Key Ingrediant #3-Leavening Agent

Next key ingredient to a mouth-watering spending plane is: The Leavening Agent.

Key ingredient #3 to a winning recipe is- Leavening Agent
You will have some pretty flat cookies without baking soda or baking powder! Just like you’ll have a “flat” spending plan without that leavening agent.

The leavening agents for your budget are the values, dreams, aspirations, people and things that are essential and meaningful to you living fully alive. You identified them in Key ingredient #1-the sweet stuff!

Get your list out (your 3x5 cards or the hearts) and look at how you can tie your leavening agents to the categories of spending you have. For instance most of us have a spending category that covers housing. That can feel like a huge monthly expense that seems to drag on forever. Try tying or labeling your housing category to a value or dream of yours. Example: “My Sanctuary” or “Our Family Safe Haven”.

Here’s another example:
Car Insurance: “Protection when needed”
Debt Reduction: “Future Home” or future (whatever an aspiration or dream you have)

Do this with all of your categories of spending in your budget. Don’t forget to include “spending” of savings, retirement and self care. A well rounded spending plan includes all of the key ingredients of your unique winning recipe. Enjoy!

Key Ingrediant #2-Flour

How did you do with your “sweets” this week? I hope you took more notice of those things that are vital to you having a winning recipe. This key ingredient is really what hold everything together.

Key Ingredient #2 to a winning recipe- Flour
You have to have flour when baking moth watering cookies! The flour gives the cookie shape and holds it all together. The flour represents our money beliefs. Your thoughts and beliefs about money gives shape to your budget.

Here are some common money beliefs I come across when coaching people around their budgets.
“There’s never enough $$, so why bother”
“Budgets are restricting”
“Budgets are a tool to help you become financially free”
“Budgets are freeing”

Can you tell the difference between money beliefs that are empowering or defeating. Just like when baking cookies, if you use the correct amount of flour AND the right kind, the cookies will turn out perfect.

Knowing your money beliefs and how they impact your daily life is empowering and freeing. It will help you enjoy the flavor of life and the intention of a budget.

Here is an some questions that can help you identify your money beliefs:

1. What did your parents think about money? What emotion did they feel when interacting with money?
2. What is your most painful memory with money? What is your most joyful memory around money?
3. What do you do well with money?
4. When you think $$ what do you feel.

As you continue to understand your relationship with money, you can empower yourself to follow a budget that is a winning recipe!

A Winning Recipe-3 Key Ingrediants to a "mouth-watering" Spending Plan

Valentines Day reminds me of baking cookies in the shape of hearts. You know the kind, sugar cookies that you roll out and then cut with different size heart shapes. Then you frost and decorate each one with those special sprinkles. Does thinking about that make your mouth water? It does mine.

I want to share with you 3 Key Ingredients to a “mouth watering” spending plan. Imagine if your budget could make your mouth water when you think of it. OK, that may be going just a little too far!! But what if your spending plan could work as simple as making sugar cookies? I bet you would be more likely to keep to the plan.

Key ingredient #1 to a winning recipe -Sweets
A cookie would not be a cookie if it didn’t have sugar and that special flavoring. It would lack taste. You would probably just leave those types of cookies in the cookie jar and never eat them.

Maybe your spending plan is being left in the “cookie jar” too. To make your spending plan a winning recipe you need to tie your budget to the things that are valuable in your life.

Play in the “kitchen” with me now. Get a piece of paper and a pen and draw 5 hearts of different sizes, maybe put one inside the other. Whatever works for you. In each circle write down at least one value, person, idea, dream or aspiration that is important and exciting to you. When you’re done you should have identified at least 5 things that are significant and compelling in your life.

Go ahead now and write those things on a 3x5 card and carry them around with you. Place a card on your mirror, in your card, or on the refrigerator so you can be reminded of how key these things are to you.

We will come back to these things later in the recipe.

Tuesday's on Purpose

Someone asked if I live on purpose. I flippantly answered, “of course”. But, as I began to deeply ponder how purposeful my days are, I dug a little deeper. Sundays were my first response of living on purpose. Sundays are when many of us go to church with the purpose of growing spiritually. Then I began to ask myself, “What is my purpose for each day of the week?” It helps me to become more aware and conscious of why I am doing what I am doing.

I do have my life scheduled with a system that seems to be working and is productive. Meaning, I plan for Mondays to get caught up at home and do some office work. Tuesdays are my stay at home day where I get all my personal and professional odds and ends completed. Wednesdays and Thursdays are days I am totally dedicated to coaching people from success into significance. Fridays are my day for personal growth, relaxation and connection time with my husband. The weekends are designed for family time. All that is stuff I “do.” What is the purpose of doing those things? I am much more than just a human doing, I’m a human “being”.

I am much more than what I do. Although what I do I love!! SO, the deeper questions may be:

1. What IS my purpose for each day? Why?


2. How can I live purposefully, full of significance and meaning?


3. Am I living my intentions?

I would love to hear about the creative ways you live on purpose. Blog back and let me know.

Are you in a Rut or Routine?

Routine can be productive and useful. It helps us to get many of our mundane and necessary activities completed. It fact, I am getting back into a routine I choose to serve me and my goals.

Yet, sometimes we get stuck in routine that becomes a rut. Like the rut in the road that just sucks you in and it’s hard to get out. Sometimes we’re aware of how we are slowly and mindlessly moving towards that familiar rut. Other times we just seem to get pulled into the rut without our permission. It can be difficult to get out of the rut no matter what.

Here are a few mindful suggestions to keep you conscious about your routine or rut.
1. Be aware of what you’re doing each day. Does your routine or rut move you closer to your dreams and goals?
2. Do you have an action plan for success? Do you have short term and long term goals and dreams? How are you going to reach them?
3. What kind of support and assistance do you have to help you achieve those things that are important in your life? Do you have a coach, mentor or encourager?

Don’t let your mindless and lack of consciousness keep you from your desires. “God never aborts a dream. It's us who aborts. God never gives up on the dream because the seed is in you.” Anonymous. Create your life full of purpose, meaning and significance. We have several opportunities to coach you in living fully alive. Visit the “Offerings” tab on our home page for more information.
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