A Teen Read: Conscious Spending

As with most teens, you have a part-job and cash to spend. While saving your earned income is always preferred, we offer the next best thing, “conscious spending.”

Conscious spending is treating yourself on things or activities that are meaningful only to you. You’re being deliberate and guilt-free with your spending. How do you start this journey? Follow these seven steps and your life-long spending habits will be for the better.

1. Self-reflect. Take time to reflect on your interests, passions and values. What activities make you truly happy? What hobbies or experiences bring you the most joy?
2. Prioritize your values. Make a list of your core values and priorities in life, then narrow this list to your top five and no more. Examples include family, health, education, travel and giving back to the community. For other examples, go to researcher and author Brené Brown’s website, BreneBrown.com/Resources for her comprehensive list of values. Your spending should align with your top five list of values.
3. Track your spending. Review your past expenses to see where your money has gone. This will help provide insight into your spending patterns and identify areas where you’re spending on unimportant items that bring you no joy. Look for trends and patterns.
4. Create a conscious plan. Once you have a clearer understanding of your values and spending patterns, create a conscious spending plan that reflects your priorities. Allocate a portion of your money to the things you love and value most. For example, if you value education but don’t have any money set aside for it, opening an account for college expenses, such as books or materials, is a great way to align your spending with this value. If you value friendship, you may want to start an account for “fun” to use for outings with or birthday gifts for family and friends. If building “wealth” is a value, setting aside small amounts of money now for future financial ventures is a great way to start.
5. Automate the allocation of your money. Schedule Automatic Transfers or Bill Pay from your checking account to your accounts. Automatic Transfers is a platform of transferring money to accounts held in the same financial institution and are done via your mobile app or online banking. Bill Pay is a different platform of transferring your money to another financial institution and is done via your online banking.
6. Experiment and adjust. Start today with your conscious spending plan and make adjustments along the way. It is okay to experiment as your interests and priorities change over time. Flexibility in your plan will be key to staying aligned with your values as you continue to grow.
7. Make this a journey, not a destination. Be mindful of your choices to help ensure your money serves your happiness and life’s fulfillment. As for the things you don’t care about, you will find it less challenging to say “no” when appropriate.

And for those that say money can’t buy happiness, they just don’t know the power of conscious spending.