The single biggest complaint I hear, bar none, is 'I'm broke'.
Life is hard, life is expensive and none of us earns enough, right?
I'm calling bullshit.
Yes, many salaries have been frozen or have been cut over the last 8 years, the cost of housing is increasing and many people's pensions took a stumble over the change in markets. I'm not talking about the wider scheme of things, the cost of bread and milk and rent.
I want to focus on you and your feast and famine cycle.
This is something I talked about in the Facebook group earlier this week (click here to join the group and watch the video)
For those of you who can't read backwards this mug says 'Shhh... I snuck vodka in my coffee' No I was not drunk on Facebook lifestream!
It's payday, you buy yourself a payday treat. Maybe it's a bar of chocolate, maybe it's a handbag. You deserve it because you worked damn hard to earn that money, right?
Then, when you have a tough day at work you get a takeaway or an M&S meal deal. You know it's not healthy and you're trying to be good but fuck it, it's been a shit day and you want to unwind and relax. It's only a small indulgence.
Then you go for drinks with your friends. A few cocktails later your head is fuzzy but you feel lighter for having vented about your crazy work schedule (and yes you probably humble-bragged your way through Oh I'm just SO busy...and important...).
Never mind the venti latte and bacon sandwich on the way into the office for an early start, or the Percy Pigs and Diet Coke on the train on the way home (my poison of choice) to keep you awake.
And now we're in the monthly 'hungry gap'; the week or two before payday where money is tight and you cancel plans with friends in order to save money.
Of course, once that week or two is over, you'll start the cycle again with a payday treat because you were so deprived for the week or two before and you've worked DAMN hard for that money and deserve that treat.
Ad nauseum et infinitum [take the girl out of the law...]
Grab your banking app or bank statement and jot down every expense you incurred over the last month, coping with or pandering to your stress.
M&S dine in for two £10
Takeaway x 2 £40
One bottle of wine a week £35
Drinks with the girls £25
A new outfit for work £50 (let's not go there with the cost of a decent women's suit)
Ad hoc sweets, cakes, treats to keep you and your team at work going - seemingly endless.
My question to you: just how much money did you spend over the last month giving yourself a boost, rewarding yourself for work, boosting morale, getting energy or relaxation.
Your spent that all because you're stressed at work?? It's like a fucking tax on being good at your job, am I right?
How much money would you save by not being stressed, overwhelmed, exhausted, in need of constant boosts to make you feel better?
How much money would emotional resilience save you?
I want to hear from you; what was your biggest single expenditure that you can hand on heart say you bought because you were stressed or overwhelmed or felt you deserved it after a tough time at work?
What would it be worth to you to no longer feel this way?
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