Feel Money freedom with one little shift

My car got a puncture last week and when I went to the garage for a new tyre, I found out two others needing replacing which left me £350 the poorer!!!

Unexpected costs used to leave me really annoyed and could easily ruin my day (or week).

Like when I went over the Liverpool toll bridge and had until midnight to pay the toll but I forgot and so ended up with a fine. More potential for annoyance.

I am always looking for little tips that boost my joy and happiness so was excited to learn a little trick from the swedish thinker Rolf Dobelli called ‘Mental Accounting’ which has left me feeling calm and contented instead of irritable and annoyed when I lose money.

His insight is that we don’t treat all money the same — we feel different according to where the money has come from and our expectations of it.

For example, if you find £100 you are more likely to spend it on something trivial than if you earnt the £100. You see that money differently and feel differently about it.

The £350 for my new tyres has the potential to wind me up because that money was meant for something else, such as my enjoyment or savings. But what happens if I already have £500 in a car repair fund? I will tend to feel less annoyance because the £350 is coming from the car…