How does your money make you feel?

Does it make you feel strong, safe, and in control? Or does it make you feel vulnerable, stressed, and sad? Unfortunately, many of us have a complicated relationship with our finances that can leave us feeling deflated instead of uplifted.

It’s time to turn the tables and make our money work for us. By using money to unleash our passions, we’re changing the dynamic of our relationship with money. Instead of feeling like money runs our lives, we can use money to architect the life that we want for ourselves.

Hobby Your Way to Health

Bust out those knitting needles and dust off that surfboard - research shows that hobbies are good for your health! As it turns out, when we perform activities that make us feel good, we are creating activity in the part of our brain that manages how we feel about our lives, and stimulating the septal zone of our brain that creates a sense of happiness. Actively pursuing hobbies that we enjoy can also lead to increased self-confidence, reduced stress, enhanced creativity and replenished energy.

All too often we simply see hobbies as a luxury which are the first thing to be cut from our spending in a lean month. When in reality, hobbies are an investment in your long term financial and emotional health that important in the tough times, since they help keep us grounded and calm.

So instead of axing your hobby budget next time your purse strings are tightened, all you need is a little bit of money and some creative thinking to keep your hobby habit on track. For example..

• Instead of paying for pricey outdoors expeditions, take a look at the community bulletin board at your local outdoor shop. Many stores offer community outings or lessons at a fraction of the cost of private tours.
• If you don’t want to spend hundreds of dollars on new plants and gardening supplies for your home, look into a nearby community garden program. Many groups even allow you to take home your produce in exchange for only a few short hours of volunteering each week!
• Thinking of broadening your horizons by taking an interesting class at your local college? Instead of paying fees, look into auditing programs. Many schools will allow community members to join classes in exchange for volunteer auditing services.

Getting the full emotional benefits of a hobby doesn’t require you to spend thousands of dollars. With even a small investment in your ‘hobby fund’ each month, you can create magic.

Turn Your Passion Into Your Paycheque

If Tiffany Krumins’ story teaches us anything - it’s that some of the biggest dreams start small.

Tiffany’s story starts with a few sponges, some fabric, and an idea to improve the lives of sick children.

After seeing the children that she worked with struggle to take medicine, Tiffany created AVA the talking elephant - a medicine dropper that was child-friendly. Knowing that she had an excellent product that she was passionate about, Tiffany got creative and made a prototype out of fabric and sponges. But she knew that even though she was starting small, her idea could improve the lives of millions. So she took a chance and answered a call for entrepreneurs on Craigslist - which ended up being a casting call for ABC’s Shark Tank, where she secured an investment from famed investor Barbara Corcoran. Today, AVA the elephant is changing the lives of families everywhere.

Like millions of people worldwide, Tiffany proves that even the smallest investment of time and money can be used to help us create a career and a life that we are truly passionate about. Whether you want to dive head-first into an entrepreneurial venture, or you want to dial back your hours at work to make room for a creative side-project, investing even $100 each month will allow you to build up a small nest-egg over time that you can use to create the financial freedom you need to pursue your passions.

Doing Good on a Budget

“We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give” - Winston Churchill

For many of us, unleashing our passion isn’t about doing for ourselves - it’s about giving to others. It’s about using our good fortune to unleash the power of giving in the communities where we live, work and play. But with so many worthy charities in need of financial support, we can be overwhelmed by our desire to do good - and limited by our financial realities. Here are some tips on how to make your charitable dollar go as far as it can stretch!

• Many companies have a charitable gift matching policy, where donations made by employees to registered charities are matched by the business. Plan a small charitable drive around the office and double your giving by applying to have your donation matched by your company.
• Many community events such as craft fairs and festivals will offer free tables to individuals and groups that are selling items like baked goods or jewelry to raise funds for charity. Get a group of friends together on a Saturday afternoon and bake, bead, or glue-gun the afternoon away for a good cause. You can even approach local businesses to donate the supplies to ensure that 100% of the profits of your sales go to charity!
• One of the best ways to send your dollar to work around the world is to donate through a micro-loan program like Kiva. Loaning even $20 through a micro-loan agency can have an enormous impact on the life of the recipient in the developing world. Because it is a loan, the money comes back into your account, and you can continue to give and do good - with only a small investment!

At the end of the day, money is just another tool that we can use to help improve the quality of our lives, and the lives of others. It’s all about making a conscious decision to manage our money proactively, so that we can set it to work for us - and never the other way around.

It’s time for us to stop being reactive, take control of our financial health - and start showing our money who’s boss!

Tell us: What are you passionate about? Tweet us @getMoven and tell us about what you’re passionate about!