Ways To Align Your Spending With Your Values

Many people have had to be more careful with their money over the past few years. When you don’t have as much money as you’d like, you have to make choices about how to spend it. That forces you to think about what’s really important. The things that you value highly are what you’ll spend money on. But keeping your spending in line with your values isn’t just for when times are tight.

Will you be living on your own soon, or are you now? That means being responsible for bigger spending decisions. And that’s when it becomes a real challenge to keep your values dictating your spending. For example, you may have a big, important financial goal in mind, like buying a car, renting an apartment, or affording a home. Those are goals that will likely require you to save toward them for a long time.

Be aware of spending

So how do you keep your big important goal in mind when you have $20 in your pocket and there’s a new movie showing at the local movie theater? Or your friends are getting together at your favorite restaurant? Try these tips:

• Decide to save a certain percentage of your money. Choose an amount that makes good progress on your savings goal but doesn’t make you feel like you can’t have any fun.
• Keep a picture or something else that represents your big goal where you’ll see it often. Your wallet is a good place, because then you’ll see it right at the time you’re about to spend money on something else.
• Keep your savings safe and growing. Every time you get money, whether from a paycheck or a gift, deposit the percentage that you’ve chosen into your savings account at DCU. As your income grows, consider a DCU certificate to help you save more. Learn more about DCU’s array of savings products at dcu.org.