Your Finance Resolutions - Money Matters! #1
We know that resolutions can be hard to keep. In fact, every year, we set tough expectations for ourselves without figuring out the path to meet those expectations. This year, Moonstocks, will join you in your mission to better understand your relationship with money through the next 3 months.
Here’s how this will work - for the next 3 months, you will receive 2 emails from us each month explaining some basic concepts of personal finance, along with some activities to perform through the week. While homework sounds boring, our relationship with finance is unique to each of us and introspection does form an important part of the journey. Of course, I promise you, that this will be fun!
Together, we will start as finance noobs to explore our personal goals, values, budgeting techniques and investing. The program will make sure that you emerge out of this 12-week long program as a financially smarter version of yourself.
So? Let’s go →
Lesson 1: What’s your story dear? 📖
Financial Decisions are only a subset of our overall decision making framework. How we take decisions about our food, jobs, hobbies, relationships and sorrows, creates a framework that seeps into our financial lives as well. An easy way of improving our financial relationships, is to understand how we think about money and everything else in life; and then making tiny convenient changes, one at a time.
Let’s spend some time understanding ourselves, where we stand and who we are!
How long will the exercise take? 🕰
30-60 minutes!
But skipping this means that you will be jumping into next lesson unprepared. Unlike college, coming unprepared here is not really going to help. Imagine reading “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” without knowing the Dumbledore and Voldemort of our finances.
Step 1? Take a notebook or journal and pen down your thoughts on the below questions! Today, I promise, no numbers! 😇 Believe me, just do it!
Your Money!
What does money really mean to you? Why is it important?
What does your job really mean to you? Why do you do what you do daily?
What do you absolutely love spending on? What do you hate spending it on?
While making a huge purchase, what are the major emotions you feel about spending the money?
What do your friends think about the way you spend your money. How does that affect you?
Take a pause, to celebrate here! You got through so much of this already, and more importantly you did the hardest part. You started! Come back, with a huge mug of hot chocolate as you pat yourself on the back! 🤩
Decision Making
What do you think about taking risks in the various aspects of your life? Career, Relationships, Hobbies, Purchases, Time management, Investments
So far, who has been taking financial decisions for you? What skills prevent you from taking these decisions without guidance.
How do you take the many tiny daily decisions in life? Who else is a part of the decision making process?
How do you take major decisions in life? Who else is a part of the decision making process?
What do you define as success in life? Does money play a big part in it?
That’s it! You completed it! Now, come on! Don’t be a potato - don’t close the book already! Take some time to reflect on your answers. Like we mentioned, your financial decisions are just a sidekick to your actual decision making process and mental state. Tiny convenient changes are only possible when you know yourself well, and lever around some hacks that you know will add more fun to your life.
We will use the answers to these questions as a starting template in this new fresh year, with a clean slate. Hopefully this gets you think about money and shows you some clear patterns in why some things are the way they are.
Next Edition 📅 : We will try to understand your finances well, understand our income, savings and spendings, along with some budgeting hacks, ready-to-use spreadsheets and solutions. You can subscribe to this newsletter to make sure it directly reaches you in your inbox through the entire journey!
Also if you'd like to share some of your reflections with us, you can email us at ‘Deven Mehta from Moonstocks’ and I will personally share my insights on your answers.
DM 🚀
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