Recently, someone paid me with a $100 bill for something I had bought for them and it reminded me of the $100 bill I’ve carried around in my wallet for almost 20 years. I believe that the idea came from Suze Orman’s book The Nine Steps to Financial Freedom, although I can’t be sure. I loved the idea of carrying around some amount of money that was never to spend, but was always to have just to know you had it. At the time, I chose a $100 bill because that was more than I would typically carry around. It also felt really cool just to know that I was carrying around a $100 bill. I think I only ever had to use it once when I had no other money to pay for something. I quickly replaced it because it felt like something was missing.
As I ponder this $100 bill in my wallet, I realize how it has created a mindset of abundance for me. Knowing that you always have $100 no matter what reminds you that you have enough. While $100 doesn’t buy you what it used to, it can still get you a tank of gas and several days worth of groceries. Or you could buy a new outfit and a cup of coffee. It would get you through a pinch if it had to.
The other thing I’ve noticed is that the longer I carried it and became comfortable with it, the more comfortable I was with larger sums of money moving in and out of my life. Getting comfortable with money and having enough money or more money is an important step. I was recently listening to a podcast and someone mentioned carrying around more money that you are comfortable with so that you push your limits and get comfortable with more money.
I think it’s time for me to increase my $100 bill to something more than that. Are you willing to carry around $100? Are you willing to carry around $500? Where does fear come up? Where is your comfort level? Are you wiling to push beyond it?