Creating A Financial Ritual

How do you feel about sitting down to pay the bills, deciding next steps for paying off a debt, or otherwise juggling your income and expenses?

No doubt we all do this work. It’s a necessary part of adulting. A habit we must build in.

But how we feel about doing it and how we feel while doing it likely varies widely.

There’s a lot of talk about habits. Developing good habits, like paying bills on time. And squashing bad ones, like overspending.

But there’s a special type of habit that I like to apply to money management that guarantees I never dread this time spent.

And that’s ritual.

A ritual may be considered a habit, also, but they are different. A habit is a self-reinforcing behavior that might be helpful or unhelpful. But a ritual is something nurturing and purpose-driven.

Where habit is all about action on a loop, ritual is all about the intention underlying that action.

A ritual is a particular routine or habit that is life-giving, not life-sapping. Something that feels good doing, as well as completing.

Just like wearing the identity of “saver” is more meaningful that just saving money, because our identity holds more meaning and weight than actions alone.

Likewise, turning essential habits into important rituals also gives them more meaning and weight in your life.

For example, putting your financial house in order each week or month can become a time fueled by your mission to move your family to a better neighborhood or ensure a secure retirement, instead of stressful drudgery you just want out of the way.

Indeed, the decisions and actions we make around our money are essential and meaningful. Decisions and actions that compound over time and ultimately define our financial reality and that of our children.

Don’t these decisions and actions deserve ritual-level attention?

To create and sustain a new ritual, you can apply the same concepts that support any habit.

The difference, however, is that a ritual additionally draws from purpose. It is something supportive and nurturing to a mission that you hold, no matter the circumstances.

In this way, revisiting a written goal or principal you hold for your financial life, like a mantra, as you sit down to handle your accounting can begin to elevate your routine to a meaningful ritual that is more self-reinforcing than the average recurring task on your list.

It also helps to intentionally add happiness, joy, and fun to the process of such a ritual. Enjoy your favorite beverage or treat, play your most boss Spotify playlist, whatever helps remind you that what you’re doing is important, meaningful, and worthy of your time and attention.

Give your next financial session some thought – how can you begin to elevate your time spent managing your finances from adulting drudgery to meaningful ritual?