“Hi! Welcome to our networking group,” I said to the guest, a tall gentleman in a business suit who had introduced himself as a financial planner. “I’m glad you could join us this morning.”
“Thank you,” he replied with a smile.
He should have stopped there. Instead, he said, “I’m glad they had a breakfast to attend instead of those dinners—they are too expensive!”
I’m thinking to myself, wow, he’s a financial planner and he thinks the dinner is too expensive? I said, “Well, yes, the dinners aren’t cheap, but it doesn’t matter—think of all the business leads you will get. That more than makes up for the price of the dinner…”
He was shaking his head before I finished speaking. He wasn’t having any of it.
“They’re marking up the price of the dinner a lot and they must be making a fortune. I don’t want to be contributing to the profit of the organization!”
Okay, let’s add this up. He’s either worried about money or doesn’t want to spend any, and he doesn’t want anyone else to make a profit from his payment. This man was off my referral list in a heartbeat. I want to work with people who are happy to pay premium prices for good value, and happy that other people are making a good living around him.
Some of you may read this story and think, “What a great money manager! He’s careful with his money and I’d like someone like that working with me.” But I operate from a different premise: I want everyone around me to spend money with joy, happily blessing others with their contribution, and receiving the valuable service or product they paid for with equal blessing. Any other attitude comes from a belief that money is scarce and fear there won’t be enough.
Look at it this way: don’t you like your clients to pay you happily, with praise for a job well-done, rather than begrudgingly or complaining that it cost too much or wasn’t good enough? Then do the same in your own life. Pay for every product or service with joy and praise—or don’t buy it. Pay the light bill with appreciation for Thomas Edison and the electric company that keeps your lights and computer working. Pay for gasoline with gratitude that there are people in the world whose job it is to make available the stuff that makes your car go. Bless every dollar out as much as you bless every dollar in. The money goes out anyway—why not send it out joyfully instead of resentfully?
People are fond of tithing, donating to charity, and contributing to those in need. That is great. But every dollar you spend is a blessing to someone and a contribution to people who are working, providing some product or service to make your life better and easier. Buy a piece of jewelry or a painting or a hand-knit scarf at a crafts fair and see how the seller lights up. They are just as happy to make a sale as you are. It’s a contribution! Yes, yes, keep within your budget, but then enjoy every dollar you spend. You will increase the flow of money into your own life when you do.