I’m going to start with a bold statement, then see if I can back it up: I always have exactly the right amount of money. My financial situation is always as it needs to be. Sound crazy? Please let me explain…

Before we start, I’m not rich (by Western standards), I’m nowhere near debt free and when people ask if I own my house I tell them that the bank lets me stay there as long as I pay the mortgage. I am financially free most of the time, but not in the conventional sense. Financial freedom for me means freedom from financial stress. It means having what I need now instead of worrying about what I might need tomorrow. If you’re worry-free, you’re financially free, and no matter how rich you are, it won’t help much if you stay stressed about getting more and trying to keep what you have.

I won’t bore you with an account statement, but I will reveal that I make regular ‘donations’ to a couple of different banks (they call it ‘interest’ I think) and contribute to the dividends of their shareholders. So my debt is someone else’s investment and it’s nice to contribute to their income in some way. I haven’t yet learned how to use the Law of Attraction to pull money from the cosmos like some sort of cross between Luke Skywalker and Gordon Gecko, so instead I work with the source of financial stress: my thoughts. That’s right, I noticed a while ago that when I get lost in stressful thoughts about money, I worry. When I stay present and watch those thoughts come and go, I feel peaceful even when money is tight. This is pretty obvious when you look at rich countries around the world, most of which are obsessed with economic growth and profit and are incredibly financially stressed.

Now I know your mind may be ticking over, saying, “but stress is healthy and worry is important. Without it people would be reckless.” In response, here is another bold statement: Financially stressed people make the worst financial decisions. Really? Yep. Here in Bendigo, Australia, I work with people on the lowest of incomes, who have the most to be financially stressed about. Stress leads many of these people to spend money on cigarettes, alcohol, gambling and expensive, processed food. Worry doesn’t lead to careful planning and good decisions, it leads to impulsive spending and speculation. If we look at the Global Financial Crisis we will see institutions stressed and obsessed with making more money who took crazy risks to reach their goal. Worry didn’t prove too useful to these companies.

Calm, clear and focussed. This is how I feel when I practise mindfulness, and this is the state of mind that leads to my best decisions. When I stress I could spend my money on a lottery ticket, but when I am calm I know better and I plan and calculate.

I spent years worrying about money, but I realised it didn’t earn me a cent. Now I stay calm whether the balance is high or low, and I know that whatever happens is what is. This is all the financial freedom I need.

If you would like to learn more about my approach to mindfulness, check out my book: “Mindfulness Plain and Simple”, or book for a free Skype class.