If you’ve followed this plan all the way to this point, congratulations. Even if
you’ve chosen to not follow every point, you have at least spent some serious time
evaluating your finances and your spending and put them in the context of your
overall life, which puts you already far ahead of many of your peers.

However, the reality of the world leads many of us to forget what our overall goals
are in a desire to be accepted and to feel good. Our society tries to convince all of
us to spend endlessly. We’re constantly bombarded with enticements and
reminders of how great it is to spend.

Here are seven useful tips that can help you keep your mindset in the right place,
enabling you to live what you love every single day. Some of these might not work
for you; just use the ones that seem as though they would be a powerful
motivator.

Wrap your credit cards in a slip of paper that lists your life goals that
you defined at the start of the month. It shouldn’t take more than a little
slip of paper. This way, every time you go to pull out your credit card, you see
your goals right there – and it becomes a reminder that by using this card, you are
likely pushing away those goals.

Reevaluate your social situations. Is an evening with friends always
expensive? Is a day with the girls involve a big pile of shopping bags? If these
things are true, your social situations may be causing you big problems. You have
several options: suggesting other activities and seeing what happens, going along
and capping your own spending, or simply dropping out of the social club and
instead investing yourself in new activities – and perhaps new friends that better
match your life goals.

Engage in inexpensive activities that match your life goals. If you dream
of becoming a writer, don’t spend your time at the mall buying stuff. Engage in
online writing communities and look for ways to spend your time practising your
writing. For almost any life goal or dream you have, there are inexpensive
activities you can become involved in that synergize with that activity. For me,
I’ve started this blog as a way to channel my writing and also educate myself
about financial issues instead of spending my time doing the same old thing; it’s a
great way to spend my time that’s much more in line with my life values, plus it’s
very inexpensive.

Use the ten second rule. Whenever you find yourself about to buy anything,
count to ten and ask yourself whether or not this purchase really meshes with
your life goals. Quite often, you’ll find that it doesn’t, and this will be enough to
cause you to put that item back on the shelf or to close the browser window.

Keep a laminated life goals card in your pocket. This way, every time
you reach into your pocket, you’ll feel that laminated card. It will serve as a
constant reminder of your goals and help keep your mind on a strong path.

Keep yourself clean. This seems bizarre to some, but a healthy personal
appearance is well worth the money. By this, I don’t mean investing money in
clothing. I mean that investing adequate time in keeping yourself clean. You’ll
feel more confident and in control, and this will enable you to more easily resist
the siren’s call of spending.

Live what you love. Every single day, do something that is directly in line with
your lifetime goals, and as you go to sleep that night, think back on it. Very few
things make me feel better as I’m going to sleep than reflecting on my day and
realizing that I spent today not just doing things, but actually living my life.