Loaded

4 The LOADED Budget Creating a Human-Centered Money Management Plan

UP TO THIS point, we’ve been talking about how we think and feel about money in a very personal sense. We’ve discussed the complex relationship many of us have with money, the stereotypes that accompany both poverty and wealth, and some of the specific mental and cognitive factors that can influence our financial behaviors.

Having a healthy relationship with money requires that we first remove the negative and damaging beliefs and perspectives that underlie our self-sabotaging habits. By now, you have likely singled out and begun to challenge some of the specific thoughts, feelings, and beliefs that have held you back from having peace in your financial life. I encourage you to continue working with these insights in the coming weeks and months. You will find that while old habits die hard, they do, with perseverance, die. This is also true for habits of thinking.

The next step is to replace our old patterns of thinking with new ones. Here, we will make a shift from the abstract to the practical. This section will teach you a new way to look at how money moves in your life, from how it is generated to how it is used. Beginning with the traditional approach to budgeting, I will show you why I believe this method is problematic from a psychological perspective, and offer you a new, more empowering way to think about the money in your life. I’ve also provided worksheets so you can start to put these concepts into ...