Don’t be serious about money all the time

Like many Kiwi families, when I was growing up, we would go camping every summer holidays. In the evenings we played games, and Monopoly was our favourite. Somehow Dad always seemed to win, but that didn’t stop Mum and I having a great time, there was always lots of laughter as we went in and out of jail, (I seemed to spend more time in, than out), we bought and sold property, built houses and hotels, and of course collected our $200 as we passed Go. That was my first introduction to money.  Even though I knew it wasn’t real, it was a great way to learn.

I don’t exactly recall when money stopped being fun. It was probably when I had to start paying my own way and learning how far (or not) money goes. I can’t help but smile when I remember receiving my first pay when I started working as a 17-year-old: It didn’t go into my bank account, it was a brown paper envelope with cash in it!  I tipped it out on my desk, counted it and off I went to buy a lovely white sheepskin rug. That was definitely fun! The fun stopped when I got home: Mum was less impressed with the rug, since I’d spent my board money on it.

From then onwards it was a chore to manage money. It became a source of angst, occasionally a touch of excitement, but the fun was gone.

We do need to take money seriously, particularly as we mature.  Our lives force us to get more serious about money as we add more complexity and responsibility along the way. Mental accounting kicks in, and we tuck our money away into little buckets in our mind: the mortgage or rent; the bills; the kids; and, if you’re lucky, retirement. There’s often nothing left for the fun bucket.

We start to hear more about the B word (budget), we are told what we should and shouldn’t do with our money to get a loan. We are told we need to be frugal to get ahead financially.

I want us to start making just a little bit of our money fun again. This means you need to stop being so scared of money; of not understanding how to manage it; not having enough of it; and worrying about it constantly. Going on holiday is fun, but can you make paying the power bill fun, too?

Now there’s a thought. How do you make day-to-day essential spending fun? By practising gratitude! I learned this from Kate Northrup. Be grateful when you are paying for something. Let’s take power as an example. We all complain about our power bill; let’s flip that. What if we didn’t have power? We wouldn’t be able to turn on the light or boil the kettle at the flick of a switch. Let alone curl up on the couch with the heater on and binge watch Netflix! Be grateful for that. Whatever you do with your money, be grateful for what it enables you to do for yourself and others.

I know things are tough right now, and the thought of having some guilt-free spending money can feel a bit counter intuitive. But being too restrictive only makes you want to spend more. Think about the diet analogy, the “I’m never having potato chips again”, only makes you want them more. The ‘I’m cutting out everything but essentials” can lead to binge spending.  A little bit of fun can help keep you on track with your spending and saving goals.

Now I have got you excited about having some fun money, let’s do it! Let’s start a fun money bucket.

1. What is one small thing you can change now that will free up just a few $ to get you started?
2. Be deliberate with your actions and transfer that money into your Fun Money bank account.
3. Over the course of a month, see how many times you can reward yourself for saying no to something you don’t really want, and adding that to your Fun Money account.
4. Now, it’s decision time.  At the end of the month, what are you going to do with your fun money?  Buy yourself (or someone else) a treat? Leave it there and watch it grow? There is no judgement on what you choose to do.

Practise gratitude, practise conscious spending, and before you know it, you will have made money fun!