How to Change Your Budgeting Habits In 2022

Julie Murphy • January 6, 2022

If you’re ready to make financial changes in your life this year, it’s crucial that you address not only the practical side of how you manage your money, but the emotional too.

In this article, I’m going to share some key tips on growing your financial wealth and how to improve your cashflow from a place of financial empowerment - no matter where you’re starting from.

Understand That Money Is Energy

Absolutely everything is energy. Our thoughts, words, actions, our physical bodies - everything. This has been proven by Quantum science and it’s at heart of how I teach and what leads to real wealth financially and emotionally. You can hear me talk more about this on my YouTube channel.

From my extensive work with hundreds of clients with greatly varying financial situations, it’s usually not useful to head straight into a heavy assessment of their budgeting habits and draw up a fancy spreadsheet from the get-go. We have to delve far deeper in order to make those desired tangible changes.

How Does the Word ‘Budget’ Make You Feel?

When you think about the word ‘budget’, really tune in and notice how it makes you feel. Does it deflate you and make you feel restricted? If so you’re certainly not alone as the pattern I generally see is that most people feel limited and disempowered. It’s similar to going on a strict diet where all your favorite treats are suddenly forbidden and 3 weeks later you’re devouring an entire packet of Oreos!

That feeling and energy of restriction often has a snap-back effect and regardless of whether you make $40K or $600K annually, it’s the same emotional patterning when it comes to how you handle your cash flow.

Budgets in the traditional sense can only serve to fuel this feeling and debt instruments implemented by the financial industry certainly haven’t helped, making us feel like we’re shackled to the system.

It’s time to reclaim your power! So, let’s start by removing the word ‘budget’ out of our vocabulary and think about it in a different way.

We need to shift our thoughts, words and feelings around the cash that gets deposited into our accounts and what is going out. Again, the amount is insignificant as it’s all about the energy that you approach it from that will really move the needle on improving your cash flow.

How Do You Want Your Money to Flow?

Think about how you want your money to flow. How do you want to feel about what you have coming in and then what’s going out? Perhaps you want more visibility on it, be more conscious about where it’s going, to feel good about where you’re choosing to spend or save your money as opposed to it being a little haphazard and unplanned?

To do this though, you need to get grounded. Maybe you’re experiencing a spending hangover, which is totally common at this time of year. So please don’t judge yourself in any way. The only thing you can do is come from a place of empowerment based on your financial reality right now. It’s important that you acknowledge and accept where you are and how your past financial choices have led you to this point.

Write Down Your Outgoings

I’d like you to write down all your outgoings and where your payments go. Check all your direct debits, standing orders, credit cards, day to day expenses and subscriptions to ensure nothing is missed. Then I want you to look down the list.

What one choice do you no longer resonate with? Is there an outgoing that doesn’t feel like a safe container? Is there something that’s triggering shame, blame, guilt or judgement or just an underlying sense of unease?

You can then consider if that expense can be eliminated or if there’s a better alternative. For example, if you know your cable bill is more than what you truly feel comfortable with, changing to a streaming service could get you the same benefit at a fraction of the cost. How would it make you feel to then be able to use the saving every month towards something that’s fully aligned?

Keep working down the list to see if you can make more of these tweaks and changes.

Create Financial Intentions

What are your goals for your finances? Where do you want to contribute more of your money? Name the financial intention, for example ‘My Rich Retirement’. Most banks now enable you to name your online accounts and I assure you when you see that new account building up, it’s only going to create more of those feel-good emotions, generating a ripple effect on other parts of your finances and life too.

By taking this new approach, you are choosing how your cash flows from a place of self-love, worth and alignment. It’s an opportunity to redesign your cash flow according to what truly speaks to your heart and soul. This is the essence of building your wealth from the inside out.

< Older Post

Newer Post >

Share Blog On Social

A woman is smiling while money is falling around her.

A book titled the spiritual laws of money

Get it NOW!

Recent Blogs

How to End the Year Like the Wealthy Do

By Julie Murphy • December 10, 2025

Reset Your Money Energy for 2026 Every December, we all feel that pull, the desire to “be better with money next year.” But here’s the secret I’ve seen again and again after nearly three decades of walking alongside people from all walks of life: Financially wealthy people don’t just plan their next year — they energetically complete the one they’re leaving. They close loops. They clear emotional residue. They realign their energy field before they set a single goal. And you can absolutely do the same. As I share in The Emotion Behind Money , wealth is never created by logic alone. It comes from managing the emotions behind your money and understanding that money itself is energy. And in Awaken Your Wealth , I remind readers that energetic shifts begin when you consciously picture yourself stepping into a new reality, while compassionately acknowledging the one you’re standing in now. So let’s walk through the simple year-end process I teach my clients — one that spiritually, emotionally, and financially resets your money field for a powerful 2026. 1. Review Your 2025 Wins & Losses With Compassion Before you step into the new year, look back with the most loving, nonjudgmental eyes possible. I call it neutral observation . Wealthy people don’t spiral into shame when something didn’t go perfectly. They get curious. Ask yourself: Where did I expand financially this year? Where did I contract emotionally or economically? What choices were truly aligned with my values? Which ones came from fear, scarcity, or old patterns? In Awaken Your Wealth , the “Accepting Reality and Awakening” step of PACT teaches that awareness without judgment is how we break old money patterns for good. So breathe. Notice. Write it down. No shame. No spiral. Just truth. 2. Forgive Any Money Mistakes Here’s a truth most people never consider: Every financial mistake carries emotional weight and emotional weight blocks money flow. From my work in The 4 Spiritual Laws of Money , we know that your heart’s energy is more powerful than your brain’s logic, and intention is what redirects energy back into alignment. Forgiveness, of yourself, your past self, or others involved, releases stagnant money energy. Try this: Write down any money decisions from 2025 that still feel heavy. Place your hand on your heart. Say: "I forgive the version of me who made this choice. She/he did the best they could with what they knew at the time.” Forgiveness isn’t about letting mistakes slide. It’s about resetting your emotional money field so you can co-create something new. 3. Create an Energetic Closing Ceremony for the Year This is where wealthy people truly separate themselves; they honor the transition. You can create your own year-end ceremony using whatever resonates from your spiritual toolkit. Here are a few ideas inspired by the intention-setting and clearing practices throughout my work: Light a candle Symbolize releasing the old year and calling in the new. Write a “completion list” Include everything you’re ready to release: debts you’re no longer carrying shame over, relationships you’re energetically cutting cords from, patterns you’re finished reenacting. Burn or bury the list This physical act tells the Universe: “I’m done living from this version of myself.” In The Emotion Behind Money , we explore how inherited beliefs and emotional patterns repeat until they are consciously released. This ceremony is your line in the sand. End with intention Close with one powerful intention for 2026, aligned from your heart: “I choose a new flow of abundance.” “I trust that money comes to me with ease.” “I allow myself to receive the wealth I’ve been working toward.” As The 4 Spiritual Laws of Money reminds us: “The Universe responds to action.” Your ceremony is your spiritual action. Ready to Step Into 2026 Aligned, Clear & Empowered? If you’re craving deeper support with your financial reset, join me for my Emotions Behind Money Workshop in January. If you’ve been feeling the nudge to recalibrate your relationship with money, this is your moment. Let’s make 2026 the year your inner wealth and your financial reality finally match. You deserve abundance and you’re closer than you think. With love, alignment & a whole lot of possibility, Julie ✨