Can’t find internal motivation (Overig)

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I know that I should be spending less and saving more. The numbers show me that. My problem is that when it comes down to making a difficult choice, I can never find the internal motivation to actually make the financially sensible choice. I always spend, then I regret it later when I have the chance to think about it from a distance. I don’t know how to move past this.
- Angie

For me, it took a significant shift in my values for that to happen. I was at the place you are at now for several years, where I saw my finances sinking but I kept making the “wrong” choice in spending situations.

That’s because, at my core, spending seemed like the “right” thing to do based on what I valued at that time. That’s just who I was, for better or worse.

Over time, things changed. I’ve always spent a great deal of time soul searching and trying to figure out what I felt was the best thing to be doing in various situations and what I felt to absolutely be true. As the circumstances of my life changed – marriage, then children – my values and ideas began to shift, too, and eventually overspending began to feel like the “wrong” thing.

It takes time. My best advice for you is to just keep thinking about your life. Ask yourself what’s really important, and keep asking those questions over and over again. You’ll eventually find the answers you need.