How travelling to Japan challenged my money mindset and spending habits

I’m writing this while overseas in Japan on a two-week holiday with my kids. It’s our first overseas trip together with me as a solo parent and it’s been an incredible experience so far. While planning the trip, I set a savings goal and was excited to fund the holiday entirely without credit (I talk about it here). The idea of returning home without debt felt empowering. What I didn’t anticipate, was how uncomfortable I’d feel spending the money I’d worked so hard to save.

Let me take you back a little. A while ago, I came across The Sacred Money Archetypes (SMA) through the work of Denise Duffield-Thomas. SMA is a framework of eight archetypes that help you understand your relationship with money and the patterns that drive your financial behaviours. Most people identify with two or three dominant archetypes, and while I haven’t yet done the course, the concept has been eye-opening. Even just reading about it has shed light on my own money blocks and helped me make sense of some deeply ingrained habits.

One of those habits has been amplified during this trip. Unlike past holidays, where my ex-partner handled most of the financial logistics—like exchanging and withdrawing cash—this time, everything has been on my shoulders. Before the trip, I felt confident and prepared. I’d hit my savings target and knew I had enough to cover our expenses. But as the days have gone by, I’ve found myself battling an unexpected sense of scarcity.

In Japan, cash is still king, unlike the card-dominant, tap-and-go culture of Australia. Handling physical cash for every meal, train ride and hotel payment has been a stark reminder of just how much money we’re spending. I wonder if seeing the money physically leave my hands, rather than disappearing via a card transaction, has magnified this feeling. Or perhaps it’s that, back home, I’m not used to spending so frequently in a single day.

What surprised me most, though, was how quickly my mindset shifted from feeling abundant and “cashed up” to experiencing those gut-clenching moments of scarcity. Even with a daily budget that we’re sticking to, I’ve found myself questioning and recalculating constantly, as if to reassure myself that we’re not overspending. The logical part of me knows we’re fine, but my old scarcity block has been hard to ignore.

This trip has been a perfect example of how deeply ingrained our money beliefs can be. It’s shown me that, while I’ve made progress in understanding and managing my finances, there’s still work to be done. Becoming aware of my scarcity mindset is an important step and I know it’s something I definitely need to continue to explore.

For now, though, I’m reminding myself to focus on the experiences we’re having rather than the cash leaving my wallet! After all, this holiday is about creating memories with my kids, not about the money spent along the way. I knew we’d all be learning some life lessons, I never anticipated some of mine would be around money mindset though.