I’m not sure where it comes from, but for as long as I can remember, I’ve had a propensity to avoid spending money.
The first time I noticed this, was after a trip to the mall with my sister and mom (I was around 12). My sister could hardly believe how much money I still had left from our allowance, because she had spent it all. We’d both been trying things on, hemming and hawwing, picking out what we felt we “just had to have.”
Turns out, I’d come home with just two things, while she had a bag full of loot.
On one hand, you can call this frugal practicality. I really didn’t need all those things.
On the other hand, you can see the underlying aversion to spending that this frugal mindset might be hiding.
For it’s true, when I have to spend money, I often get a physical pain in my body. My chest tightens, my stomach churns, I get anxious and sweaty, and feel tension in my nerves.
I do believe this underlying belief, this fear of lack, has caused me to put a dam on my ability to tap into the natural flow of abundance that is available to all of us. Even with my affirmations and mantras and mindset work, there are still those lingering fears that rear their darling heads when I get ready to spend.
It has helped to understand why it is I’m buying the things I buy. And to see it not as a loss, but as a gain – I am trading my hard-earned, adored cash money in exchange for something I need, want, or desire.
And on the flip side, being a seller, it is advantageous to have a healthy relationship with money. Buyers can always tell when you’re desperate. They can sense it. They also want to avoid it or take advantage of it.
While vending at the Portland Saturday Market for two years as we developed and tested our product line for ZieBee Media, I got first hand research experience into the minds of Why People Buy. It is amazing what people do – and don’t – see when they’re shopping. A “2 for $25” is better than a solo $10 offering. Overprice your single for $20, and people will gobble up the “Stellar Deal” of 2 for $25. You also have to be very simple and direct with your marketing language, crafting catchy yet genuine pitches that can attract people’s attention, or “Stop the Stroll” as I called it.
Then there is the language barrier – how can you articulate the value you’re offering, even without the customer reading? This could be due to age or nationality, or even just poor vision.
Getting into the mind of the buyer has also helped me understand and explore my own fears surrounding money. I’ve had to learn how to truly believe in what I’m buying. For people often forget, that as consumers we’re purchasing something that someone else has already put their hard earned time, money, and resources into.
Is that $500 on a new box of Coloring Postcards worth it? What can I turn it into? What expenses will I incur along the way? What is the true value of the thing I’ve created?
It’s all a Trade.
I trade my time. I trade my money. I trade my expertise. I trade my creativity.
And that’s why, whether you’re crafting a contract with a client, making your new product catalog, or designing a Trade Plan, it is vital to know why it is you want to buy what you want to buy. What are the variables? What are the entry and exit points? What’s your lowest acceptable level, what’s your top tier goal?
My time at the Portland Saturday Market overlapped with my first introduction to trading. I’d started learning the mindset behind it with Mark Douglas’ book, Trading in the Zone, and taking classes from Simpler Trading. The overlap was instantly apparent. It was like I was living out the principles of Trading in the physical world, with my time hawking my wares, updating my advertising, and crafting my catalog.
Now, as I embark on my 20 Trades Journey, I’m committed to setting down my fear of spending for good. To see that putting money into the economy is my way of contributing, participating, and being part of the flow of abundance that comes naturally to me.
As my father would say, “Money is flowing abundantly into my life.” And so it is.
Love as always,
~Mackenzie
