Mindful financial planning starts with being present

Being mindful with your money is similar to how you’d approach being mindful with your health or relationship; you’ve got to show up and be present to make progress. Here are four priority areas of your money that require careful attention.

Awareness of day-to-day spending

Awareness around your spending habits is linked to better spending. There are two tips to be mindful that we recommend. The first is budgeting for the month ahead; and yes, this does mean sitting down to do your budget is a recurring event. The second is tracking your actual spending every few days, or real-time, if you’re using an app. These two pieces, when done together - planning and tracking - will ensure that you’re in the driver’s seat with your money all the time.

Take a seat at the table for your long-term planning

Your financial future is too important not to be totally present when you sit down with your coach or adviser to map out a long-term plan for your money. This plan encompasses income and net worth growth, retirement goals, regular savings as well as learning to invest well. You don’t need to be great at numbers, or understand all aspects of investing. But, you do need to be participating in how your plan is being designed, asking questions when you’re not sure about a particular aspect of it, like how bonds fit into your investment portfolio or when a good time to make a sizeable donation would be, and so on. It’s also important to implement the strategies your plan is relying on, in order to make that plan come to life. In plain speak, be present and engaged for 100 per cent of your planning process.

Fraud can cause major financial hardship, so your best course of action is to be mindful of how much you share, where and when

Digital fraud is a rising problem and it’s no surprise given our lives are predominantly spent online these days; work, school, shopping, entertainment and so on. The scams are getting more complex, from stealing Bitcoin, identity theft to phoney eTransfers when buying or selling something on Kijiji. 

It’s super important to keep your vigilance and mindfulness up, higher than it’s ever been. That requires you to be extremely present, and cautious, when you’re providing your credit card information at the digital checkout (or on the phone), or when clicking on a payment link within an email or on SMS. Be mindful to shred sensitive information, before putting it in the recycle bin, change your passwords monthly and report any suspicious activity, even on social media, to the Anti-fraud Centre.

Trust your instincts, too. If something doesn’t look right, it’s not. Remember, legitimate institutions ALWAYS have a private portal for you to update your personal and payment information. 

Your lifestyle can creep up on you

Have you heard of lifestyle inflation? It’s where your income nudges up, or perhaps your expenses, and in small enough increments that you don’t really notice at first...until something major happens like your card gets declined in a store. It’s easy not to pay attention to rising costs, or increases to income. But, don’t let this be you. Watch your spending. Track your income growth; which is your opportunity to save more or pay off debt. Monitor your total cost of living, and check that you can afford it. If you’re not paying attention, your lifestyle will creep up on you and your bank account.

Financial mindfulness means being aware of what’s happening to your finances and shifting out of autopilot. So, step into your numbers, ask questions and don’t be afraid to get some professional support from a coach or adviser who can help you increase your knowledge.