How To Change My Mindset About Money

How can I change my beliefs and mindset about money?

If you’re wondering how to change your mindset about money, you’re already on the right track because the first step is the desire to change.

Written By Tiffany Woodfield, Financial Coach, TEP, CRPC®, CIM®

The first step to changing your beliefs about money is acknowledging the need to change.

You need to want to change, and then you need to take action and be committed to making this change happen.  

It’s common to start feeling like a victim and telling yourself you can’t have more money. You may create storylines in your head about why you can’t have money and play the same internal dialogue over and over. 

“It’s so hard for me. I’ll never have money; everyone else is so lucky; I had a poor upbringing, my husband left me, I’m a single parent and so forth.” 

We all have a story. 

Yes, yours may differ, and I may seem “luckier” to you. But we have the power to change our future and leave behind the past. We can decide to be accountable for our actions now. We can assess whether a particular story isn’t serving us anymore. 

Questions to Ask Yourself to Be Accountable:

Whenever you feel like you are in a negative money mindset, comparing, judging or feeling sorry for yourself, ask yourself questions starting with “How” or “What?”  

For example:

HOW

How can I afford this in the future? 

How can I choose powerfully? 

How can I make a change in my life?

WHAT

What is important to me? 

What am I grateful for? 

What can I do to change?  

Be curious and take action to make yourself feel in control of your life.

Slowly and surely, you will see a difference. 

Are any of your beliefs holding you back in life?

Take a look and see.

Then, acknowledge the beliefs that aren’t helping you and come up with a set of new beliefs that are logical, believable, and helpful. You need to replace one set of negative or unhelpful beliefs with more empowering and helpful ideas.

How do I get rid of my negative money mindset?

What story do you believe about money? 

Your money story is what you tell yourself whenever you feel you can’t afford to do something or think “must be nice” when someone else is doing something you feel you can’t.  

Shakespeare’s proverb from “The Merry Wives of Windsor” still rings true today: “The world is your oyster, but you must use a sword to open it.”  You need to take the opportunities that life has to offer.

You need to decide to be brave.

Remind yourself that nobody promised you that life would be easy. But it is your life; you can choose what to do with it. 

To eliminate your negative money mindset, you must start taking positive actions that break you out of your current negative thought pattern. You can change your beliefs simply by taking action and seeing different results. 

You also need to take the time to question all the thoughts you have about money and see if they’re helpful or unhelpful.

What is an unhealthy money mindset?

An unhealthy money mindset is one where your relationship with money does not align with your desires and values.  

Below are some examples of the most common unhealthy money mindsets I’ve encountered. You’ll run into these negative money mindsets all the time.

Lack Mentality

This money mindset is when you constantly feel like you don’t have enough. You are often heard saying, “I can’t afford ……… this or that.”

“Don’t Talk about Money” Mindset

The “Don’t Talk about Money” mindset is when you cannot talk about money with anyone. You subconsciously fear the word “money” so you don’t discuss succession planning, wealth management, or estate planning with your family.

Openly Disregard Money and People with Money

This mindset directly shows how you view money. You see it as bad and that people with money are evil.

Avoidance of Education of Finances

This money mindset is where you do not pursue opportunities to learn how to manage your money or take advantage of opportunities where you could earn more because of a money block. You usually let your partner run the finances and say to yourself and others, “I’m not good with money.”

Overspend 

This money mindset is when you continually max out your credit cards and do not open statements. You spend more than you make and avoid thinking about the consequences.

Underspend

You cannot use your money to enjoy life because you feel guilty and think that having money is somehow wrong. You think that if you have money, someone else doesn’t, so you don’t enjoy your money. You don’t use it to create positive experiences or invest in things you like because you feel guilty. You may also be afraid that the money will disappear, so you spend it with excessive care.

Extremely Frugal

This money mindset highlights that you think there is a limited amount of money, and you need to hold it tightly, or it will disappear. This money mindset is just a more extreme version of the underspender. 

Use Money to Feed an Insecurity 

You do everything you can to accumulate more money, hoping this will fill your need to feel like you are enough instead of doing the internal work on why you need money to feel powerful. Remember, money is just the currency of exchange, and you will never have enough to fill any void.

Judgement and Comparison

When we judge others, it is a direct reflection of what we think of ourselves. So it is like holding up a mirror. You may think, “Well, I judge them for being lavish, and I am not lavish. So how is this a mirror?”

The mirror isn’t about whether you’re the same as them. The mirror is reflecting the judgement. Your judgement of their “lavish” behaviour shows that you will not allow yourself to be lavish.

You judge yourself for any “lavish” desires and don’t let yourself have them. When you think of doing something that you would love to do but consider lavish, you judge yourself. 

Head in the Sand

This money mindset is where you refuse to budget and look at what you spend or where your money goes. Budgeting is a very healthy exercise and empowers you to make intelligent decisions.  

Changing a Negative Money Mindset

For any of these constrictive negative money mindsets, it’s helpful to change your beliefs.

Cultivate the belief that money flows and what you give away or spend will come back. Start to believe that there is more than enough money in the world. 

If you think about it logically, you’ll realize it’s true.

How much money is in the economy right now? Is that enough? Next, when have you spent money and found that more money flowed to you afterwards?

However, if you overspend, you may need to examine if you feel guilty about having money. Do you try to get rid of the money as fast as you get it because you feel that having money is wrong?

Quick Video: 3 Steps to Manifest Money (Or Anything Else)

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Why is it important to have a positive mindset about money?

Your perception creates your reality.

In this way, you’re shutting the door to abundance and closing down any opportunities to create financial freedom by having a negative money mindset. You have the doors shut, so no opportunities come knocking. 

Do you remember trick or treating? 

Did you ever come across a dark house with no decorations or lights? You didn’t feel welcome, and your parents likely told you not to go there. 

On the other hand, if you saw a house with a light on and the curtains open, you went there. They were open to receive you. 

At Halloween, kids go to the homes that welcome them. 

The doors open, and someone says, “Wow, great costume!” Their faces light up to greet the trick-or-treaters. I returned to the houses that made me feel the magic of Halloween. 

My point with this story is that energy flows to where it will be received. Just like kids flow to the houses covered in Halloween decorations and have a welcoming presence, money flows to those open to receiving it and welcoming it into their lives and bank accounts!

A positive mindset about money means you open the door to letting energy in.

The universe is energy, and what you put out to the world is what you get back. When you are positive in other areas of your life, it also flows into wealth.  

Can improving my money mindset help me become wealthier?

Improving your money mindset will 100% make you wealthier in all areas of your life.

Acknowledging your current money mindset, determining what brings you joy, being conscious of how you hold yourself back and taking action every day will transform your life. 

Focus on what brings you joy and find a way to serve others. Remember, this is your life and your journey.  

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