Yay!! For discipline?!

Discipline is fun!

Well I dunno about all that but hopefully it got your attention 😉

Last week I shared that you need a budget and the discipline to stick with it if you plan to master credit cards. I promised to give you some tips about discipline and your budget.

But first some thoughts on discipline in general. We tend to think of discipline as something that you either have or you don’t. Perhaps you think it’s something you were born with and are sh*t out of luck if you weren’t. That’s just not the case.

You can (and really, truthfully must) develop discipline!  The good news is that once you’ve developed it in one area of your life, say finances, it tends to carry over into others, like eating well. Discipline is like a muscle that takes practice to build.

Build it daily by practicing healthy financial habits and not letting yourself off the hook with “oh it’s just today” or because “I deserve it” or any other similar excuse for unhealthy indulgences (although I truly believe there is such a thing as healthy indulgences, but that’s for another day 😉 Stick to the plan. Follow through with your word. Do what you know you should do. That’s how you build discipline. Simple, right?! (I said simple, not easy!)

Being disciplined with your budget is tremendously easier if you have a budget that you actually like and which reflects your personal priorities and values (it’s why I think our Budget workshop is special).

Being disciplined to spend within your budget is also a lot easier if you have a good relationship with money and don’t shop impulsively. Of course we have a workshop for that too 🙂 And there are some great books out there (just to hold you over until the workshop next year 😉 My favorite is Lynne Twist’s The Soul of Money.