3 Factors in Your Home That Reflect Your Attitude About Money

Many aspects of a person's home or apartment reflect their attitudes about money. Even how clean we keep our home reflects our ability to care for our finances. Just as Feng Shui, when practiced with intention, can help us make positive changes in our life, it can also give us insight into our current attitudes and challenges -- the things that may be blocking us from living a life of greater fulfillment.

Let's consider three factors in Feng Shui and how they reflect our attitudes on money. We'll also explore positive changes you can make to get unstuck and begin achieving your financial goals.

1. Is your home clean and organized?

If people enter the home to see it is clean, well-kept and organized, chances are good the person's finances and budget are in the same shape. On the other hand, if the home is in disrepair, the residents in the space may wait until things get bad to start worrying about a lack of money -- they may have unpaid bills or make late payments regularly.

It doesn't cost a lot to get organized. Once you have found a place for everything in your home and apartment, put things back when you're done using them. If you do this mindfully, it will soon become a habit and you'll live in order instead of disarray. You may decide you enjoy your new organized lifestyle and take steps to organize your finances, too.

Consider putting a fresh coat of light, bright paint on the walls in your foyer or entrance. This is an inexpensive way to brighten a space and welcome new opportunities into your life.

2. Do you use your dining room or kitchen table for eating?

In Feng Shui, our food and our kitchen also represent our income and wealth. Welcome a bountiful feast into your life at every meal time by keeping your kitchen or dining room table clear of papers, books, and other clutter.

When a person has a dining room table full of papers and doesn't use the table for family meal time, they may not be dealing with financial issues. Instead, they let bills and issues “pile up,” literally and figuratively, until they risk ruining their credit rating or losing their home. Create a system to file papers and keep them neatly organized where you can reach them if needed but they are not always right in front of you, causing you stress.

3. What's in the wealth and prosperity corner of your home?

Take a look at the area of your home that represents wealth and prosperity, according to the ba gua. What's located there? If you store exercise equipment in that corner, you may think of making money as hard work or a “workout.”

It's best to keep a water element such as a fountain or fish tank, in that corner -- or even a picture representing water. You may also put things in that corner that make you feel wealthy, such as a jar of money that you add to with your pocket change each evening.

How to Use Feng Shui to Get Out of Debt

According to recent studies, Americans are deeper in debt than ever before -- and their credit scores are hurting from it.

FICO (the Fair Isaacs Company) is the organization that calculates the credit scores most widely used by lenders -- including banks, credit card providers and mortgage companies. FICO recently released a report showing that 43.4 million Americans, or more than 25%, have a credit score of 599 or less. This score is considered “poor” and makes it difficult to get a loan, buy a house, or maybe even find a job or apartment.

But it doesn't have to be this way for you (or for anyone else).  

When I surveyed 3,000 of my clients and contacts to discover the 10 reasons why people seek help with Feng Shui, the number one reason was: “to increase money and overall wealth.” You can use Feng Shui and the power of intention to get out of debt and create a new sense of financial security. Begin with a single question:

What feeling do I hope to achieve once I am out of debt?

You might think about a sense of inner peace when you go to bed at night. Perhaps joy when the day's mail arrives, rather than dread at the thought of the collection letters you now receive in the mailbox everyday. Maybe it's a feeling of security that comes from having no debt and a substantial savings account for when emergencies or unexpected purchases pop up.

From there, set your intention to achieve that feeling. The next step is to write down a plan to achieve your goal.

What is Your Goal?

A goal without a plan is just a dream, the saying goes. First, decide on your financial goal. Maybe you want to pay off all your debt and have three months of living expenses set aside for an emergency. Of course, you'll need to calculate a budget... If you're like many Americans, you may not know exactly how much money you need to live each month.

After you write down your goal, set a plan to achieve it. Maybe this involves consolidating your debt onto one or two lower-interest credit cards, and then paying $100 more (or whatever you can afford) than the minimum payment each month.

Each time you pay more than the minimum on your credit card, know that you are one step closer to achieving your goal.

Is Your Home Made for Money Management?
With your intention and a plan in place, you can use various Feng Shui cures to strengthen your intention and tip the scales in favor of achieving your goals even more quickly.

For instance, you might consider activating the wealth corner of your home (the far left corner when you stand at the front door and look into your house), with a water feature, such as living fish in a tank or a waterfall.

Some people like to put a bowl of loose change in this corner. As you watch the change pile up, you'll begin to feel more wealthy and, with that feeling, attract more wealth to you.  

Remember, too: always keep your toilet seat down (to avoid “flushing wealth down the drain”) and keep your stove clean and maintained, as your stove represents your career and how others view you in the world.

You can also follow these 7 Feng Shui tips to increase your wealth with moving objects.

With strong intentions, a solid plan to get out of debt, and the power of Feng Shui, anyone can rise above the financial pack and get out of debt.

What could you accomplish with just a little bit of planning and forethought?

What's the First Room You See in Your Home?

The first room you see in your home can affect how guests feel when they enter your house or apartment, and also the areas which will get the greatest focus in your life.

While the three most important areas of a home are the entrance, master bedroom and kitchen, the other rooms can have significant impact, too -- especially the first room someone sees when they enter the home.

The following is a list of rooms in many houses or apartments, and how their placement near the home's main entrance can affect the home's inhabitants according to the principles of Feng Shui.

Foyer: A large, spacious foyer is a good way to welcome opportunities into your life. Foyers should be well-lighted, clean and inviting. You can make a space even more welcoming with the addition of live plants or wind chimes.

Living room: A living room is very auspicious to have near your home's entrance. Residents -- and guests -- will tend to relax and feel at home.

Study: If you have a study, den or home office near the entrance, expect residents to be focused on education, learning and fulfillment.

Kitchen: If the first room people see when they enter your home is a kitchen, your family life will be focused heavily on food. In fact, it may even encourage over-eating, especially with children. Guests, too, will come only to “eat and run.” If this is the case in your home, you can place a screen or other barrier that will obscure the view of the kitchen from the front door. This is especially important if you can see the stove from the front door.

Bathroom: It's not auspicious to have a bathroom in clear view of the front door. This can affect health and wealth adversely. You may find your money being “flushed away.” Your health may suffer, and your home's residents may spend too much time on personal care in the bathroom. They may become obsessed with their appearance. Placing a mirror on the outside of the bathroom door can deflect this negative energy. Remember to keep the bathroom door closed, too.

Bedroom: Having a bedroom in clear view of your home's entrance could be making you feel tired all the time. Hang a mirror on the bedroom door and see if your energy increases.

Would you like to know if the home or apartment you're thinking of moving into will help you achieve your goals? I can help with home selection as part of my Feng Shui consulting services. We will consider the layout of the rooms, the architecture and landscaping, the neighborhood, and the overall chi of the space in order to help you select a residence where you and your family can thrive.

Feng Shui Colors: A Room-By-Room Guide

One of the least expensive ways to give your home new life is a fresh coat of paint. Even those who live in apartments can often convince their landlord to let them paint, as long as they return the walls to plain white before they leave. The investment is minimal -- less than $80 buys three gallons of paint, rollers and brushes to do a few rooms.

But what are the best colors to paint using the principles of Feng Shui? It depends on the room. When you select colors for the floor, walls, and ceiling, make sure to employ the Five-Elemental Cycle using three colors. Also, don't think a ceiling has to be white; light beige or even brighter colors that complement the walls add depth and creativity to a room.

Entryway/Foyer - Small entryways are enhanced by lighting and light, bright colors. Off-white and shades of blue, pink or green represent hope and welcome. Green, black or red are auspicious colors for the front door. As with a fence, avoid a white front door. You can learn more about Feng Shui in your front entrance in this article.

Kitchen - The best color for a kitchen is white, the color of purity and cleanliness. White permits the food's true character and colors to show through -- bright reds, greens and yellows on a white pallet. The kitchen's basic element is fire, and metal (represented by white) overcomes fire to better balance the chi.

Avoid black and gray (water element), because it destroys fire, and avoid red, because it will make a kitchen too “hot,” literally and figuratively. A red kitchen may be prone to fires while the cook will be prone to temper flare-ups. Read more about Feng Shui in the kitchen.

Bedroom - The color of your bedroom will depend upon your age, personal goals, and whether your room is the master bedroom or not. Pink is best for a master bedroom, because the marriage position on the bagua is placed between fire (red) and metal (white), and pink is the blending of these two colors. Pink or red sheets and blankets ensure a “fiery” marriage bed.

For single people seeking a mate, pink or peach is an auspicious color for the bedroom.

For anyone else, subdued hues of greens and blues promote rest. You can learn more about how to use Feng Shui in the bedroom in this article.

Children, on the other hand, thrive in rooms of green, which create peaceful calm and serenity while encouraging learning and knowledge. This article talks about Feng Shui in a baby's nursery.

Dining Room - If you have a dining room where you eat and entertain as a family, pinks, greens and blues work best to encourage conversation and stimulate the palate. There's a reason many restaurants have green decor -- it stimulates the appetite. Avoid blacks and whites unless the goal is to lose weight.

Bathroom - The bathroom should be a sanctuary where you go to prepare yourself to face the day or retreat at night to prepare for sleep. The best colors for a bathroom include lighter shades of green, blues, pink, or white. Black or gray, which correspond to the water element, make good accent colors. Or, you can use pastels or white with bright accents to enliven the space. Remember, as one of the first rooms you visit in the morning, the bathroom is one of the three most important areas of the home in Feng Shui.  

Painting your home in pleasant, Feng Shui colors helps balance the chi within yourself, members of your family, and your home.

What Can I Expect During a Feng Shui Consultation?

If you're having problems related to your career, finances, romantic relationships or overall mood, a Feng Shui consultation might help. By altering your environment and surroundings under the watchful guidance of a professional, you'll be able to see positive changes take place in your life.

When a Black Sect Feng Shui consultant visits your home for a consultation, expect an interactive experience. Black Sect Feng Shui employs both transcendental (spiritual) and mundane (connected to everyday life) methods to improve the flow of chi (energy) through your home.

The Feng Shui Ba Gua in Your Home
Black Sect Feng Shui does not use a compass to determine the trigram positions or the direction in which to overlay the ba gua over a space. Instead, the Feng Shui consultant will determine the position by which chi enters your home (usually through a front door, but sometimes through another door), and lay the ba gua over the space with the front door in one of three front sectors of the ba gua.

He will also find the central palace (tai chi position) of your home, and assess the placement of important rooms (including the kitchen, bathroom and master bedroom) in relation to the central line and central palace.

After completing a site survey, in which he uses his knowledge of Feng Shui, observational skills, intuition and other techniques to assess the chi in the space, he will assess your Feng Shui needs in relation to your personal chi and the dynamics of your home.

Working with your Feng Shui Consultant
At the start of the consultation, the Feng Shui consultant will discuss with you the areas of your life you feel need help, where your priorities lie, and what your future goals are.

Be prepared to think -- and speak -- in depth about the areas of life covered by the eight Trigrams and the tai chi position (the central palace). You'll want to consider strong and weak areas of your life, and how your surroundings may affect these areas. It's a good idea to brainstorm your goals in regard to these eight areas. It may help to ask yourself the following questions:

- What role does money play in my life? Do I have enough? Do I spend it (or lose it) as quickly as it comes in? Is increasing my wealth a major goal right now?

- What are my goals in regard to children? Do I want to conceive right now? Do I desire better control as a parent?

- Do I feel creativity lacking in my life?

- What is my reputation at work and in my community? Is it important to me that I'm highly regarded amongst my peers?

- Am I stuck in my career or advancing quickly? What aspects of my business life would I like to improve?

- Am I looking to further my education or take part in career development? Is this a priority right now? How are my children doing in school?

- How is my love life and my relationship with my partner? Or am I seeking a romantic relationship?

- How are my relationships with others in general? Do people help me when I need it? Do my friendships have a fair amount of give and take?

- What is my overall health? Do I have any illnesses or ailments? Do I have a lot of energy everyday? Do I sleep well at night?  

- What is my overall mood? Am I typically in good spirits?

Intention in Feng Shui
Since intention plays such a large role in Feng Shui, it's important to visualize the improvements you'd like to make in your life, and to know that the Feng Shui cures an expert implements will help you to realize these positive changes.

Learn more about working with a Feng Shui consultant to experience your full potential.

The Feng Shui Placement of a Kitchen within a Home

The kitchen, even more so than the family room, is often considered the social center of a home. Ideally, the kitchen should be placed in the wealth or relationship (hsun or kun) portion of the house based on the ba gua.

It should have close proximity to the family room and possibly the garage, accommodating a family's natural movement path and encouraging interaction and social activities.

In a family with children, standing in the kitchen should afford a clear view of a home's backyard as well as often-used interior areas, such as a playroom or family room.

The kitchen should sit behind the central line, rather than in the front of the home. As long as the kitchen is not placed in the very center of the house or apartment (the central palace), you shouldn't have problems. A kitchen in the center of the home may increase the risk of fire and financial struggles.

How Spring Cleaning Can Improve The Feng Shui In Your Home

Black Sect Feng Shui deals in both the mundane as well as the emotional and spiritual. Feng Shui consultants use intuition to assess the flow of chi through a space, and, if we find a home unsuitable, seek ways to remedy problems. We also emphasize the importance of intention when we implement a specific Feng Shui cure.

It is with this intention in mind that it's important to talk about clearing clutter from a space -- and what better time to think about spring cleaning than the start of spring?

Benefits of Reducing Clutter
A clean and uncluttered home makes guests feel welcome and makes its inhabitants comfortable. It's often easier to think clearly in a neat and organized room -- and that includes the desk in your home office.

Clutter represents stagnant, confused chi. It may be difficult to make a decision in a cluttered home, or even to make positive moves toward growth and personal development. Our clutter also has our emotions tied to it. We may not want to let go of it for emotional reasons -- and that leads to our feeling “stuck” in our life.

Good Feng Shui is characterized by free-flowing chi -- not too fast, and not too slow. If a human being can't walk across a room because furniture is filling the space with no wide pathways or toys, books, and random clutter blocks the path, the chi can't flow freely either.

Clutter in Your Attic, Basement or Garage
When we own a home, we tend to place objects we don't use -- or intend to some day throw away -- in our attic, garage or basement. Even if we can't see it, this clutter can weigh us down.

Clutter in the Bedroom, Kitchen and Entryway
Clutter in these three areas is the worst of all when it comes to free-flowing chi and Feng Shui, because these three areas of the home are the most important in Feng Shui. Clutter in the bedroom can prevent a good night's sleep.

In Feng Shui, the kitchen represents our career success and how others perceive us -- getting rid of clutter in this area and always making sure appliances (especially the stove) are clean, can lead to increased wealth and career success.

Our entryway creates a first impression and affects the chi that flows through the rest of the house. If the chi is blocked by clutter at your front door, it can't move freely through the rest of your home in a positive, life-affirming way.

How to Clear the Clutter
Begin by sorting through your belongings. Does everything serve a purpose? That purpose may simply be that it makes you happy -- that's okay. Objects that don't serve a practical purpose or bring you joy when you see them should go. Recycle, donate or, if you truly can't find a use for it and don't think anyone else can, either, throw it away.

With the remaining objects, find a place for everything and put it there. Keep everyday items in easy to reach places. Store clothes and other objects used seasonally neatly in closets, the attic or garage, where you can find them easily when you need them.

When you're finished using something, put it back. It really is as simple as that to keep clutter at bay and let chi flow freely through your home.

Placement of the Stove to Increase Income

An island layout promotes the flow of chi through the kitchen. When the stove is placed on the island so the cook stands in the command position, a family should enjoy wealth and good relationships.

Additionally, you should not be able to see the stove from your front door, even if the view is through two doors (or through an empty door). Placing a mirror behind the stove can cure this problem.

In fact, placing a mirror behind a stove offers a number of benefits:

- If you can see the burners in the mirror, your income will increase, as the affect of the burners is doubled -- or more than doubled.

- Mirrors behind the stove help the cook see anyone entering the room. If someone sneaks up behind a cook and he becomes startled, that fright can makes it way into the meal, diminishing the quality of the food and hurting those who eat it.

- Mirrors behind the stove simulate the command position, similar to the way a mirror on the wall in front of a desk can increase that person's income and job security.

Feng Shui Your Kitchen for Wealth, Health and Better Relationships

In Feng Shui, the kitchen is one of the three most important areas of a home or apartment, along with the main entrance and the master bedroom. The Feng Shui of the kitchen affects a family's health, wealth, careers and relationships.

A Clean Kitchen Encourages a Prosperity
The kitchen represents where we get our sustenance, both physical and spiritual. A kitchen with good Feng Shui represents abundance in all areas of our life, as well as affecting the reputation and relationships of the people in the home. The layout of a kitchen, as well as its placement in the house or apartment, positively or negatively impacts a home's inhabitants.

It almost goes without saying that you should keep your kitchen clean, neat and organized. It's especially important to keep your stove clean, as this relates directly to your ability to produce income, to feed and support your family.

Feng Shui Your Home For Better Health

At the heart of a healthy body lies a healthy home. If you want to feel your best, have more energy, and avoid illness, Feng Shui can help.

The bedroom, bathroom and kitchen are the rooms of your house or apartment that most closely relate to your health. The energy in these rooms reflects your own energy – positive or negative.

Before leaving the house each morning, we typically visit these three rooms in order, with each space providing us with something important, physically and spiritually, that we need for success.

In the evening, we reverse the routine, with dinner, getting ready for bed in the bathroom, and, finally, relaxing in the sanctuary of our bedroom.

Your Bedroom and Your Health
Your bedroom affects how well you sleep; a good night’s sleep means you’ll have more energy to face your day. Placing your bed in the command position and decorating with tranquil colors such as greens and blues and the absence of a TV can help encourage restful sleep including.

Your Bathroom and Your Health
The ambiance of your bathroom can set the tone for the day, too. Bright, vibrant colors and a clean, uncluttered environment help you start the day right. You want your bathroom to be a peaceful sanctuary where you can prepare yourself, with affirmations or simply a smile in the mirror can help you to be at your best all day. Consider adding living plants and green accents in your bathroom to help it come alive and be a place of rejuvenation.

Your Kitchen and Your Health
Following our morning grooming rituals, we typically head into the kitchen – our last stop before leaving the house. The kitchen should be clean, bright, uncluttered and, most importantly, nourishing. Consider adding living herb plants to awaken the senses and set your mind to healthy eating.