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Do you pride yourself on being a saving diva? Do you love to score a good bargain? Love to get free stuff with coupons? Me too, but what happens when your thrifty ways leave you afraid to spend money?
Everyday I read blogs written by frugal women interested in saving as much money as they possibly can. These confessed penny pincher’s wear it like a badge of honor. I’m not bashing them, I love to save money too. I get how great it is to open your savings account and see the balance go up, up, up.
[tweetthis]But what happens when all that saving leaves you afraid to spend money? [/tweetthis]
What happens when that badge of honor, pricks at your emotions?
My pennywise friend was planning on upgrading her home. Due to a much needed kitchen renovation, she was feeling like a frugal fraud because she was going to spend a hefty chunk of change to renovate the space. She wondered if her frugal spending ways were in conflict with her occasional spending sprees.
[tweetthis]Where does it say if you’re thrifty you can NEVER spend any money?[/tweetthis]
Here’s the reality: a woman who lives frugally and never spends a penny is as out of balance as the woman who overspends.
The goal is balance – a healthy balance of saving, spending and investing. One extreme or the other isn’t balanced or healthy.
So, if you’re living the penny pinching lifestyle but find yourself afraid to spend money, here’s some simple actions to help you balance your frugal side:
1. Save With A Purpose
Establish a “fun” savings account and then spend it on something fun!
Pick something you really want; maybe something you’ve had your eye on for a long time but felt uncomfortable about buying. Save up the money needed on the “fun” expenditure. Then make the purchase knowing you saved for it thereby eliminating any guilt.
This exercise helps to balance your frugal side (by saving before making the purchase) with the spending side. It’s a win-win!
2. Adopt A New Belief
Often times frugal gals have this disempowing belief – they never know when the well will dry up. It’s a constant nagging fear which robs them of the pleasures of spending money.
The visions of homelessness or living as a bag lady takes a lot of space in your head.
One way to overcome this fear is to adopt a powerful new belief statement and recite it frequently. Try this on for size:
You see how this statement counters the negative belief?
Try reciting this new statement several times a day.
3. Don’t Forget To Invest
Often, the more frugal you are the less you have in investments. This isn’t true for everyone, but many frugal women have told me they have very large savings accounts, and virtually nothing in the way of investments.
Remember how I mentioned balance earlier? Well, this is a perfect example of imbalance if you have a ton in savings but nothing saved for retirement.
Develop an investment plan and start interviewing financial planners who can help you in this area.
Remember, the goal is balance. Utilizing these three strategies will help you start developing the balance you need to satisfy your frugal side when spending and investing.
In the end, you’ll save money, invest wisely and spend comfortably.
