Understand. Own. Tweak. The Benefits of Financial Awareness.

In a recent presentation we were discussing personality traits. The conversation focused on how awareness can bring about change (even if only small changes) and the presenter shared a great formula to remember the process – understand, own, tweak.

An individual must understand their habits/traits, take ownership of the pros and cons of the traits, and finally tweak (make small changes) for progress.

My first thought was, “Hey! The Understand, Own/Tweak formula has the same application to personal finances!”

UNDERSTAND

There are numerous facets of our finances where just having awareness, an understanding, can be the tipping point to bring about action.

Understanding our cash flow, brings awareness of how much we’re spending, where we’re spending it, and if we’re spending more than we’re making.

Understanding our financial priorities and goals, brings awareness of where we want to be, what we want to be doing, and whether we’re making progress. (Are we actually on the path to financial independence, owning our dream home, or retirement? Or are we still fantasizing about it?)

Without understanding, there isn’t consciousness to determine if you need to make financial improvements.

OWN

Just having understanding, awareness, and consciousness by itself doesn’t change your financial picture. You need to own the fact that this is you. That where you are now is the outcome of actions you’ve taken and decisions you’ve made. And that you have the means to make the necessary changes.

Ownership means responsibility. Ownership means accepting our faults. Ownership means the choice to make modifications.

If your finances are a mess, or you’re not on track for your goals, this is your doing.

But you can also make the changes. You can own your next decisions, decisive actions to make progress towards being financially fit.

TWEAK

The actions stemming from understanding and owning your financial decisions do not have to be major changes. You don’t have to be extreme. You don’t have to go from abundance to poverty.

But, you should be trying to make forward progress.

Small changes, small tweaks, which will have large outcomes - especially as they become your new habits.

RINSE AND REPEAT

The Understanding, Own, Tweak process isn’t a one-time deal.

This is a formula which should be applied to your finances constantly (or at least regularly).

Repeat the process. Continue to make financial improvements. You’ll soon find that you’ve built strong financial habits and you’re reaching your desired outcomes.

Are you already using this formula? What are tweaks that you’ve made to improve your finances?