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What Your Payment Dates Might Be Saying About Your Money Mindset

Do your payment days give you away? There is so much we either weren’t taught at school or aren’t being taught at school about the value of money, of payment days, of money maths, and of money management. It’s so crucial, particularly as we are entering a time when all the media is talking about is the word “recession”. You can rise above all of that fearful noise by understanding how money works.

So, today we are going to dive into one very important money management lesson: payment dates. Remember, if you like the lesson and want to learn more, check out this week’s episode of A Wealthy Life with Vicki Wusche where I go over two additional money management lessons that will serve you through booms and busts.

Take Control of Your Money

I want to explain how your payment days may be giving away exactly how you feel about money. What do I mean? Payment days are a great way to extend the life of your money. If you receive a bill, generally from one of the larger companies like maybe your mortgage lender or anything else, there are usually terms on those invoices. Usually, an invoice will say that you’ve got 30 days to pay, or it will send you the invoice today–let’s say the first of the month–and tell you that your payment date is on the 14th of the month.

Well, what you can do is you can phone those companies and you can ask them to change your payment date to a date that suits you. What you want to do is to push that date as far away as possible. So, if you had an invoice or a bill, or a direct debit that is due at the beginning of the month, and you can push that date through to the end of the month, you are going to be in control of your money longer, all the way through the month rather than handing over control of that money to someone else.

And that’s what you need to do over the next 12 months–you need to control your money. If money is important to you and you recognise it as a tool, you will arrange your standard monthly payments to suit your purposes, (i.e., push them to the end of the month so they are as far away as possible without you breaching the terms of your rules). You don’t want to breach your payment terms; if your credit card must be paid by the 6th of the month, don’t pay it on the 26th without arranging this as your new payment date with the card provider!

Often the due date is actually negotiable, and many people know this. Contact the holders of your debts or bills and see what you can do to push the payment date out farther. If you haven’t been consciously aware of the importance of money as a tool, or of money maths as a skill, then you might have allowed someone else to dictate these payment terms to you.

Of course, anyone sending an invoice will want to get the money to them as soon as possible. Because if I am a bank and I can get you to pay your mortgage payment to me as soon as possible, I will now have your money and I can earn interest on it. Although, we’re not generally earning a lot of interest at the moment, I can still earn some interest or lend it out—make money on your money, instead of you!

The one who controls the money can put it to work. When I control the money, I can make that money work for me. If you control the money, then you should be making the money work for you. Controlling money is actually something that I see as very positive. It’s not about being greedy. It’s not about being negative. It’s not about being mean. It’s about being smart with your money.

Are You the Author of Your Own Story?

I think that if you know this phrase: “you are either the author of your own story or the actor in someone else’s play,” then you can apply this philosophy to money. You are either in charge of your own money, or your money is being given to somebody else and is being used in their life and their business and their model the way they want.

The big question here is: does money matter to you? Is it important? Do you value it? Do you monitor it? I hope your answers are “yes.” Now, I don’t think that if you are reading my articles, and perhaps listening to my podcast, that you’re going to be someone who covets money and simply wants money from an ego perspective.

The concept of money itself becomes more refined when you value it as a tool, rather than simply for what it can buy for you. If money gets tighter over the coming year, this is going to be a perfect time for you to ramp up your money management skills.

I hope I have proven to you that your payment date can say a lot about how much you value money and how much attention you give it. For more impactful money-management tips, please visit my website www.vickiwusche.com, listen to my podcast here and here, or schedule a free call with me! I hope your wealth journey is going smoothly, but if you ever need a hand, I do hope you’ll get in touch.