Are you just getting started with making money matter? 

I, M, would really recommend starting a money date night. Dates with your money are even for those that are old hat with finance and trying to make it sexy and not routine. The best part? Money date night is FREE and you can do it in your PJs!

So about two years ago, I was YouTube binging and trying to find motivation to continue to track every piece of what I was spending so that I could have a better game plan of where my money was going and how I could save more. I happened across Vanessa Van Edwards and Tom Bilyeu talking about success and how to be more invested in the process (or at least, in successive years this is where my brain told me I got the idea from).

(Blog break: I couldn’t find the original video, but found one just as strong about healthy relationships. Check out HERE.)

The biggest thing I got out of that long ago and nameless video was to have a date night with your money. Van Edwards said to make money sexy again by having a date with your money. Go over your money, how you’re spending, do bills all with some nice candle light, maybe music and/or wine. Once a week or a month? It doesn’t matter as long as people start making time for something that controls a lot of our decisions and futures. Genius!

From that point, I started to enact a once a week money date night. I set a money playlist on my media player for motivation and tried to make money “more sexy” (as Van Edwards said to do). 

So what do my money date nights look like? Usually, about once a week, I get out my little book of what I spent, tally everything and reference my budget to the awesome tunes of my money playlist. I will often add candles and some of my favorite tea to this ritual – I started very stressed to even look at where my money was going so this helped me to calm down. 

When I first started money date nights, they were about 20 minutes, just to make sure that I was doing something and that it was more on my mind (squirrel brain). After awhile, just like exercising, I would find myself spending an hour with my money without even realizing it. I would read finance books, balance my budget or make a new one, reference what I had done the previous month, etc. etc. etc. 

I think the most important part of this for me has been making time for myself and to understand something that has a lot of control over me (even when I think it doesn’t). It has become a way to enjoy learning, drink tea and take time a little slower. 

One of the most important things about money date nights are that they are a chance to reflect on my success each week. I take little steps, have good intentions and it turns into a way to celebrate moving forward with my financial goals. 

How can you start your own money date night? Any way you want! That is another plus for these dates. As long as you sit down, have a good and honest conversation with your money and can make a better path, you’ve had a great date!