Conversations around money are mostly centred on budgeting, saving, investing, and building wealth. But what about how to spend?
This is where Leena Shah, founder of Ascend Ledger Solutions & Consulting, financial coach and financial consultant, comes in.
She believes that how you spend your money is just as important as how much you save or invest. Leena says that your values should guide spending.
Spending in alignment, she says, means making financial decisions that comply with what matters most to you individually.
She discourages spending out of habit, social pressure, comparison, and jealousy; instead, make intentional choices that support your priorities, relationships, and long-term goals.
“When your spending reflects your values, money then becomes a tool for creating a more meaningful, purposeful and fulfilling life,” she notes.
To start on an intentional spending journey, she advises creating a values-based spending plan by identifying personal values, reviewing income and expenses, and allocating money first to essential commitments and the goals that matter most to you.
“Your spending plan should support your goals rather than compete with them,” she says. She advises identifying the principles that matter most to you, whether that is family, health, education, creativity, personal growth, community, and so on.
Then consider what brings you lasting fulfilment rather than temporary happiness, as these answers form the foundation for financial decisions. Leena says that the first step is to write down your core values and compare them with your spending over the past three months.
Reviewing bank statements or spending records can reveal whether your money is supporting your priorities or being driven by comparison, jealousy or impulse. “Once you identify the gap between your values and your spending, you can begin making more intentional choices,” she says.
She recognises that telling apart personal values from those influenced by family, friends, or social media can be difficult.
Before making a purchase, she recommends asking yourself, ‘Would I still want this if nobody knew I owned it?’ “If the answer is no, you may be buying because of external influence rather than personal conviction,” she says.
Since priorities continually change, she recommends reviewing personal values at least once a year or after major life events such as marriage, becoming a parent or retirement.
Every new stage of life brings different responsibilities, and this makes it important to reassess financial priorities regularly.
She adds that a budget should do more than track expenses. It should be about what’s most important to you by directing money towards your highest priorities before allocating funds to less important spending.
When it comes to discretionary spending, consistency is more important than finding the perfect percentage. “Examples of value-based spending vary from person to person.
Someone who values health will invest in nutritious foods or fitness, while someone who prioritises family may spend on shared experiences. Someone who values education will spend on books or courses,” she says.
One of the mistakes people make, she explains, is paying attention solely to cutting down expenses instead of understanding the reasons behind their spending. She also discourages copying other people’s financial priorities.
To avoid emotional or impulse spending, she encourages people to pause before making purchases and ask whether they are buying because the purchase aligns with their values or because they are responding to stress, boredom or other emotions.
Allowing time before making non-essential purchases can help reduce impulsive decisions. Feelings of guilt or dissatisfaction about money arise when there is a gap between personal values and financial behaviour.
“When you become intentional, you begin closing that gap. As your spending becomes more aligned with your values, your savings naturally start to increase,” she says. Leena observes that people who practise intentional spending record reduced financial stress and anxiety.
As they make decisions that support their priorities as opposed to temporary temptations, they experience greater peace of mind, increased confidence, fewer financial regrets, a stronger sense of purpose, and healthier relationships with money, as they feel more in control of their financial decisions.
She believes that values-based spending can help people save more without feeling deprived since they become comfortable saying no to purchases that don’t represent what truly matters.
“Saving no longer feels like a sacrifice. It becomes part of spending on something meaningful,” she says.
Couples and families can start aligning spending with honest conversations rather than assumptions. Partners should identify the values they share, respect the areas where they differ, and be willing to compromise.
“You should never assume your partner has the same values as you. Communication and compromise are essential,” she says.
She recommends simple habits such as tracking spending regularly, practising gratitude for what you already have, avoiding impulse purchases, reviewing financial goals frequently and pausing before making non-essential purchases.
