Learn to love your money (2024)

By Gina Gallagher | Citizens Contributor

Love is in the air again! It’s the heart-soaring annual season of Cupid – the time to make a special date, share your love and affection and show someone important to you how much you care.

But why stop just there this Valentine’s Day season?

Why not use the lovely occasion to give some time and love to something that’s important to you – like your money?

Yes, your money.

Your money needs some love, too.

Like romantic relationships, your relationship with money can be emotional and as Facebook says, “complicated.” But with a little communication, honesty and a commitment to “making things work,” you can fall in love with your finances. Here’s how:

• Be open and honest. Relationships require honesty. So, to work on your relationship with your money, you must be honest about how you feel about it. For many, those feelings include guilt, shame and even fear. Search yourself to see what troubles you about money. Is it that you’re spending more than you can afford? Accumulating debt? Or that you feel like you’ll never reach your financial goals? On the flip side, what about your money makes you feel good? Understanding your feelings is a big step toward making good decisions and creating lasting financial change.
• Set limits. One of the biggest mistakes people make is overspending. The key to avoiding that is to have a budget. A budget may not sound like fun, but it is actually your friend. It can help ensure you have enough money to pay your bills, build savings and work toward goals that are important to you. To create a budget you need to know your net income and to track all your monthly expenses. You also need to stay committed to the budget you create and to have regular “dates” to see how you’re doing.
• Prepare for the unexpected. Life is unpredictable. You never know when unexpected bills or a job breakup can happen. One way to empower yourself for the financial challenges life throws at you is to start building an emergency fund. When you create your monthly budget, be sure to build in contributions to your emergency fund. To make saving easier, transfer money automatically to your emergency savings account. And when you earn additional money like a tax refund (yippee!) or a raise, you can up your savings game.
• Work on removing toxic debt from your life. For most of us, debt is a part of life, whether it’s student loans or car payments. But having too much debt can be a relationship killer, especially with today’s soaring interest rates. If you’re carrying extra credit card or other debt, focus on paying off high-interest balances as part of your budget. You could even look into consolidating debt to a lower-interest credit card or refinancing student loan debt.
• Plan for the future. Okay, in a romantic relationship, talking about the future too soon can be a relationship killer. But in financial relationships, planning for the future is one of the smartest moves you can make. It’s never too early (or late) to save for retirement and other long-term goals. If you’re eligible for a 401(k) or other retirement plan, take advantage of it particularly if your employer offers matching contributions. That’s free money for your future – and winning! And take advantage of available savings tools, like Citizens Savings Tracker™¹, dedicated to helping you stay on track of your financial goals.
• Pay your way. Paying bills late can cost your budget and damage your credit, which is essential to making borrowing affordable and even possible. You can pay bills online or in your mobile app² and even set reminders so you don’t forget. Or better yet, have recurring bills automatically deducted from your account, so you can pay bills in your sleep.
• Be forgiving. We all make mistakes, including errors with managing money. Be kind to yourself; rather than dwell on the errors you’ve made in the past, learn from them. Remember, money love is patient and kind. Like with romantic relationships, building a loving relationship with money takes some work. But, with communication, commitment and honesty, you can feel good about your money and more importantly, yourself.

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