How Your Spending Habits Can Hint at Your Personal Brand

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Between maintaining an online presence, building a strong network, and dressing for success, establishing a personal brand requires a lot of work. While building a strong brand on the outside is important, it’s what’s on the inside that really counts (inside your bank statements that is).

Two excited women shopping online with credit card and laptop sitting on sofa at home, copy space

Your bank statements might be saying more about your personal brand than you can imagine. Keep this in mind the next time you’re checking out at your favorite retailer.

So why are your spending habits all of a sudden something that should concern the people around you, you ask? Well, it just happens to be that what you choose to spend your hard-earned money on says a lot about your values.

As a millennial and entrepreneur, I’ve learned so much about the importance of values over the last two years. Although I’ve pivoted more times than I can count, I also know that all those changes never steered me away from my main priorities in life.

Simply put, values are a person’s principles or standards, aka, what’s important in life. There’s more power in our spending habits than we believe, and a big reason why is because it hints at our values.

If you’re an entrepreneur, professional, or someone looking to start building their personal brand, it’s time to pay closer attention to what you’re putting in your shopping cart. Those purchases can be saying more about your values than your LinkedIn profile ever could.

For example, I’m a thrifter a sustainable fashion advocate, but if I was spending my weekends at Forever 21 and dressing in pieces from H&M’s latest launch, I’d be contradicting myself. Instead, putting my money where my mouth is and purchasing second-hand clothes from thrift stores, yard sales, or reselling sites says a lot about my character and values.

This example can be applied to anything and anyone out there? Are you a fitness professional purchasing organic produce or processed foods? A sustainability advocate purchasing plastic straws or reusable metal ones?

Remember, next time you’re in your favorite retailer, think about what your purchases would be saying about you. Your future personal brand will thank you for it.