Today as I was making my morning cup of tea (I’ve never had coffee before in my life!), I found a mug in the office kitchen’s cupboard that was from the Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff line of merchandise. On the back side, printed in block letters was the question, “Will this matter a year from now?” While I was waiting for my water to boil, I began to think about this, and I’ve decided to adapt it into my version of a financial mantra.

After re-reading last week’s post where I highlighted a few of the more common financial lies we tell ourselves, I realized that simply identifying triggers and patterns isn’t enough to make lasting change–especially if you have the type of rocky financial past that I do.

As much as I work my tail off to meet my goals and keep moving forward, it’s really easy for me to slip back into my Spendy McSpenderson ways and I know that I need a bit more structure to keep myself on the straight & narrow when it comes to finances. For these reasons, utilizing the help of budgeting software and having a financial mantra makes a lot of sense as they can be a simple safeguard when we’re feeling the need to spend erroneously.

Therefore, I’m choosing to ask myself, ‘How will spending [---] on this matter a year from now?’ as my version of a financial mantra because it resonates with me for a variety of reasons: I believe that our financial choices all stem from various forms of patterns, I believe that how we spend today has a definite impact on our financial futures, and I like the idea of keeping the bigger picture in mind when making financial choices.

Even though spending $5 today will hardly impact our overall budget a month from now, it’s more about the idea that spending $5 today makes it easier to spend $5 tomorrow, the next day, and the next day. Before you know it, you’re spending $5/day on meaningless junk/indulgences instead of spending and/or saving that $1,825/year in a more significant way.

Moving forward, I’ll be taking a brief pause to ask myself how my spending today will matter a year from now. If it’s something such as a one-time special occasion (birthdays, family in town, etc.), I’ll certainly spend the money knowing that I’m not lapsing into a new pattern of frivolous spending. If it’s something that will benefit my health (physically and mentally), home, relationships, etc., I will certainly spend the money.

But if it’s something that satisfies an immediate want or is rationalized spending disguised as a “need,” I will at least think twice, knowing that my financial goals would be best served if I delay gratification and simply spend where it matters most.

Do you have a financial mantra?