Feeling rich when you pay your bills

So you mean to tell me that I should feel rich when I am paying my bills and money is leaving my bank account?

Yes that is exactly what I am saying.

For most people the thoughts of paying bills leaves them feeling decidedly poorer. I know it made me feel that way for a long time. When I first got into debt I remember cursing the bank for taking the money out of my account. I would put off paying creditors for as long as legally possible. I had a really tough time motivating myself to pay my bills.

I would dread receiving mail as I almost certainly always knew that there would be a bill or past due notice lurking among all the credit card offers. To log on to my bank account to transfer funds was a huge struggle.

Compare that with the way I react when I get a bill today.

I gather all my bills that I receive in any given week and I tackle them all on a Saturday morning. I log into my bank account and make transfers to pay the bills – the funds won’t arrive until Monday or Tuesday but I don’t mind as Saturday suits me best for doing this. As I pay each bill I mark it in big writing ‘PAID IN FULL’ and I put the date on it. If I have set up an automatic direct debit I make sure that the transaction has been made by my bank and then I mark the bill ‘PAID IN FULL’.

As I pay the bills I try to feel wealthy – not the easiest thing to do when you are neck high in debt but it can be done. I try to imagine that I have vast amounts of money and that I actually enjoy paying my bills. I try to look on paying my bills as part of the flow of money. If I send money out into circulation I know that it will eventually come back to me.

Okay I know that this kind of New Age thinking might not sit well with some of you but if you try it you will be surprised at how your imagination can create positive feelings of wealth. You don’t have to feel like a million dollars but even if you can feel say even just a little wealthier than you currently are then it will make a difference.

What’s the point?

I described this technique to a friend of mine who was in a similar financial situation to me. The response I got was ‘What’s the point Mike? I’m broke and no amount of mumbo jumbo positive thinking is going to make any difference’.

I could understand his frustration. Circumstances had been unkind to him but he wasn’t helping his situation by wallowing in self pity. The fact of the matter is that the more negative he got about his financial situation the more negative financial problems he got as a result.

I used to have a similar problem with negative self talk. It was a slow realization on my part that it was me who was causing a lot of unnecessary suffering by thinking negatively.

What changed?

Once I realized that I was causing a lot of my own suffering by having a negative attitude towards money things started to change. It occurred to me that money is neither good nor bad but rather it is a product of our feelings towards it. In other words money is what we make it in our minds.

If we create a mental image of money as something that is all powerful in our lives then I think we are giving too much of our personal power over to money. On the other hand if we do not treat money with respect then we end up losing it and in debt.

Now before I go on I want to point out that I am still on a journey of discovery here. I do not claim to know all the answers. In fact in relative terms I am only a novice to this whole ‘how much money you have is a product of your attitude’ way of thinking.

In theory it makes sense but I am still experimenting with it. I am still in debt so obviously I have not quite mastered the techniques involved. What I will say is that by paying my bills on time and without a negative attitude I have a lot less stress.

More money

The really interesting thing about paying my bills while trying to feel rich is that I do actually have more money as a result. The difference is only small but it is a positive difference. I don’t know what exactly caused the difference. I think it may have arisen from the fact that I don’t have as much of an interest charge or penalty fee from late payments. Also I think that because I have developed the habit of paying my bills at the same time every week I have become more disciplined in my spending.

Don’t question it – simply try it

Time for some field work, if you want to see if this whole positive attitude towards money works for you then I suggest that you simply try it for yourself. The next time you have a bill to pay try to pay the bill with a positive attitude and do not hold a grudge against your creditor. Simply pay the bill and try to feel rich when you do it. Wish your creditor well.

Give it time. Don’t expect a miracle. It might happen but the chances are slim so continue to indulge in positive thinking when it comes to paying your bills for at least one month. If after the month is up and you don’t notice any difference, try it for another month. Give it time.

Notice the small changes. Change won’t come all at once but rather in a series of smaller more subtle changes. You may notice that you have slightly more money in your bank account at the end of the month or that you aren’t as stressed when you get a bill.

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Related posts:

1. Prudence in all matters relating to your debt
2. 10 (More) Reasons You’re Not Rich
3. Living Paycheck to Credit card to Paycheck