Managing Money the Andvari Way
by Fuensanta Arismendi
1. Pick up loose coins when you find them, be it around
the house or on the street. Put them in a jar and when you’ve collected a
goodly amount, cash it in at the bank and use it to pay bills, or put it in
savings, or spend it on something necessary. The important thing is that you
not hoard the coins but allow them to flow. Money has two runes: one is Fehu
(wealth) but the other is Laguz (flow).
2. Keep a money journal. This is a suggestion repeated in many books about financial management and we’ve found it to be a very good one. Not only is it helpful to keep a ledger of one’s budget and all expenditures, but it’s equally helpful (indeed, a necessary precursor) to keep a daily list of every expenditure, no matter how small. It really helps to highlight where the money is going, and even if one chooses not to change anything about one’s spending habits, knowing how one’s money is being spent is the first step toward mindful acknowledgement of those vaettir.
3. Pay off your old debts. Period. With Andvari, there’s no way around this. No matter how old the debts are: pay them off. No matter how long it takes, pay them off. Andvari’s lessons are all about personal responsibility and taking ownership of one’s past mistakes.
4. Just because you may be afraid to think about money because there’s never enough, or because of the anxiety it brings, you must fight this and learn to make friends with money. Read about it, think about it, learn about it. Money is just as sacred as land. It should be honored just the same way we honor the earth itself. Like the produce the land creates, money offers us the means to support, nourish and better our lives.
5. Don’t justify unnecessary expenditures by saying “I deserve this.” Everyone deserves it and no one does. This is not about deserving. It is about cutting your coat according to the amount of cloth you have.
6. Return resources to your community. This does not have to mean financially; if you do not have the financial resources to spare, that’s okay. Donate your time: volunteer at a local homeless shelter. Do something that doesn’t involve you. If you can afford to do so, choose an organization or two that you’re committed to (and if you can’t think of one, then maybe you should become a little more involved in the world around you) and donate an appropriate amount. It doesn’t have to be a grand amount, but it should be commensurate with your finances, which means it could be $5 or $5000. Also, don’t just throw out old clothes: donate them. Waste as little as possible.
7. Tip appropriately. If you think you have the money to go to a restaurant but not to tip appropriately, then guess what? You don’t have the money to go to a restaurant after all!
8. Don’t squander resources by leaving heating on, leaving the lights on, leaving the TV on when you’re not in the room, running the water while you brush your teeth, etc. It’s disrespectful to the environment and will cause your expenses to go up.
9. Don’t try to keep up with the Joneses because the Joneses are trying to keep up with the Trumps!
10. When you refuse money to a beggar, make eye contact as you say “sorry”, or “no”. Be polite. People don’t like being treated as if they don’t exist and that simple human acknowledgement is theirs by right.
11. Prepare your will. Even if you are positive that nothing will happen to you for a long time to come, take responsibility for yourself and your resources, whatever they may be, and prepare a will. The trouble it will save is an inheritance your relatives will cherish and is another way of showing respect for your resources. It also shows respect for Death—that it will come when it wants to come.