Boosting Your Credit Score: Part 58, Emotional Response to $$$

Tip #97: Work on your emotional response to debt and money

Most of us carry a lot of emotional baggage with us when it comes to money.  We see money as a marker of success, or we see money as a way of making ourselves feel better, and these attitudes lead us to much of our financial and credit problems.  If we rely on money to make us feel successful, then we are apt to overspend.  If we fear money - or the lack of it - we are unlikely to save it or make investments with it. 

We need to be aware of the ways we respond to money and the ways that those responses shape the ways we deal with money.  Some financial experts recommend that clients keep money journals, in which they record their money hopes, their money fears, and their responses to spending and money.   A money journal can help you by showing you how feel about spending and about money.  If you can isolate the emotions that influence how you spend money and how you make your money decisions, you will be well on your way towards fixing your financial problems.