Is a broke money mindset a problem for you? Living paycheck to paycheck, trapped in money stress and debt? Your money mindset could be to blame.
Smart money management isn’t only a case of mathematics and a bit of common sense. If it was, we’d all be wealthy. Our financial results have much more to do with the emotions, mindsets and beliefs we’ve created about money than you may realise.
With the right mindset, you can make your finances work for you without struggle and stress. With the wrong one, you’ll repeat the same money mistakes over and over again. Time to review your mindsets about money and put a stop to the ones keeping you broke.
Broke Money Mindset #1 – I need to live ‘my best life’ RIGHT NOW…..
…..and I’m not afraid to max my credit card, loan, mortgage debt to do it.
There’s never been more social pressure to ‘live your best life RIGHT NOW!!!!’
We’ve got our YOLO and FOMO consumer focused culture to thank for that.
It seems like a big house, all the shiny new things, range rover and an overseas trip every 6 months is the general idea of a ‘best life’.
To fund these best lives (right now!), it’s all too common to max out credit cards, loans or take on an insanely high mortgage.
Reality check.
Going into crazy debt isn’t living your best life. When credit card and mortgage repayments get out of control you won’t be posting pics of your monthly statements on Instagram #blessed. You won’t be living your best life; you’ll be trapped in a financial nightmare.
The incredible sense of entitlement we have in the western world is keeping millions of people broke.
Think about what your best life actually is? Is it really all these things? Or are you just getting caught up in what everyone else is doing.
My idea of a best life doesn’t include money worries about paying the bills and an uncertain financial future for my kids.
“If you will live like no one else, later you can live like no one else.”― Dave Ramsey
Patience and the ability to postpone gratification are some of the best financial habits you can develop. The idea we need all the exciting, great ‘things’ right now is a lie. It’s a lie every marketing campaign selling some lifestyle product or experience wants you to believe so you spend even when you can’t afford it.
This habit keeps you broke. Which as far as I know isn’t many people’s idea of a best life.
Broke Money Mindset #2 – Believing frugality and deprivation are the same thing
Frugality is one of the most powerful tools you can use to turn a disastrous financial situation around…quickly.
The thing is, in the minds of many people, frugality and deprivation are the same thing. They believe to be frugal is to be miserable, deprived and cheap.
While some people do take frugality to the extreme, a healthy approach to frugality is really about finding out how to get the same value in your life…for less money. It’s about learning to enjoy life while spending less than you have in the past.
This doesn’t mean giving up everything you love. It’s about making room for what you love by culling the expenses of those things that don’t add real value to your life.
Let’s say you really value your weekly personal training sessions…but they’re expensive. Being frugal doesn’t mean giving up PT entirely. What it might mean is finding other areas in your life to cut back on, that don’t add real value, so you can afford your training sessions.
There are no universal rules of frugality. Use it how it might best work for your personal situation.
How does confusing frugality and deprivation keep you broke?
If you’re in a bit of a financial mess, frugality can help you get out of it a lot quicker. But if you label it negatively, you’re not likely to use it as a tool.
You already feel stressed about your finances, why make things feel worse by ‘depriving’ yourself?
So you don’t make any effort to change your spending habits and the cycle of broke continues.
Broke Money Mindset #3 – Money is scarce and hard to get
Does money feel scarce to you? No matter how hard you work there still never seems to be enough. As for the idea of ever being wealthy, well that sounds impossible!
This is a scarcity mindset and it’s keeping you broke. I don’t want to get all ‘woo woo’ on your here but thinking this way about money leads to –
- Debts that never get smaller
- Savings that never grow
- Financial emergencies just when you felt like you might ‘get ahead’
Here’s the kicker – it doesn’t matter how much money you earn, with a scarcity mindset it will never be enough.
The answer isn’t having more money. It’s changing how you think about money then taking action.
The opposite of the scarcity mindset is an abundance mindset.
Creating an abundance mindset by focusing on what you have instead of what you lack.
Change the way you talk and think about money.
Stop saying things like ‘I’m always broke’ and ‘We can’t afford it.’ Swap these thoughts instead for some that inspire a positive money mindset –
I’m grateful for my income (no matter the amount)
My actions create constant prosperity
I am worthy of making more money
Every day my finances are improving!
What have you got to lose by changing your scarcity mindset to an abundant one? Awesome things can begin to happen if you truly believe you can save, pay off debt, start investing and build real wealth.
The change is all in your mind. You literally have nothing to lose and everything to gain!
Are any of these money mindsets holding you back from where you want to be financially?