Having a Date With Your Dollars!

I used to be the 'Queen of Irresponsible' when it came to money!

I'd wake up at 3am in a cold sweat, panicking about bills I'd forgotten to pay or wondering if I had enough in the account to cover that automatic payment that was coming out. My relationship with money was like having a mate you never call but expect to be there when you need them.

The thing is, most of us interact with money every single day, yet we hardly ever actually sit down and have a proper conversation with it. We're weird about talking about debt, income, and what we actually need. There's this massive shame around money that keeps us all pretending everything's fine even when it's not.

One of my favourite questions to ask people is this: 

What does your money need from you?

When I really thought about this question, I realised my money was basically screaming at me. It needed three things desperately:

Time. My money needed me to actually spend time focusing on it instead of just hoping it would sort itself out.

Management. It needed some simple systems to make sure it was going where it needed to go, not just floating around randomly.

Responsibility. This was the big one. I needed to grow up and get a plan rather than flying by the seat of my pants.

Your money might be trying to tell you something completely different. Maybe it needs you to understand it better. Maybe it needs advice from someone who actually knows what they're talking about. Maybe it just needs you to check in with it more than once every six months when you're forced to look at your bank statement.

Having a regular Date with your Dollars isn't about becoming some spreadsheet-obsessed person who tracks every coffee purchase. It's about creating space to actually see what's going on so you can make decisions from a place of knowing rather than panic.

I started doing weekly money dates, it changed everything. Instead of that constant background hum of financial anxiety, I actually knew where I stood. The unknown is always scarier than the known, even when the known isn't pretty!

During these dates, I'd ask myself simple questions: What needs paying? What's coming in? What do I need to plan for? What are my money strengths and weaknesses right now?

Money is energy. It flows. When we get all tight and panicked about it, we stop the flow. When we're generous and smart about it, it moves around more freely.

Managing money isn't rocket science. There are really only two options: increase your income or decrease your expenses. That's it.

It's so tough when we are maxed out and can't increase our income - the only option is to get creative with reducing expenses. 

This is where having a date with your collars can help. It doesn't need to be complicated. Pick a time each week when you can sit down without distractions. Make it pleasant, good coffee, nice music, whatever makes you feel calm.

Start by just getting honest about where you are. What do you owe? What's coming in? What needs attention? Write it down. The act of writing makes it real and takes it out of the swirling worry-space in your head.

Ask your money what it needs from you. I know it sounds a bit woo-woo, but you might be surprised at what comes up. 

I am very excited that we now have ‘date with your dollars’ pages added to the 2026 Purpose Planner. Pages dedicated to where you want your money energy to go! We have two different cover designs - check them out here.