62. Mastering Money Habits: Insights from 'Atomic Habits' by James Clear

Episode 62: "Mastering Money Habits: Insights from 'Atomic Habits’ by James Clear

In this book review episode, host Laura Sexton provides a lively book review of "Atomic Habits: An Easy and Proven Way to Build Good Habits and Break Bad Ones" by James Clear. She emphasizes the importance of habits in our daily lives, particularly in relation to money management, and shares insights on how small changes can lead to remarkable results. Through anecdotes, quotes from the book, and personal experiences, she encourages listeners to examine their habits and take actionable steps towards achieving their financial goals.

In this episode we’ll learn:

.     The power of habits in money management

.     Building solid financial systems

.     Overcoming perfectionism and taking action

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Transcript

Laura: 0:46

Hello and welcome to the Accelerate Your Legacy podcast. I'm Laura Sexton, your trusted financial coach and money mindset specialist. Join me as we explore the world of money and money mindset while also paving the way for a lasting legacy that extends far beyond money. Together we'll eliminate stress, amplify freedom, and ensure you stop paying for your past so you can start saving for your future. If you're seeking peace in your finances, more margin in your budget, and a legacy that inspires generations to come, you're in the right place. Accelerators, I have such a fun book review for you today. Today I'm going to be talking about the book Atomic Habits, An Easy and Proven Way to Build Good Habits and Break Bad Ones by James Clear. If you're looking for tiny changes and remarkable results, this is the podcast for you. This is the book for you. My book, I wish I had purchased this book because I had it from the library and I have tabs sticking out like you would not believe because there's so many things in this book that I just absolutely loved. And so much of it has to do with money, even though he doesn't write about money as much in this book. This isn't a money book. It is a habits book, but think about your habits and your daily decisions. All of our lives revolve around money. So what habits around money that you have that can be affected by what we are talking about today? One of the quotes, one of the first quotes that I have from this book that I got so, so excited about is with the same habits, you'll end up with the same results. I know mind blowing absolutely ridiculous. You've never thought that before. Have you? I say it all the time. Nothing changes unless something changes. People are like, that is the most cliche thing that you could say. You're just repeating yourself. Yes, I am. The beginning of this year, when the calendar switch from 2023 to 2024, nothing changed except for the number at the end of the date on the calendar. Nothing changed. All change starts with you. And what you want out of life. Another quote that James clear has, it was a gradual evolution, a long series of small wins and tiny breakthroughs. That's what makes change. That's what does it. We very rarely wake up 1 day and make a 180 flip. Usually it's a small change, small change, small change. It's going to get us where we want to go. We have to adjust our trajectory slowly so that we can start making large strides. Your outcomes are a lagging measure of your habits. If you don't have a habit of paying attention to your money, your outcome is going to be that you overspend. If you have a habit of looking at your money at least once a week, your outcome is going to be you're now a person who lives within their means. You're a person who can reach their financial goals because you have a habit of paying attention. These habits are not just small incremental things, but instead they are the building blocks of your future. One thing that Atomic Habits talks about is bamboo, and I think it's really interesting because it talks about how all big things come from small beginnings. The seed of every habit is a single tiny decision, but as that decision is repeated, a habit sprouts and grows stronger. Roots entrenched themselves and branches grow. You see, I think it's really interesting because he's talking about bamboo and 1 thing that I don't think I realized about bamboo. Like, I, I'm known for a while that you plant bamboo and it takes 5 years to grow. The reason it takes 5 years to grow is because those roots have to go down deep, really, really deep to be able to control. The fruit that shoots up once those roots are deep enough, you see, after 5 years, bamboo can grow about 90 feet. And it grows 90 feet very quickly. What I learned about this from reading and teaching your kids how to read and giving them the love of reading. That came from this idea of, you know, you just nurture it, nurture it, nurture it. And after 5 years, the bamboo will grow. Bamboo can't grow until the roots get really deep. So your habits have to dig down deep, be strong, structural roots for you so that you can start making your progress very, very quickly. One of the quotes that I have been using from this book since before I even pick this book up, I read it one time and this quote had so much depth to it. That I have I've taken it hostage and I use it for myself. So, very often, but James clear says, you do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems. That is why my friends, I want you to have a good, solid money systems in place. I want you to rise to the level of your systems and I want your systems to be good and solid and healthy for you. If you do not have a good, solid financial system in place. We need to have a conversation. It's completely free to you. You scroll down in the show notes, you click on the money mastery button, and we have a 30 minute call where I can give you a game plan, give you a system, help you develop a routine and a habit for yourself. That is what we will do. James Clear talks about this very simple two step process. That is one that I have said since before I even know who James Clear was. Two steps go like this. One, you decide the type of person you want to be. And then two, you prove it to yourself with small wins. I talk a lot about this idea of integrity, and being in integrity with the person that you want to become, not the person who you used to be. To make decisions based on how the future you would behave, the future you would present themselves. That's who you make your decisions in integrity with. If you can do that, You make decisions, small decisions based on what that person would be like, and then you become that person. You prove it to yourself with small wins over time. Later on in the book, James Clear talks about non conscious thoughts. We're so used to doing what we've always done that we don't stop to question whether it's the right thing to do at all. Does that sound like you with your money? Does that sound like you, when you first started this financial journey, you weren't paying attention. If you're anything like me, you weren't, because I will tell you, I had my head in the sand. It was so far in the sand. My feet were sticking out. I was not paying attention at all. And because I was just doing what I've always done, I didn't think there was a problem. I didn't think there could be anything better either. And when I took my head out of the sand and I looked around me and I realized. There's a better way to do this. It was hard to start that better way, but eventually I got there. The first step, though, my friends, the first step to changing a bad habit is to be on the lookout for it. You want to take that first step you got to look around, because once you do that, you're going to see, oh, oh, right, that thing that I'm doing, it's not great. I need to pinpoint it and then change something new. I really like this sentence, implementation, intention sentence. Broadly speaking, the format of this sentence is when situation X arises, I will perform response Y. I love this because it gives clarity around your situation. So some of my clients, whenever they make a purchase, the first thing they do is they go and they track it. So I made a purchase. I carry the bag to my car. When I get in the car, the first thing I do is I track this purchase. That's not for everybody. Some of my clients don't have issues paying attention to that. So that is not the 1st thing that we would implement for them, but we have to put these routines in place that we pay attention. And if I don't like doing the budget, it could be something along the lines of when I finish going over the budget. I will have a glass of wine giving yourself that allows you to treat yourself. But it's also a really good way of helping yourself get out of a bad habit. So, every time I buy fast food on my way home. I have to do 15 burpees, or every time I buy fast food on the way home, I have to donate money to a charity of your choosing, not mine, allowing yourself to either be rewarded for your good behaviors or punished for your bad behaviors. I got so enthralled with the Diderot effect. I didn't even know what this was and yet I understand the concept. Diderot was this guy who had run out of money. He was in financial trouble and Catherine the Great, the Empress of Russia, heard about him, gave him money to have a library, and all of a sudden he was flush with cash. He went from being in financial trouble Dire straits to being overwhelmed with money. And so he started buying nice things for himself. He bought one nice thing and then he said, you know, I have to buy something else to go with it. I have to buy something else to go with this. And after a while, he kept buying something else to go with, and he was building up this lavish lifestyle. And once again, he was completely broke. If you have the urge to upgrade everything so it can match the other really nice thing that you have. You are suffering from the Diderot effect. I know so many people, myself included, who suffer from this. Who think that, oh, I have one nice thing, I need to increase, I need to buy, I got a purse, I need to buy the wallet. I got new jeans, I have to buy new tops. I actually had that feeling this week. I bought new jeans, I was like, oh my goodness, it feels so good, it looks so good in these, I'm so excited about it. Oh, I have to buy three new shirts to go with it. No! No, I got new jeans because I didn't have any that fit. And now I have some that fit. I don't need to go buy new shirts. My shirts all fit fine. Going back to that implementation sentence. There's something called pre max principle. That means more probable behaviors will reinforce less probable behaviors. In other words, even if you don't really want to process overdue work emails, you'll become conditioned to do it if it means that you get to do something you really want to do along the way. Again, after I make my budget, I will get a glass of wine. Having things like that in your life, you can habit stack. After I brush my teeth, I put in my contacts. After I put in my contacts, I get dressed. After I get dressed, I read my Bible. Whatever it is for you, how can you stack your habits so that as you are doing something familiar, the next familiar thing comes right in line. Doing things like this makes it easier for you to maintain progress with your money. Another way to make sure that your habits are helping you create the life that you love It's just surround yourself with people who have the habits that you want to have yourself because you will rise together. This is something you've heard since you were a small child. You are who you hang around with. You want to make sure the people you hang around with are growing. You want to make sure that the people that you hang around with are thriving. And you want to make sure that the people that you hang around with have the same habits you want to have. You see, if you are a smoker, you hang out with other smokers. If you want to be a non smoker, you got to quit hanging out with those people because you know that they're going to have a craving. They're going to go outside and smoke. You're going to want to go with them. And then what are you going to do? You're going to have a really hard time saying no, or you're just going to give in. You want to make sure that the people that you surround yourself with are doing the things that you want to be doing. So if you don't currently have a community of people who are winning with money. You need to join one, and if you don't know where to find one, reach out to me, laura at accelerateyourlegacy. com, or send me a DM on Instagram at accelerateyourlegacy, and I will get you in contact with other people that are winning with money. You see, it is so incredibly important to surround yourself with people who are doing the thing that you want to do, because a rising tide will lift all boats. I got stuck on page 142 of Atomic Habits. On this page. We're talking about Voltaire. Who knew? Voltaire was the person who said, The best is the enemy of good. I'm sorry, Voltaire. I did not realize it was you. I have been stealing it all this time. Perfection is the enemy of good. When we are stuck on making it the best that it can be, we don't allow good enough to happen. I know too many people that are so worried about finding the right way to do things finding the right way. I have to study the best way to handle my money. I have to follow this program. I have to find. I don't know if this program started. I heard about this other program. So I'm going to want to go look at it. And I heard about this other way. It's like people that get really caught up on the debt snowball versus the debt avalanche method. They are so caught up on which one's going to be better and they spend hours. I'm not even kidding you. I've seen this happen. They spent hours trying to analyze what's going to be best financially. And then they get tired and they give up. They, they spent all of this emotional and mental energy trying to figure something out, and then they just stopped because it was overwhelming. It was too much. That's just motion. You're just in the motion of going through the motions, trying to find, trying to study, trying to learn, trying to There's so many people that get stuck in this ready, aim, aim, aim and they never pull the trigger. They never get started. If you are a person that has been trying to find the best system to pay off your debt or find the best system to save the most money, can I tell you, you're never going to find a system that works for you if you don't start doing the work. Voltaire had it right. The best is the enemy of the good. Pick something and go. You're like, well, what if I pick the wrong thing? You might, you might pick the wrong thing, but if you're making progress, is it wrong? Well, I want to make progress faster. Great. That's when you work with a coach or somebody else that can help you move forward quicker. That's when you call me and we get into the rhythm and the systems and get you actually making progress. Because you see, you're never going to make progress if you don't start. Stop going through the motions and start taking action. The last quote I'm going to give you from Atomic Habits is this. More often than not, we do this because motion allows us to feel like we're making progress without running the risk of failure. Are you afraid of failing, friend? Are you afraid that if you take steps in the wrong direction, that means you have done something wrong? Are you afraid that if you take steps in the wrong direction, that means your entire portfolio is going to explode and you're going to lose everything? What is that fear based on? Who are the people that you are surrounding yourself with that are telling you that you're going to fail? That no matter what you do, you're going to lose. Who are those people? What inputs are coming into your ears that are telling you these lies? Who's holding you back? Why do you have these limiting beliefs? I would really love to have a conversation with you about this. These are some of the mindset pieces that we have to let go of so that we can thrive. Don't allow perfection to be the enemy of Good Enough. Kathy Hiller always says, do C plus work. Putting something out there is better than not putting something out there. You cannot edit a blank page. You have to do something first. You're never going to make progress if you stop yourself before you even start. You know I'm here for you, and I would absolutely love to have a conversation with you about atomic habits. About Voltaire. Let's get you moving forward. Stop with the motion and start taking action. All right, my friends, you know what to do. Go out and make a difference. Thank you for investing your time with us today on the Accelerate Your Legacy podcast. Remember, your legacy isn't just measured in dollars and cents, but in the tools, habits, mindset, and reputation you leave behind. Don't just listen to the show, but take action on what you've learned. Share this wisdom with a friend who can benefit and help us spread the word by rating and reviewing the podcast. For questions or encouragement, reach out to me on Instagram at Accelerate Your Legacy or explore the resources listed in the show notes. I will be back with you next week. Until then, build your legacy with intention.