"Your eyes are bigger than your stomach."This was a quip my father always had at the ready when I was kid. Whether it was asking for another 3 slices of pizza before I had finished what was already on my plate, or begging for a large sized popcorn and sweettarts at the movie theater when we had just come from dinner, as a child, "your eyes are bigger than your stomach" seemed like the answer I was destined to receive for the rest of my life.Although most people grow out of the "your eyes are bigger than your stomach phase" by the time the reach adulthood, I find it curious that so many of us continue to fall prey to this syndrome when it comes to money and the stuff that we buy. Just as your parents understood that an entire pan of brownies simply could not fit into your 8-year old stomach as designed, as managers of our own money we need to understand that many of the things we long for financially do not fit who we are on the inside. Here is what I mean...

Since last week I've been reading this book by David Bach called "Smart Women Finish Rich". I'm not done with it yet, but in the first few chapters the book expounds on a few concepts that I think are solid gold. In chapter two, Bach describes a woman who came to his office seeking help with her financial situation. Though she was making an impressive salary, she was living paycheck to paycheck and couldn't figure out why she felt as thought she wasn't doing anything meaningful with her money. After reviewing her spending habits, the author determined that the woman was spending well over half of her take home pay on things that did not reflect her values.Values.I paused there for a moment as that was the first time I really thought seriously consciously spending your money on things that reflect your values. As Bach explains in the book, values are different from goals in that values are loftier concepts that express the things you find most important in life. For instance, a goal with money might be to pay off student loans, but the value reflected in that goal may be "flexibility" since not having to make that hefty payment every month would leave your paycheck with wiggle room to do things you enjoy.Bach encourages the clients he works with to figure out what their values are when it comes to money by doing something called a "Value Ladder". The ladder starts with the question, "What's so important about money to you?". Depending on what you value, you may answer something like "freedom" or "security" or even "happiness". The next step in the Value Ladder process is then to determine what's so important about the last value you answered. So if you indicated that money was important to you because of "security", then you'd need to ask yourself "What's so important about security?". Depending on the answer to that last question, you then continue up the "ladder" perpetually asking "What's so important about (insert previous answer here)?" until you can't think of anything more important than your last answer.Since I love stuff like this, of course I had to try the value ladder for myself. :-) In my most serious tone of voice, I proceeded to ask myself:Courtney, what's so important about money to you?Me: "Oh, definitely the ability to have options. I never want to feel like I'm stuck somewhere or that I can't do something that I would like or need to do because of a lack of money." Other Me: "Interesting, interesting. Well tell me, what's so important about 'not being stuck' and having options to you?"Me: "Hmm. I would say the freedom and peace of mind that options provide. I don't want to be limited from doing the things that are important to me in life because of issues with money."Other Me: "Now we're getting somewhere. So what's so important about having the freedom to do the things that are important to you in life?"Me: "Well...I would have to say...that having the freedom to do the things that are most important to me means I'd be able to live life to the fullest, you know? If I don't have financial freedom then I can't live out my full potential and fully express my talents, because I'll always be worrying about money.Other Me: "I think what you said right there is really crucial: living out your full potential. What's so important about that?Me: "I guess...its important because I have one life to live and I believe God put me here for a purpose. Life is so short. I guess I just don't want anything to get in the way of being who I am created to be and doing what I am designed to do."Other Me: "Yep, life is way too short. Is there anything more important than what you just answered?"Me: "Nope. I really believe living out our God-given purpose as best as we can is the reason we live in the first place."After reviewing my answers to my Value Ladder, I became acutely aware of the instances where I had spent money in direct contrast to the things I said I valued. Before I paid off all my credits cards--of which I ran up by buying things like clothes and expensive restaurant dinners--I remember working at jobs that I *hated* but couldn't leave because I needed the money just to make my credit card minimums. How crazy is it to max out your credit card if it means you'll have to work at a humiliating job that you hate just to make ends meet? That is the exact opposite of having options.What's important about assessing your values when it comes to money is to remember that its not really about how much you have, but rather what you choose to do with what you have. I don't believe I need to be a rich person in order to live out my purpose in life (that would be silly), but I whole-heartedly believe that if I mismanage what I have, I will create problems for myself that will hinder me from living out my fullest potential. How many people have you heard of that would like to give more to charity, or maybe quit their job and start a business they're passionate about, or even have the funds to travel and see the world, but can't because they live paycheck-to-paycheck?My Value Ladder will certainly look different from someone else's, but the point is to make sure that your spending habits are inline (or at the bare minimum, do not hinder) your values and the things that are important to you. So next time you go to make the purchase, sign for that car note, or lease that expensive apartment, as yourself what your values are and if what you are getting ready to spend money on will prevent you from doing the things that are important to you. Don't let your eyes get bigger than your stomach—spend your money on things that reflect who you are (or who you'd like to be) on the inside.***PS—Feel free to try out the "Value Ladder" in the comments below. Start with "What's important about money to you?" and keep asking yourself what's important about your previous answer until you reached your most important value.