Where I Spend My Money: A Simple Exercise in Health and Priorities

If you’re curious about what you truly value, take a look at where you’re spending your money.

A coach had me do this exercise once, and it was surprisingly revealing.

Here’s what came up for me:

Food

This probably isn’t a surprise.

I don’t necessarily buy fancy groceries, but I don’t bargain shop for my food either. Great-quality food is a strong value of mine, and I don’t mind spending a little extra on good ingredients.

I offset some of that cost by cooking most of our meals at home, getting takeout and eating out less often—and I’m pretty fierce about not wasting food.

Books

Having an inspiring book lined up for my morning read isn’t optional.

I don’t skimp on books, although I also take full advantage of our local library.

Morning reading is part of my self-care. It’s something I genuinely look forward to, and it helps set the tone for my day.

Because if I’m perfectly honest, if I’m not reading, I will likely be scrolling, and that never starts my day off well.

Exercise

I’m slightly sad to report that if left entirely to my own devices, deliberate exercise has a tendency to slide to the back burner.

I love walking, gardening and generally being active. But when it comes to deliberately strengthening my core, keeping my spine and shoulders flexible and getting my heart rate up, I do better with structure and accountability.

And exercise is actually an area where I notice some of the same perfectionist tendencies I see with my clients.

I don’t need to hit the gym five times a week.

For me, a realistic and sustainable target is closer to twice a week, occasionally three times if the weather is really miserable and I can’t get outside.

I fill in the gaps with walking, gardening and keeping my Airbnb sparkling clean.

So I invest in Pilates and a gym membership because I’ve learned that having some structure helps me actually do the things I know are important for my wellbeing.

Coaching and continuing education

I always say: if you really want to move the needle, hire a coach.

We all have blind spots—areas where we keep bumping up against ourselves or can’t quite see the bigger picture because we’re in it.

Sometimes there are old beliefs, habits or stories quietly running in the background.

When I was struggling with certain elements of my business and wanted to burn the whole thing down, I hired a coach.

And well… I’m still here.

When I realized I wanted to get better at helping clients maintain their healthy habits—not just make changes temporarily—I invested in more coaching and training.

I’m a lifelong learner. If something can help me grow or help me support my clients better, I’m interested.

And I’m happy to offset those expenses by driving an older car, DIYing home projects and shopping in thrift stores.

A simple self-audit of your priorities

So here’s an interesting question…

Does where you spend your money reflect what you say is important to you?

Not perfectly. And certainly not every dollar. We all have budgets, responsibilities and different priorities…

But if taking care of your health and setting yourself up for a healthy and productive retirement is important to you, it can be eye-opening to do a self-audit and look at where you choose to invest your time, energy and money.

Sometimes we already know what to do. What we’re missing isn’t more information—it’s support, accountability and having people in your corner.

That’s exactly why Megan and I created our Women’s Wellness Mastermind.

For $19.99/month, we meet to talk about the real-life side of creating and maintaining healthy habits: consistency, mindset, accountability and letting go of the all-or-nothing nonsense. And there’s something powerful about surrounding yourself with other women who are working toward the same thing.

If you’d like support without committing to one-on-one coaching, join the Women’s Wellness Mastermind.

And if you’re at a point where you know you want more individualized support—and help figuring out what will actually work for you—that’s what my one-on-one coaching is for. Book a free discovery call.

Cheers to great health,

Kim ox

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