a major issue, and a major source of financial hardship, and with so many emotionally manipulative adverts out there that promise you the world in exchange for some money, the issue is only magnified.
But compulsive spending is a subcategory of a bigger issue which is impulsiveness, in general. If you’re the kind of person who compulsively spends, you also probably compulsively procrastinate, eat junk food, and so on.
Working on your overall impulse control is a very effective way of improving your financial responsibility. There are various practical tips you can follow here, and it’s worth doing your own research. A few suggestions though — be sure to eat enough (and enough carbs), get enough sleep each night, and pare down your daily decisions.
Narrow your timeframe, stop panicking over the past, and focus on what’s before you today
Financial irresponsibility is generally driven, to a pretty large extent, by an unwillingness or inability to focus one’s time frame correctly.
Generally, in order to prevent impulsive spending, you might think that it would be best to have a long timeframe — one that acknowledges the effects that your behavior will have on the future. Often, though, this kind of “big picture” view just promotes anxiety and triggers an “auto-ignore” sequence, where the individual stops thinking and just acts.
Narrowing your timeframe and focusing on making the right decision in every moment can make all the difference, because our destinies are only ever the result of all those small moments added together. Consider using a tool like YNAB that helps you focus on your finances in the present, using intuitive systems.
Apply some mindfulness to your spending
Connected to the previous point here, the more you are able to become aware of your spending habits, the more likely you are to actually get a handle on them.
A lot of financial irresponsibility has to do with mindlessness, that is, not thinking about a financial decision, just spending on impulse.
Apply some mindfulness to your life generally, but to your finances, specifically. Always pause for a moment and ask “is this a wise purchase or investment? Can I afford this?” before spending money.
