Money tracking as reverence
In today's blog, I'm going to weave some geeky, accounting love with reverence for y'all. I hope you will stay with me because honestly, this is such an important topic when it comes to healing your relationship with money.
Would you rather listen to or watch this post on YouTube? I've got you covered - you can listen to today's blog by clicking here.
Would you rather read? Then let's dive in.
Do you track your money?
Whether you track your money, you have in the past, or you're thinking about starting, I want to share something that is worth considering. What I have to say is not a very unpopular opinion and some of you may think it's a pretty boring topic BUT I have some thoughts for you about automatic downloads of transactions into your financial software.
It's short and sweet and hopefully, will invite you to consider a different approach to how you use (or will use) your money tracking software.
This is for you if:
You track your money loosely and use automatic downloads, but still feel a sense of anxiety or disconnection with your money. This love letter might give you a new perspective on staying connected with your numbers.
You are thinking about tracking your money, but you haven't set up a system yet. This might provide inspiration to dive in and do it, but without the automatic download (at least to start).
You track your money and you use automatic downloads and you feel pretty good about it, however, you may decide to change it up for a hot minute to see what happens after reading this love letter.
Here it is.
I don't really think that automatic downloads of transactions do us any favors. I personally manually input every single transaction for both my personal and my business finances.
Here are some reasons you might want to consider trying this.
I will be the first one to say that technology is absolutely amazing and I love that we can stay connected with our money by simply logging into an app on our smartphones. However, the automatic download function is sold as a convenience so you can spend less time on your money. But is that really what you want?
I know for me, as someone who has ignored my money, hated the very idea of money, and also felt debilitating anxiety about money, the hack of automatic downloads was going to be an invitation to distance myself from financial responsibility. It was not going to be a good choice.
So if you are someone who has felt ambivalent, uncomfortable, or anxious about your money, the healing medicine is quite likely in developing intimacy with your money. That is likely going to look like taking a lot of deep breaths, slowing down, and tending your money like you mean it - not like it's an inconvenience.
Tending your money is a practice of reverence.
In The Reverence Framework, which is the framework that I created for women to help them Get Right with Money and move from scarcity to abundance, the second step is to remember, which is an invitation to honestly survey the landscape of your relationship with money. Of course, one part of that (a very important part of that) is to understand the way money flows in and out of your life. That is really what tracking your money with a software app will help you do - but it can help with so much more.
Finding peace in the practice.
Turning off the automatic downloads and inputting your transactions manually will help you understand and find peace with your money as you bring reverence to that process.
Inputting your transactions, one by one, manually helps you slow down and come into right relationship with your money in a way that automatic downloads just can't facilitate. When you touch each transaction, metaphorically speaking, it is really an opportunity to appreciate the ways that money flows through your life. The inflows, the outflows, and the way that your money grows when you invest.
There is so much to gain.
Listen, I know it sounds so very unsexy, and yet what is peace and a sense of mastery worth?
So, if you are someone who already tracks your money, whether it's something you pay attention to closely or not, I would invite you to just give it a try, turn off the automatic downloads, and set a period of time where you are going to manually input your transactions and make it a ritual. You know, this doesn't have to be forever, but you can let this be a practice for a period of time and really allow it to be an opportunity to be present with each transaction and to see what you learn about yourself and your relationship with money.
If you are someone who is considering tracking your money with software, I would encourage you to start without the automatic downloads. Begin with reverence by paying attention to each and every transaction by manually inputting it. You will get a deeper understanding of how money flows through your life.
No matter who you are, by approaching your transactions with reverence, you will be given incredible opportunities to see what bubbles up to be addressed as you ground yourself in the truth of your finances.
Tell me everything - I want to know your thoughts about tracking your money and whether you will try (or already do) input your transactions by hand.