I get scared when I remember learning to drive. At fifteen I was impatient, full of nervous energy and so small that I could hardly reach the steering wheel. (Which is still a small problem, but I digress.)
My parents, of course, drove in the back and explained to me how to drive the rural dirt road outside our neighborhood. "Release the brake," they said, and the car slowly began to slow down. Cool, I can handle it, I thought. "Press the gas," they said. Chaos ensued.
I turned into the other lane, and when I pulled the steering wheel to straighten up, the car tilted in the other direction and I almost hit a fence post. My parents were screaming. I screamed. We were all scared. I felt completely exhausted and out of control. It was as if the car had a mind of its own.
For many of us, money management looks like this. We try to create a budget and limit our expenses, but our financial situation always seems to have a head of its own: your overdraft, you get a pay cut at work, your vet bill is significantly higher than expected.
But just like driving a car, developing the feeling of control can make a big difference. When I finally felt like I was the one controlling the vehicle, driving became second nature.
Research like this 2014 study shows that just feeling powerful makes people make better financial decisions. They develop financial confidence. That's why I'm a fan of quick cash wins — small successes that may not make much difference on paper, but do wonders for what you think about your financial situation. These quick profits will not make you a millionaire overnight, but they can strengthen you, and that's it.
Quick profits give you financial confidence and help you make better financial decisions in the long run. (As the study says: "Feeling powerful increases savings.”)
In other words, change your attitude to money and you can change your behavior with it, which can lead to the fact that you have control over it. Try your luck at some of my favorite money wins.
Reduce Only One Thing This Month
We all have our wasteful vices. For me, it's clothes. (Which is an interesting vice, because I spend so much money on clothes, but I never have anything to wear. There are a handful of reasons for this spending problem, and last month I decided to face up to these reasons and challenge myself not to spend anything on clothes for the whole month.
This may not be a big challenge for you. But I felt quite accomplished when I compared my expenses this month with the previous month. It was stimulating to see the result of my actions: there was more money in my bank account, but more importantly, I changed a simple bad habit.
I turned into the other lane, and when I pulled the steering wheel to straighten up, the car tilted in the other direction and I almost hit a fence post. My parents were screaming. I screamed. We were all scared. I felt completely exhausted and out of control. It was as if the car had a mind of its own.
For many of us, money management looks like this. We try to create a budget and limit our expenses, but our financial situation always seems to have a head of its own: your overdraft, you get a pay cut at work, your vet bill is significantly higher than expected.
But just like driving a car, developing the feeling of control can make a big difference. When I finally felt like I was the one controlling the vehicle, driving became second nature.
Research like this 2014 study shows that just feeling powerful makes people make better financial decisions. They develop financial confidence. That's why I'm a fan of quick cash wins — small successes that may not make much difference on paper, but do wonders for what you think about your financial situation. These quick profits will not make you a millionaire overnight, but they can strengthen you, and that's it.
Quick profits give you financial confidence and help you make better financial decisions in the long run. (As the study says: "Feeling powerful increases savings.”)
In other words, change your attitude to money and you can change your behavior with it, which can lead to the fact that you have control over it. Try your luck at some of my favorite money wins.
Reduce Only One Thing This Month
We all have our wasteful vices. For me, it's clothes. (Which is an interesting vice, because I spend so much money on clothes, but I never have anything to wear. There are a handful of reasons for this spending problem, and last month I decided to face up to these reasons and challenge myself not to spend anything on clothes for the whole month.
This may not be a big challenge for you. But I felt quite accomplished when I compared my expenses this month with the previous month. It was stimulating to see the result of my actions: there was more money in my bank account, but more importantly, I changed a simple bad habit. 
