FINANCIALLY FABULOUS
It has never been easier to make quick financial decisions, thanks to banking apps and contactless payments. But taking a slow money approach could help you to find calm amid the chaos, says Caroline Bloor
When you look at your banking app, are you ever stunned at the number of transactions that have stacked up in a single day? Do you often find yourself buying things such as insurance at the last minute, without doing any proper research? Does just thinking about your finances make your heart pound?
The decisions we make around money – whether we’re buying or borrowing, trying to save more, or getting to grips with investing – are often conducted at head-spinning speed. But ask yourself this: are you making better decisions, or just quicker ones?
The ‘slow movement’ was developed as a response to the ‘always on’ nature of our lives and is about slowing down the pace of life to make it more meaningful and fulfilling. Until now, it has been largely focused on food, fashion and art, but the idea of ‘slow money’ is gaining traction. It’s mostly been about having a sustainable, ethical and community-minded approach to investing, but there are plenty of benefits to slowing down the speed at which we manage all aspects of our financial lives.
Start with self-awareness
As the pace of life increases and the number of things on our to-do lists grows, our instinct is to speed up our decision-making. But, as we all know, rushing can be counterproductive and can lead to poorer outcomes.
‘It helps to be aware of yourself when it comes to how time and money can collide,’ says Charlotte Fox Weber, psychotherapist and author of What We Want. ‘Ask yourself how you respond to panic; how you make choices when you’re rushing or under pressure. If your tendency is to make money choices at stressful moments, take care of yourself proactively and decide now, before there’s a sense of urgency, that you won’t allow yourself to make big consequential financial decisions when you’re racing or feeling rushed. When it comes to serious spending, strike when the iron is cold, not hot. Protect your financial health with boundaries.’
The concept of boundaries is an important one. Over the last 20 years, technology has revolutionised the way we manage our money and is responsible for getting more of us comparing financial products, switching deals, moving banks and investing on the go. Save for the ping of the phone, though, financial transactions often barely register. It’s all too easy to disengage from what we are doing, lose track of the ebb and flow of our money and forget the real-world consequences of our financial actions.
If you can set aside some time every week to check in with your finances in a considered way, it will give you a greater sense of control. If you struggle with spreadsheets, Sara Maxwell, founde
