3 Surprising Things That Might Make You a Diva

“Brand name everything; bank balance nothing.”

Quick question; if I knocked on your door right now and gave you $100 just for being the amazing person that you are, what would you do with it? I’d like to say no pressure but I want you to think about the very first thing that comes to your mind. You have 10 seconds to decide. If you immediately thought “holy smokes, shopping spree!”, you might just be a Diva.

There’s nothing wrong with being a Diva and I should know because I’m a recovering Diva myself. Fact: I was just a girl who knew nothing about money except how to spend it. When I landed my dream job fresh out of University, I thought I had made it. And I spent my money like I had made it. When, for years, you hold a lack and scarcity mindset and then start making real money, “living your best life” takes on a whole new meaning.

I loved spending, and thought because I was making good money, there was no problem - ‘Hey - I worked hard for this money so why shouldn’t I treat myself to nice things, right?!’ Well, that’s what I thought, until I found myself in a never ending cycle of buying things I couldn’t afford, keeping up appearances only to impress others and falling more and more into debt as the months went by. The irony of it all? I was an accountant, managing other people’s money but having a hell of a time trying to manage my own.

What I didn’t realize then was that my Diva money personality type was in control of ALL of my money habits and behaviours. I didn’t care about managing my dollars or making future financial plans. YOLO was my go-to money mantra. It took a hard wake up call for me to realize that my relationship with money wasn’t dependent on how much I made or had, it was based on what I did with it - and what I did was spend it.

Your money habits aren’t just “things you do”, they are a reflection of “who” you are when it comes to money. If you want to understand what is causing your current money habits, you have to first understand your money personality type. Once you know, you can’t unknow. But this is how you take back financial control. When you understand “who” you are, you can change “what” you do with money. This simple mindset shift will have you creating new money habits and making better financial decisions that lead to more money, abundance, financial stability and success.

Here are three identifiers you can use to figure out if you are also a Diva:

The Diva’s Mindset

Do you love the pretty things in life? Me too! But that love affair has gotten me into some financial trouble a time or two. Holding a Diva money personality, all comes down to the fun of the purchase; that thrill of swiping your credit card, being handed a bag tied with a perfect bow made of the silkiest ribbon and dreaming of the way you are going to feel once that purchase is showcased on your body. Yes girl - you’re bringing sexy back! Yeah!

But here’s the truth… the Diva lives for today and is usually consumed with maintaining a specific lifestyle and outward appearance, even if walking out with that bow-tied gift bag means going into debt. The Diva is never focused on long-term financial goals, instead replacing them with short-term wants and desires. That need for instant gratification helps to feed the attitude that it’s just better to live for today and enjoy the moment - a mentality that makes the Diva believe that deeper financial goals and dreams are impossible to achieve. This lack of belief can be rooted in past financial mistakes, lack of trust in themselves and insecurities grounded in deservingness and worthiness.. This mindset is what causes the Diva’s financial troubles to continue to grow.

The Diva’s Spending

Just because you make good money doesn’t mean you know what to do with it.

This is especially true when it comes to the Diva’s spending habits. Can you spend on the things you love because you make good money? Absolutely! Is it ok to spend on things without thought or intention and risk your financial future and security? Absolutely not! This is what causes the Diva to overspend and make poor financial decisions. Trust me, I can relate because as a recovering Diva, I was happy to ignore the fact that I was renting a condo I could barely afford and spending well above my means. I had created a false lifestyle that didn’t match my income and I was happy to keep spending whatever was necessary to maintain it. Divas don’t put a limit on their spending and also tend not to look at their finances often (or ever). They hold the mindset that looking wealthy is more important than actually being wealthy. They ignore their growing debts and shrinking bank accounts and hope that one day everything will figure itself out. But it never does.

The Diva’s Emotional Connection to Money

How do you cover up feelings of guilt, embarrassment and shame around your spending? You keep spending, of course! If you have a Diva money personality type, unfortunately that is your default subconscious answer to that question. Retail therapy is real in the mindset of the Diva. Shopping provides temporary happiness and helps to maintain the oh so important affluent image that has been created for the benefit of the outside world to admire. Even though the Diva knows she needs to make some financial changes, letting go of her current lifestyle is just unimaginable! The Diva has worked so hard to maintain it and any downgrade in this lifestyle will have her financial reality exposed for the world to see; everyone will know the truth - that she doesn’t have the money or is deep in debt. Instead of facing that embarrassment the Diva will do whatever is necessary to continue covering up her true financial reality even if that means creating even more of a financial mess.

Ok, so you might be a DIVA especially if most or all of that resonated with you but, don’t beat yourself up about it because that might be an emotional trigger that sends you right back to the spending habits that you now wish to erase. Remember, you must always be kind to yourself and having this new awareness is the first step to taking back financial control. Now you can catch yourself when your Diva tendencies start taking over and begin to make better financial decisions that lead to more money, abundance, financial stability and success.

Start your journey to being a recovering Diva by repeating this out loud: