How Spending Money Makes You FEEL, and Why That Matters

I've got a tool to figure out how much money you really need and it involves getting clear on the outcome you want when spending that money. But first, let's talk visibility.

Last week, I talked about the process of making videos about getting or making a day job for yourself. Shockingly...making a decent video is only half the work. (Thanks to Blue Butterfly Digital for your help). I also have to post it so people can actually watch it. My ostensible excuse for not posting them was that I’ve learned more about getting, or making your own day job that I didn’t know when I made the videos on the topic.

My videos about the benefits of day jobs for creatives

Instead of erasing the videos, I’m releasing them into the wild, and adding what I’ve learned since beginning to work with clients to help them make their own day jobs.

This week’s video covers getting a day job by working for someone else.

In addition to talking about what kind of job might work for you, I also talk about understanding how much money you need to live on without having to eat white bread and canned beans.

Figuring out why you spend, and what outcomes you want

I’ve had an epiphany (shout out to Sam Beasley) about how to look at spending that yields useful information rather than the load of self-condemnation that usually comes when you look at how you spend money. After all, the less you spend the better, right? Not always.

Here’s how it goes.

Rather than looking at what I buy or where I buy something, I back up one step and ask myself: in spending money on _____, what outcome do I want?

This flips the process of spending on its head.

For example, I have often thought (and followed through with a purchase), “I want that dress.”

I don’t necessarily want THAT dress (or any dress). I want the feeling I get from buying and hopefully wearing the dress.

The emotions I want are feeling attractive, abundant, probably lovable. I also sometimes get an adrenaline rush from buying something pretty, so I want that too.

No judgment. These are simply the emotions I want to feel.

Now that I know what outcome I want, I can ask myself. “Is this dress the best way to get that outcome?”

You can guess that there are probably more functional (and longer-lasting) ways to feel attractive and lovable and abundant than buying a dress. In fact, any emotion I feel when I buy something usually fades within 23 minutes. Yes, I have timed it.

No recrimination if you still "buy the dress"

This doesn’t mean I shouldn’t buy the dress. It just means that if I want to get the outcome I’m looking for, the dress is probably not the most effective way to get it.

You can run down the list of categories you spend money in (groceries, rent/house payment, dining, clothes, utilities, etc) and ask yourself first, “What outcome am I looking for in spending this money?”

Once you understand the outcome you want to get by spending money in each category, you can ask yourself, “Am I getting the outcome I want by spending $X here?”

No judgment on what you’re spending or not spending now. Just the question: “Am I getting the results I want for the money I’m spending here?”

With this clarity, you can start putting your money where it meets your needs most effectively.

Why does this matter?

Because knowing how much money you REALLY need to meet your requirements is the first step to getting a day job that works for you.

A funny unintended consequence of this process was how it changed the way I felt about paying my utilities. 

I figured I didn’t have a choice in paying my utilities, which is true. If I wanted electricity and heat and lights and a functioning dishwasher, I paid them, end of story.

But when I looked at the outcomes I wanted from the utility company (a way to store food safely, cook it, wash dishes and clothes, have clean water come out the tap, lights work when it’s dark outside, a consistent temperature inside my condo, the ability to plug in my computer, vacuum cleaner, hair dryer, toothbrush, pressure cooker, toaster…) and feeling secure when all these things worked without my doing anything, I realized I was getting MASSIVE value from paying the electric bill.

When I see the money come out of my account to pay that bill, I am GRATEFUL.

If you want help designing your own day job, I still have one opening in my day job pilot.

Or, if you want to brainstorm for fifteen minutes about making a day job, selling your art, or you’re just stuck on something, book an appointment with me here.