I was one of those people who kept saying, “If I just made a little more, things would ease up.” But when I did make more, the pressure didn’t disappear. It grew.

Why?

Because I wasn’t being intentional with where my money was going. I was juggling too many “priorities” that weren’t actually priorities at all.

I had to get real with myself. Not everything I wanted could fit at once. And that didn’t mean I was failing. It meant I needed a better system and some well needed patience.

🎯 Stop Chasing Balance. Start Choosing on Purpose.

We don’t really have a money problem. We have a decision-making problem.

I used to treat every expense as equal. Groceries. Hair appointments. Credit cards. Takeout. If the money was in my account, it was “available.”

But peace came when I started asking:
Does this match what I said matters most to me right now?

When I looked through that lens, the noise got quiet and then it became easier to choose.

🔥 The Moment I Realized I Was Prioritizing My Anxiety and not My Values

There was a time when I was paying bills out of panic, pretending not to care about my birthday to “save,” and then later contrarily impulse-bought stuff I didn’t need just to sooth my emotions.

That’s when it hit me.

I wasn’t spending based on purpose. I was spending based on emotion. Anxiety had hijacked my money.

So I sat down with my myself. I wrote down my financial goals and how I want to feel. I did both short term and long term and made a plan to acheive them. And no, I did not have a light bulb moment. Things did not magically happen overnight.

But overtime, It gave me freedom to say yes to the right things, and peace to say no to the rest.

🗂️ How to Find Your Real Priorities (And Let Go of the Rest)

Here’s what I want you to do this week. It’s simple, but it will change everything.

1. Write down your top 3 financial goals. (Debt freedom, savings cushion, family trip, anything.)

2. List your 5 biggest monthly expenses.

3. Compare the two. Do your numbers reflect your values?

If they don’t match, this is your moment to realign.

You don’t need to cut everything. You need to intentionally reorder.

📌 This Isn’t About Sacrifice. It’s About Strategy.

Cutting back doesn’t mean going without. It means creating space for what actually matters.

I still buy little treats. I still budget for fresh flowers and pedicures.
But now, they have a place in the plan and I have found ways to do them less often without sacrificing them. I don’t carry guilt because I’ve made room for them after covering what matters most, and what matters most right now is getting out of consumer debt.

🌱 Let Your Values Lead the Way

Here’s what happens when you start spending in alignment with your real values:

✅ You stop impulse-buying things that don’t matter
✅ You feel more in control, even if your income stays the same
✅ You finally see momentum with your goals
✅ You start feeling peaceful with money, not just responsible

Peace isn’t about having more. It’s about spending in a way that reflects who you are.

🛠 Ready for Action?

If you’re ready to prioritize with purpose, here’s your next step:

Pick ONE area of overspending this week and realign it with your values.
That’s it. Just one.

Maybe it’s less Door Dash and more groceries.

Maybe it’s saying no to a last-minute invite so you can say yes to your savings.

Maybe it’s adjusting your kid’s toy budget (sometimes they already have enough) so you can invest in something long-term.

One change. One shift. Over and over until you get it right. That’s how financial freedom is built.

💛 The Goal Isn’t Just to Budget. It’s to Build a Life That Feels Aligned

Money isn’t meant to stress you out. It’s meant to support the life you’re trying to build.

The more aligned your spending is with your values, the more confident you feel with every dollar. And that confidence? That’s what creates real, lasting wealth.

With you on your journey to a Fulfilled and Free life,

Sandrene