What are your non- negotiables?

If we think about everything we do, our values are generally around in the background. Most people go to work to earn money to live and provide for families, to have a social life and to learn new skills in some cases.

The values of family, social life, finances, development are all values we can associate with going to work.

Our values change from time to time, but what do we have as our fixed values, our non-negotiables?

What are the values that you would not compromise on and are you really considering them with the choices you make? Do you have a top three non-negotiables?

One of my non-negotiables is my dog the values she gives me are unconditional love, and loyalty, everything I do, I have to consider that she is safe and looked after. Generally if my dog is not allowed then I don’t go. There are obviously some exceptions, I go to work and I arrange care for her. When I have to go somewhere, if I can’t get care for her and if I can’t take her with me then I don’t go. This for me, is my number one non-negotiable.

Finance for me is a huge value, if I can’t afford it then I go without, but I will always ensure I have the ability to cover emergency unforecast expenditure. I have sleepless nights if I think I am going to run out of money.

Growing up in times before finance and credit was readily available to everyone, the ethos was, if you wanted something, you had to save up for it.

I worked in a bank when I first left school and at that point credit cards and personal loans were just behaving the ability to buy what you wanted when you wanted was extremely tempting - no waiting, no saving up.

I went through a period of just buying what I wanted, when I wanted it. I was able to service the debt, but I realised pretty quickly that I was not actually repaying it. At this point point, a lesson was learned, the spending was reduced and the debt repaid. From this moment onwards my finances were a non-negotiable.

My other non negotiable has to be my family and close friends, I have been lucky to have an amazing family around me who have always been supportive, always there when I need them. Likewise I have a few really good friends that I know I can always count on and I will always be there for them when they need me.

Values underpin every decision we make - or at least they should do if we want to live a happy fulfilling life.

What are your top three non-negotiable values?