Don’t believe your lizard brain.

Posted bylindsayplumbmoneyblogPosted inUncategorized

Hey there, friend.

I just had to write a quick post to confirm that THEY’RE NOT ALWAYS TRUE…

Those thoughts in your head about why you should buy this or that. Those justifications. That ‘reasoning’ voice.  

You know what I mean, dontcha? Things like… 

“I’ll use it for many years so I won’t need to buy another” 

“If I don’t buy this on sale now, I’ll end up spending more on another one down the road…”

or “it will save me so much time… and that’s worth more than money.” 

Did you know that your brain is WIRED to keep you out of danger and you engage in things that please you? It’s actually an ingrained survival instinct. 

But we aren’t cave-people anymore. We aren’t constantly in danger or seeking food so that we don’t starve. 

Our brains are still looking out for us today like they did wayyyy back then. It’s called the limbic system. Some people refer to it as our lizard brain.

So instead of “COLLECT ALL THE BERRIES NOW. We may not eat next week!” our brains are shouting “YAS, we NEED that matching sham and duvet set NOW, cause that sale won’t be on ever again” 

What do we DO about this inherent “need” to buy things to satisfy that “protect and please self” instinct? 

When you hear your little voice justifying a purchase, just… stop.

Slow down and realize that this is what that little voice has been created for. It’s going to tell you that you need it.

  1. Acknowledge the voice…
  2. Remember that it’s the 21st century and that there is no true urgency to this voice… (no sabre tooth tiger jumping out from behind that display shelf!) 
  3. Put the item down.
  4. Walk away.

This doesn’t mean that you can’t buy the thing. It just means that you need to find a new way to make your decision. Look at your goals, your budget, your accounts. Then make a powerful choice.

Giving yourself 24 hours to think before buying is a simple and extremely effective way to take the power back from your lizard brain! 

If you consult your long-term plan and are choosing rather than reacting, all the power to YOU. 

If you’re not even sure if you should buy that thing because you don’t know if it fits into your budget, join my free 5 Day Budget Makeover. (it comes with a free budgeting template to help you get on track!)

Published by lindsayplumbmoneyblog

I'm a busy mom of two boys, one fur baby, and a wife to my business partner. After close to two decades as a licensed professional in the personal finance industry, I've helped thousands of busy women overcome the overwhelm and develop sustainable financial habits for MORE money, MORE confidence, and MORE energy for the things and people that matter MORE. I'm a firm believer that life is meant to be lived to the fullest. I don't believe in the traditional 9-5, 40 hour work week. Instead, I've created a lifestyle that allows me to prioritize my family and the experiences we want to have together. I'm not working just to retire. I'm working to live a life that's fulfilling and meaningful, and to share that joy with the people I love. I want to be there for my kid's baseball games. I want to travel the world while my family is young enough and healthy enough to enjoy it. My clients are busy moms that are way too smart to feel dumb about money and make way too much money to feel like they are stuck on the paycheque-to-paycheque hamster wheel. My clients want to live life to the fullest, just like me. My clients want MORE.

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