This is an excerpt from a story previously appearing in Due, Entrepreneur, & NASDAQ.
Money management can be exhausting, intense, and stressful. But is it possible to make the experience fun?
Despite the high stakes of the wealth generation world, you don’t have to sweat bullets every time you move money around. It is, indeed, possible to amp up your energy and enjoy the process a bit — at least, it’s possible if you have the right perspective, tools, and strategies in place.
If you’re a wealth worrier, here are a few tips and suggestions to help you have a blast with your money management responsibilities — or at the least, make the process of managing your money a breeze.
Gamify the Money-Making Experience
Setting goals can give you motivation and make money management more rewarding. However, if you truly want to amp up the excitement level, you can go a step further by gamifying the entire experience.
You can start this transformation by changing your verbiage. Rather than referring to something as a goal, call it a “quest.” Don’t just pay a bill. Consider your paycheck your personal army and see if you can win each billing battle of attrition. Set up a personalized reward system for yourself if you reach a certain benchmark. Challenge your significant other to see who can save more money over the course of the next month.
If you’re struggling to come up with ideas on your own, you can use apps to get those creative juices flowing. (More on fintech apps and tools, in general, in the next section.) The Envie app, for instance, is a simple and fun way to gamify your savings right on your phone.
The free app allows you to set up fun goals, like a vacation, and see your daily progress toward that benchmark. It also lets you track your progress and earn cash rewards, like the Goldie.
You can even take pre-set challenges. Envie is the digital version of the 100-envelope challenge, so each of its five challenges are designed to help you reach your goal in 100 days. Whether you’re using an app or playing by your own rules, gamifying the money management experience is a great way to stay positive and encouraged over time.
Finding the Fun in the Fiscal Parts of Life
Taking care of your finances is not an inherently glamorous activity. On the contrary, even when you’re building wealth, it can be an overwhelming and intimidating part of life.
But it doesn’t have to be.
If you take the right steps, you can turn the humdrum activity of doing your budget into an exciting challenge. You can transform the fear-filled moments spent managing your investments into confidence-building points in your daily life. From understanding risks and disappointments to setting goals, finding the right tools, and gamifying the entire experience, there are plenty of ways to make money management a blast — or at least a breeze.
The only thing getting in the way is yourself. So assess your situation and consider where you’re lacking inspiration, creativity, or direction. Then use the tips above to turn your finances into one of the greatest adventures of your life.
