When Your Money
Trigger Rears Its
Ugly Head
by Nicole Cooley
L
adies, this is the truth. I have a closet full of
gorgeous shoes that don’t fit anymore. I think
I’m mourning them. Mourning my shoe size
pre-baby and the part of my life when heels were
worn daily. Everything about my life and body
post-baby is just… different. I know you understand.
With everything feeling different, I feel like I have
a closet full of clothes and shoes that don’t fit my
new body or my new life.
And I want to binge shop, hard core.
Take it all, I’m starting over.
This is especially embarrassing because I’m a
Money Coach. I literally teach people how to be
comfortable with what they have, curb shopping
and optimize their spending. And here I am FIGHTING not to blow my budget filling my closet with
more stuff. I’m confessing to you so you know its
normal, sooooo normal.
Truth is, the desire to binge shop is my money
trigger.
A money trigger is a behavior that causes you to
spend in a way that isn’t aligned with your true
needs.
I have done enough money work to know that
when I feel like I HAVE to shop, there is something
else going on that can’t be fixed with new clothes.
Since this wasn’t my first money trigger rodeo, I
realized that my urge to shop wasn’t about clothes
(it never is). It was about me not feeling great in my
post-baby body.
Once I had that ah-ha moment I was able to put
together a plan that solved my true problem.
Instead of a shopping spree, I allocated money in
my budget for work out classes, started shopping
more at Whole Foods and booked overdue self
care appointments. New clothes did figure into the
equation, but in a more calculated way. I got rid
of some things, made a list of what I needed and
shopped to fill the gaps. When I did shop, I was
able to do it guilt free, knowing I was being smart
about my spending and satisfying a true need.
Its important to identify and understand your own
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