Is your money mindset causing you to bring all the things you don’t want into your financial life? Stress, scarcity, and a lack of confidence about money?
“We become what we think about.” – Earl Nightingale.
What you think and say about money matters. A wrong money mindset isn’t just a bunch of random thoughts, it’s like hardwired mental programs.
After years of thinking, doing or avoiding the same things, an unhelpful money mindset can sabotage even our best attempts at getting our financial lives on track. Here are some clues your financial mindset needs a reboot.
Mindset #1 – You’re uncomfortable talking and thinking about money
A major sign that you are dealing with a money mindset problem? You feel uncomfortable (or even hate!) conversations about money and managing it. You literally break out in a sweat when you hear the words “account balance.”
When it comes to financial decisions, you put them off as long as you can – which usually only makes a bad situation worse.
Money plays a big role in all of our lives but in my experience with clients, a hesitation to talk about money can be linked back to a few emotions that are uncomfortable to face…
Shame and fear – Feeling embarrassed about financial mistakes or your current money situation and talking about it only makes the feeling worse.
Hack Number 1 – On a piece of paper, write out all your money regrets that contribute to your feelings of shame about money.
Underneath the list, write something along the lines of:
‘I accept that I cannot change the past and I release the shame of my past mistakes. I commit to moving forward and learning from those mistakes to do all I can to create a better financial future for myself and my family’
Then sign and date the paper. That is your line in the sand. Your new money mindset awaits.
Lack of confidence in money management – If you don’t feel confident about a topic, whether it’s money, politics or something else, you’re probably hesitant to get into discussions about it.
A lack of money confidence and believing that you will never learn to be good with money is a mindset problem. You’ll avoid making important financial decisions – simply because you don’t know what to do.
Hack Number 2 – Commit to learning all you can about personal finances. There are so many tools (books, courses, podcasts, and blogs) at your fingertips – many of them are free or extremely affordable – even if you’re on a tight budget.
Don’t overwhelm yourself, just choose one area to learn about at a time; be it saving, investing, debt reduction, etc.
Remember, you won’t be an expert immediately. You learn and get better by taking action – then reviewing both the good choices and the mistakes you’ve made.
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Mindset #2 – You’re always worried about money
Worrying about money sucks.
I know all about money worry. I used to live in a state of financial anxiety – getting by pay-check to pay-check, worrying about bills, rent, and the basics until I took charge of my family’s financial destiny.
An anxious money mindset is a problem – it reveals you don’t feel in control of your financial situation. When you don’t have enough money, it’s constantly on your mind and those thoughts are distracting, depressing and exhausting.
Money worries can impact many areas of your life – relationships, work, and physical health – it’s a pretty damn destructive mindset.
Hack Number 3 – No matter how bad the situation might seem, it’s time to start turning your ship around. You can start by creating a plan for your money that will guarantee your future money success, no matter where you’re starting from. You’ve got this!
Money Mindset Problem #3 – You do a lot of negative self-talk about money
Is negative self talk about money robbing you of a financially free future?
Helping people get their finances under control, I often see negative self-talk coming through in the way they speak about money.
And yes, just like the money worries, I was once speaking negatively about money all the time too.
Ever catch yourself thinking thoughts like –
- I’m terrible with money
- I can never get ahead! It’s always 2 steps forward and 10 steps back
- I can’t earn more than I do now
- Money is so hard to get
- Argh, I’ve made so many money mistakes – my finances are a lost cause!
- What’s the point in trying, I’m in a money mess
- Investing isn’t for someone like me; I don’t have the money or the ‘smarts’ for investing
Having a glass half full attitude about your finances isn’t helping you get on the path to wealth.
Hack Number 4 – Each time you find yourself thinking something negative about money, stop and replace the negative thought with a positive affirmation.
Check out this list of 23 Money Affirmations and pick a few that resonate with you. Repeat them in your mind or better, out loud, when you feel those negative thoughts bubbling up.
The uncomfortable truth is that our mind is just as important, if not more, than the amount of money you make. When it comes to growing your wealth, retaining money, and securing the lifestyle that you dream about, your mind is key.
As you can see from this short list, there are some destructive thoughts that you have when it comes to money. Turn them around and you will be surprised at how quickly your outcomes change.
Remember, your thoughts lead to your feelings, which lead to your actions, which lead to your outcomes. T. Harv Eker taught me that, and damn he is right.
Do any of these money mindsets sound familiar to you? Let me know the hack that you are going to start using from today in the comments.