I don’t think its news to anyone that things are tough at the moment. Collectively, a lot of people are struggling. We don't know how many more interest rate rises etc we will have to endure, and whilst we know that 'what goes up, must come down', we don't know how long until it starts coming down...
I’ve been very blessed up until now that anything I made from my business was basically my money to do what I liked with, it gave me a sense of financial freedom and Independence.
But as things become increasingly more expensive, there is more pressure on me to contribute financially. I’m sure a lot of mother’s are feeling the same??
However, this impacts the energetics of my business. As soon as I stop showing up purely to serve others, and start putting pressure on my business to provide for me financially; my bookings slow, I have cancellations, and things don’t flow the way they normally do.
So, how do I stay in service to my beautiful clients, and also carry some of the financial burden without it impacting my business??
I create safety…
First and foremost, safety on a financial level, but I also need more than that. I need to create safety for my nervous system in what currently feels like an unsafe time in our lives… 3 kids, bills and expenses, plus the unexpected things (that keep popping up right when we DON’T need them)… not to mention also wanting to keep living and enjoying our lives to some capacity, and saving for a trip in a few years…
I’m also not ignorant to the fact that services like mine are the first to be cut from the list when we need to ‘tighten up’. I’ve done the same, my monthly skin appointment was the first to be axed because it felt like a luxury, usually as mums this is the cycle we continue to repeat; our self care is a luxury, not a necessity.
So; how do I create safety??
First; I got a part time job. This supports my financial obligation without having to burden my business and I still get to show up doing what I love and being in my zone of genius.
Then it’s really basic, (albeit unsexy) things like getting back into writing meal plans; this helps me stick to a budget with groceries and minimises the food waste in our household.
Other ways we minimise costs are to cancel our streaming services and re-activate them when the next season of our show comes on... the kids only watch Netflix so we keep that one all the time... and I keep Amazon Prime and try and do lots of my online shopping on Amazon Au to take advantage of the free shipping.
We spread our big ticket items out where possible so there's only one a month, and sometimes if it can wait a month or two, is it really necessary?
Spring cleaning and decluttering. As much as the two seem unrelated, I am happier in a clean and organised home (you’d think the opposite if you saw my house most days! #mumlife)… and cleaning and organising it is something that I find really therapeutic and rewarding (once it’s done).
I also created a junk drawer in my kitchen. My whole life is pretty much on my kitchen bench otherwise and I get so frustrated with the clutter so I reorganised the kitchen to make space in one drawer for my diary etc so it’s always close by but not cluttering the bench.
And today I purchased my gorgeous friend Bec’s self care Ebook (you can purchase it here). Whilst I axed my monthly facials, I am still prioritising self care, I've just ramped up the things I can do free or low cost. I have a monthly reiki appt which is a non negotiable, and I am doing all that I can to fill my own cup. Little things like putting the diffuser on, listening to music or a podcast while I’m cleaning, going to bed earlier, eating a proper breakfast and not defaulting to vegemite on toast…
Exercise is also something I've committed to doing daily, most of the time it's walking or running (the dogs are my accountability buddies) so it's free, but boxing and yoga once a week, most weeks.
Simple AF but it doesn’t have to be expensive or complicated to look after your nervous system, and to honour yourself on the daily.
I’d love to hear how you create safety for yourself… or if this isn’t something you’ve considered, then I encourage you to think about it and try a few things to explore what works.
Jade
xx
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