What is it about money that stirs up so many emotional reactions? It stirs up greed, i.e. the fear that we do not have all we need or should have. It stirs up jealousy and envy i.e. the fear that they have more than us and the expectation that we should have more. It stirs ups the desire to do all kinds of wrong doing so that we get all we want. Somehow we need to control our reactions towards money.

It is the fear that we do not have all that we need that leads to use borrowing money only to then get into difficulties. It is the expectation that we should have more that causes us to demand higher pay, or claim expenses that stretch the rules beyond breaking point etc. It is the desire to get money to pay for their drug habit that leads some towards prostitution or theft. No wonder people are afraid of money.

Money is simply a tool a tool that can be used for good or evil. Problem is people fall in love with it or rather what they can do with it if they have it. Once this happens, money controls them and they do all sorts of things that they would not do otherwise. However we need to learn how to use money wisely. The simplest, and yet in some ways the hardest way of doing this, is to decide what your objectives are and make a plan so that you can achieve them. Not only does this take a lot of discipline but it also takes a lot of heart searching to work out what you really want to achieve.

There are choices to make. For example,  do you want the most a cup of coffee every day or to pay off your credit cards? You would probably be amazed if you added up the total of what you spend a year on cups of coffee just on the days you are at work (£2 a day for 5 days a week for 48 weeks a year works out at £480 a year). This is why it is so important to develop a spending plan. We are in the process of updating the materials that we created some time a go so tha tthey are suitable for adding to a membership web site.