The Money Marathon Day 6 (Saturday)

The Money Marathon: Day 6 (Saturday)

20/2/2016

Well done everyone who passed the previous days! Only two days of the Marathon left, and here's your next task! Note: do not do this challenge unless you've done the previous ones, otherwise you will find it difficult.

1. Today you’ve got £200,000 (or $290,000) to spend in any way you want to (spend all or partially, save etc).

What’s changing?
How are you feeling right now?
What will you spend it on?
Breath in and listen to yourself – any blocks in the body?

2. Imagine I asked you to do something that feels very uncomfortable: i.e. go into an expensive restaurant, in a super luxurious shop, test-drive a car you would never ever be able to afford, ask for a business loan etc. It needs to be something that makes you scared and around what you have a belief “I will never be able to afford this to myself”.

What’s the feeling arising when I ask you to think about it?
What are you scared of?
How would you prepare yourself to doing this in stages?

Traditionally, post your answers in the comments!
Previous challenges here: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4 and Day 5.

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9 Comments

Chiara

20/2/2016 09:23:59 pm

This is great!
I would spend part of it on my business project and part of it maybe on mortgage or save it. I m feeling happy and light. I finally do not have to worry about finding the money for my project.
If I had to go to a very expensive place I would try and get ready for it - going shopping to get a great gear and everything that makes me feel I m not out of place and I can feel comfortable.

Anastasia

21/2/2016 09:58:05 pm

Doing great, Chiara. Try to be a bit more specific - how much money would you spend on your business project? How much would you save and where would you put it? The more specific you can be, the better it is

21/2/2016 11:06:31 am

I would set up a small business project I have and buy a property to rent. Mortgage free!! Yes it feels good to make my dreams come true and start to keep some money for the future but also be able to live as I want in the present.

21/2/2016 11:09:12 am

It feels scary to go into somewhere out of my price range as I feel judged and that they would diss out that I can't buy what they have. On the other hand it would be fun to feel what it's like to have those experiences and it might even make some of it possible. To dream and manifest.

Anastasia

21/2/2016 10:07:40 pm

Exactly, that's what our Sunday challenge is about! Give it a try and let us know what you discover about yourself in this one!

Helena

21/2/2016 10:50:38 pm

First thought: oh gosh, I need to spend all that, too. Why me?  Then: well it’s not enough actually.
Body sensation: more grounded and centred, somewhere around the back, feel more secure with an idea of having this money in my bank account. So I will first put this money into bank account and then take time to decide what I want to do with it.I definitely won’t spend it on anything small, won’t want to touch even part of it for this purpose.
A few options I see right now - I will inform myself about the cost of buying out my flat, and see if I want to use this money against it. I might use it towards bringing into order our family summer house (however, this thought makes me feel heavy as I am not competent in building and it sounds like “spending money rationally requires expertise”. Or, I may want to use this money to invest in myself, some education (ot sure what that is, personal trainer), to really be the best version of who I am. Probably will set aside about 20K as a “safety cushion” in case my relatives have some medical issues or I run out of cash, but most likely want to use it as an investment.
As per your second question, I used to be very uncomfortable with going to expensive restaurants/clubs by myself, but did it some time ago, and it felt good (not the place, but overcoming this). Now probably my discomfort would be big if I were to talk about some purchase of real estate or big investment into my business (it’s in a very early stage, but when thinking about it, it suddenly makes the whole thing real). Maybe finding an office for it (although I don’t need one).

Lisa

23/2/2016 12:54:49 am

What’s changing?
Now I have the real freedom to envisage the life I’d like to lead, without nearly as much anxiety around needing to be sure that what I choose is what I really want to spend the money on – this amount gives me a lot more options and I don’t have to discount so many possibilities as I can afford to do most of them.

Feeling?
This makes me feel more at ease, things have slowed down in my head and body, and I feel I can have the space to take time about thinking how to spend the money – whilst at the same time getting started on enjoying myself a bit and reducing a lot of stress around my money worries. Rather than the butterflies of excitement I had with smaller amounts, I now have a relaxing and peaceful sense of calm. I feel in control, I feel able to breathe.
It actually feels as though, for the first time, I now have some real security looking ahead to the future, and I realise that this is one of my (my main?) cause of anxiety and stress. My Dad’s voice comes in very strongly here: ‘Lisa, you need to start putting money towards your pension, you’ve got a lot of catching up to do, you could be left with nothing…’.

What will I spend it on?
Initially, I will pay off my credit card (£200), update my wardrobe (£400), take 6 months off to go travelling and do the courses I want to do (£15,000). Put a deposit down on a flat in London to rent out (£50,000?), buy a camera (£1,000). This leaves me with £133,400.
I will do a lot of research into the best way to invest the majority of this money (£120,000) and then I will give £3,400 to causes which feel meaningful to me. This leaves £10,000 which I will have as set-up costs for my coaching / adventure / travel / learning and inspiration projects.

Any blocks in the body?
Following the initial relaxation after reading the sum of money I would have, as I got further along with the process of deciding how to spend the money, I began to get a clenching feeling in my stomach again. By the end, it felt like a serious decision with huge consequences, and I lost confidence in knowing how I’d want to spend the bulk of it. Rather than an enjoyable exercise, it became a serious task and I found myself frowning!

2. The idea of test-driving a really expensive car makes me feel nervous, as I have the belief that ‘I will never be able to afford this’, and ‘the salesman knows I couldn’t afford this and will be condescending and patronising to me’.

In addition to this potential experience of being patronised, I’d be scared that I would be ‘found out’ once I was asked about my previous cars, maybe my job, other things which might give away that I couldn’t afford this car. I would also be nervous about signing the papers and doing the deal as I wouldn’t know how this all works – putting so much money down, negotiating etc.

I would prepare myself by gathering information on the practicalities of buying a car – what to ask about, how to do the paperwork etc. I would practice by going to a smaller, less expensive car showroom to test-drive a car similar to one I’ve owned before. I would then research the luxury car so I could ask the right questions at the show-room. Finally, I would buy some nice clothes so I looked the part and felt confident about walking in :)

Anastasia

23/2/2016 04:39:50 pm

Ok, Lisa, so I have a challenge for you (you might have guessed it already) - do go and do 5 test-drives of luxurious cars in different salons this week, and report what has changed.
Are you willing to try this challenge?

Lisa

23/2/2016 10:08:18 pm

Haha.. I had a feeling you might say something like that ;)
Yes, I am willing to try it. However, I don't think I'll be able to do it all this week - next week though, I can commit to it!

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Who is Anastasia?

Chief inspirator, start-up mentor, professional Co-Active life coach and career coach, systems worker and passionate tango dancer. Get to know me!