Three Reasons Why Investing in Ourselves Can Sometimes Feel Excessive (And What to Do About It)

We’ve all added the guac for the upcharge or bought the fancy coffee on the way to work because frankly, we deserved it.

But I’m here to talk about how society shames us about this excessive spending and how we can get that shame mixed up with areas of our life such as personal growth that we should be investing in.

This can look like hiring a personal trainer to get ready for that marathon or investing in a new wardrobe for that dream job while we are trying to look the part. Spending money isn’t always unnecessary and it’s time for you to actually believe that to change your life for the better!

Here are three things that we tell ourselves to limit our spending in personal growth areas and how you can overcome them.

Spending money on ourselves can feel selfish

Raise your hand if you have ever felt guilty when you spend money on yourself when it could go towards something that is more ‘responsible’. We all have! We get shamed or judged by society when we spend $150 on a monthly gym membership when we are living paycheck to paycheck.

Of course it makes sense to pay off debt first or save for a down payment on a house, but those things take time and we also have to be sure we are taking care of ourselves in the present. 

There Are Tons of Resources Available for Free, Why Pay For It

The internet is full of wonderful things and you can figure anything out for zero dollars. While this is true the internet is also full of conflicting and sometimes false advice. On top of that, accountability is something else that is missing when we go after something new and potentially difficult on our own.

But there’s a happy medium and I’m here to say that I paid off my debt on my own researching things on the internet. Are you the type of person that is willing to put in this work? If yes, great, what has stopped you up until this point?

If not, that’s when we need to reach out to the professionals. Whether we want to lose that weight, become educated on a specific topic or update a space in your home, outside support helps get the job done much more quickly.

So many options and we can’t afford them all

So when choosing between paying for the personal trainer, hiring a designer to update our new in-home office or speaking with someone about how to get out of debt, the answer is unique to everyone. We most likely can’t afford to do them all which is why we need to determine which items are priorities.

Also keep in mind to go after things that align with your happiness and that will move the needle. When resources are tight you will want to go after items that will actually make you happier or change your life for the better.

Ensuring personal growth fits in our budget

Let’s focus on debt and money for this one. It would be silly for me to say, hire a personal finance coach, don’t worry about all the debt you have! But in the same breath, where is your money currently going that would temporarily allow you to hire someone to help clarify some of the stressful parts of your money? 

Reducing your spending to pay for anything isn’t always permanent, it’s a choice we make everyday. We buy generic brands at the store to spend less on groceries or we opt for the slightly older car model to reduce our monthly payment.

If getting out of debt or finding financial clarity is a priority, I would ask you to see how you can adjust your regular spending to ensure you don’t go further into debt during this process.

Here’s a good article that differentiates spending for growth versus comfort.

Applying What We Learn to Make It All Worth It

Once we make that investment into ourselves, it’s important to implement what we learned and to continue the work on our own. With the personal trainer example, you probably won’t need one forever. You can learn the techniques they taught you to create your own workouts and to build a routine that you are comfortable following. The same goes with a personal finance coach, they should help you get to the next level to gain back the confidence and trust you once had in yourself.

Ready to learn more or get started? Book a free call with me and let’s put financial clarity on top of your priority list to accomplish this year.