money mindset

Like it or not, the way you view money today is based on a series of assumptions and deeply held beliefs that you’ve had for years. But what if you no longer want to see money or your finances as you always have?

What if you want to completely change your outlook on your income, spending, and ability to build wealth?

Not enough people challenge their own money mindset, so they miss out on the opportunity to improve their financial situation.

You are not one of those people. 

That’s why you’re here!

You realize that your mindset is a powerful thing. 

It isn’t only a starting point. It governs your whole thought process on important matters from career choices to politics and (of course) money. The way we budget, the way we spend, all the investments we make, and the credit cards we own. Every aspect of our approach to money has one thing in common – that’s our money mindset. 

Your money mindset is responsible for your current financial situation. How you view money and how much you prioritize personal finance are big pieces of our money mindset.

If you struggle financially, then it may be time to look at your assumptions about money and see what could be holding you back from achieving your financial goals.

But what if you don’t know where to begin? What if you’ve been thinking this way for a long time. In this article you’ll learn:

  1. The difference between a scarcity vs. abundance mindset
  2. Why mindset matters
  3. Tips to help you achieve a positive money mindset
  4. How to rewrite the negative money thoughts that enter your mind

What are you waiting for? Let’s dive in!

Money Mindset: Scarcity VS Abundance 

A scarcity mindset is the belief that there will never be enough of something. When applied to money, a scarcity mindset can manifest itself in several ways. A scarcity money mindset believes:

  • I’ll never make enough money.
  • There is not enough money in the world for me.
  • I’ll always struggle financially.
  • I have to buy this item now because I’ll never be able to afford this in the future.

An abundance mindset is the complete opposite. This mindset believes that there is enough of everything, for everyone. An abundance money mindset believes:

  • There’s more than enough money in the world for me.
  • I can buy this item later because money will come to me.
  • There will always be enough money to meet my goals.

So how do you replace a scarcity mindset with an abundance mindset when it comes to your money?

It all comes down to the way we think and react to our money. Rewriting this thought process will take time. But doesn’t it make sense that this would take time?

Chances are you’ve been thinking that money is scarce for years on end. This likely stems from your childhood or how your family viewed money. It’s natural to carry over these beliefs into our own adult life. 

However, you are the gatekeeper to your mindset. And you can shift your mindset at any time. 

Money Mindset Matters

How you look at money today will impact your future!

One setback many of us reach is regret over not doing enough when we were younger. That regret feels like a missed opportunity that will plague us forever. However, what it should do is wake us up to today. 

If we don’t seize upon our current opportunities to invest in the future, we have learned nothing from past mistakes. We continue to make them today.

It’s important to realize that while we may not have as much money in the bank as we could have, we need to start investing now to impact the future positively.

That could be retirement or for future generations!

The biggest mistake would be to give up and always feel like you missed the boat. It’s never too late to change your money mindset and start building your wealth with purpose and intentionality. 

Your money mindset matters…today, tomorrow, and years from now. So let’s start NOW and work to change our outlook on money.

8 Tips To Shift Your Money Mindset

It’s self-determination, drive, and the right mental approach to money that drives even the most economically challenged to overcome odds and become billionaires.

Chances are, you are somewhere in between the two extremes, but your mindset can drive you forward or drag you back.

Here are 8 helpful tips to help guide your money mindset in the right direction! 

1. Know what you want money for.

This is such a simple question, yet it’s difficult to answer if you have the wrong money mindset. You might just have a roadblock keeping you from fully understanding the potential of a large sum of money.

  • What would you do if $100,000 landed in your lap right now?
  • How would you use it?

The thing that separates people who have money from people who don’t is often as simple as answering this question. The key is in understanding that whatever your answer is, you don’t need $100,000 to start doing it. 

You can begin today simply by taking control of the direction your money flows.

In other words, it’s time to become fiscally responsible and tell your money where to go before it gets away from you. 

If you live paycheck to paycheck and watch all of your money go to bills, the first step to changing your money mindset is realizing that you have an obligation to dictate your finances. That goes for everything from debt management to investment strategies!

2. Dream about your abundance.

Imagine you had more than enough money to live off. What would your dream life look like? If you always had abundance, what would you do with that financial abundance?

Would you leave the job you hate or start your own business?
Would you book 3 luxurious vacations every year?

Or maybe you would invest and build your wealth as quickly as possible so that you could retire 5 years sooner.

Give yourself permission to dream about what abundance would look like for you.

If you had “enough” money for you, what would you do each day? What type of clothes would you wear? Which charities would you support? Where would you travel? How would you travel? Would you only fly first class?

Dreaming about the good that money can do in your life (and others) can help you transition into an abundance mindset. 

Sit down with a blank piece of paper and answer these questions. You might feel silly dreaming so big, but what harm can it do? As you’re dreaming of abundance, notice which areas of your life are already abundant as well.

3. Get focused on your budget.

Avoidance is probably the number one reason why people get comfortable with debt and living paycheck to paycheck. Your mindset may have you thinking your situation can’t be helped. You may tell yourself that debt is normal or that for whatever reason you can’t make enough money. 

For whatever reason, you are just stuck.

If you feel stuck, there are plenty of good reasons why that is! One big reason is that it is entirely too easy to go about your business and never look at your personal finances.

Spending money is easy… too easy.

Everything is by subscription now, which means that you spend more in the long run and have actual ownership of much less. It also means that automated payments and direct deposits can take on a life of their own. 

It’s so easy to adopt the mindset that you can’t control your budget. But you can. You just have to look at it and start making decisions you’ve been avoiding for a long time.

Financial language can also be misleading. The financial industry is highly regulated, so you may feel like you need a law degree to understand economics. You don’t. Money is easy to understand, and budgeting is as simple as basic arithmetic. 

Take what you earn, subtract what you owe, and hopefully the difference is not a negative number. If it is, it’s no big deal… Just take the steps necessary to change that.

Every budget can budge. You just find ways to spend less or to make more until you can balance it out.

Need some extra help? Take a look at this post to give you some guidance on 25 things to cut from your budget right away

4. Learn more about money and finance.

If you want to live in a world where more money comes to you, then it’s time to learn more about money. Just like you would learn about healthy food if you want to adopt a healthy diet, spend time each day learning about money.

In today’s world, there are many ways to learn about personal finance. No matter how you choose to learn, there’s an option you’ll likely love! Below are 4 resources to help you understand money and finances better. The more you learn, the more confident you will become.

Inspired Budget Podcast  – Get inspired to change the way you view money by listening to one (or more) podcast episodes. Love hearing stories of people who are winning with money? Check out these guest interviews!

Get Good With Money by Tiffany Aliche – This book will walk you through how to budget all the way to leaving a legacy for your family. It’s the perfect book to cover the money topics that matter most. Don’t love reading books? Sign up for Audible and listen to books instead. Click here to get a month for free.

Take A Course On Investing – Investing doesn’t have to be complicated. But if you’ve never tried investing in the stock market before, it can be intimidating. This low-cost course will tell you everything you need to know about investing in index funds.

5. Avoid negative comparison.

Comparison is a major source behind many people’s money mindset. While comparison can be extremely harmful, it can also motivate you to reach for your dreams. Let’s take a look at a situation where negative comparison can harm your money mindset.

Imagine that you’re sitting on your sofa scrolling through Instagram. You see a friend you knew from high school who is taking yet another family vacation. “How can she afford these seasonal vacations?!” you wonder.

Immediately comparison sets in. Your mind moves to what you aren’t doing: taking vacations. As you sit there looking through her beach vacay pics, you start listing the reasons why you can’t take vacations. You’re too busy, too broke, and your kids would fight the entire time.

Sound familiar? This simple comparison leaves you feeling defeated and like you don’t have enough…money or time.

Now let’s imagine that you’re scrolling past the same exact vacation pictures. This time, you see what your old high school friend has been able to accomplish. Just as negative comparison starts to close in on your mind, you remind yourself that this is just a reminder of what is possible.

You too can have seasonal vacations! You know you can replicate what you’re seeing because it’s already been done! Instead of feeling defeated, you feel inspired to reach those same goals!

See how comparison can harm or inspire you? The good news is that you can choose how you will respond.

6. Face your financial fears head on.

A negative money mindset usually stems from fear.

Fear that you won’t be able to achieve your goals.

Fear that you’ll run out of money.

Dealing with fear is normal (you are human after all). In fact, it’s even normal to have a physical reaction to fear. According to Northwestern Medicine, as soon as you recognize fear, your body releases stress hormones. Essentially, your body is in fight or flight mode.

Fear is your body’s way of keeping you safe. However, what if what you’re afraid of is something that can ultimately benefit you?

If you’re battling a scarcity money mindset that you’ve had for years, then it’s normal to encounter fear as you change the way you view your finances. And while fear can help keep you safe, sometimes we make the most progress when we step outside of our comfort zones.

At the end of this article we will discuss how to rewrite our thoughts…especially the ones created out of fear. Just know that it’s okay to face your fear head on!

7. Practice gratitude daily.

The daily practice of gratitude is one of the easiest ways to start your journey toward a positive money mindset. 

The more we see the things in life that we are grateful for, the more abundance we recognize in our own life! Each morning (or each night), write down 3 things you’re grateful for. You can jot them down in your phone or use a journal that you keep by your bedside table. 

Having trouble finding something you’re grateful for? Don’t overthink it! Gratitude can come in the smallest things. A warm cup of coffee, pretty weather, and being able to make your mortgage payment easily can all be things to be grateful for.

Practicing gratitude trains your brain to find the good in every day. This helps  you lead to a positive mindset about money and your finances as well.

8. Be intentional with your money.

When it comes to money, there’s one truth we have to accept: we likey can’t have everything we want. However, sometimes we find that we are spending money on things we don’t actually want. In fact, sometimes we are spending hundreds each month of subscriptions, services, and bills that don’t bring us joy.

When you are intentional with the money you are spending, you’re willing to spend money on what’s most important to you and your family.

If travel is important, then save several hundred dollars each month for your upcoming trip. Don’t have room in your budget for those savings? That’s okay! It’s time to cut out what isn’t important for you.

Think of it this way: spend money on what matters most and cut out the rest.

For you, this might look like canceling Spotify, a few more subscriptions, and switching to a cheaper cell phone plan like Mint Mobile. 

When you’re intentional about how you’re spending the money you earn, you might be surprised to learn that you actually do have enough!

Rewrite Your Money Thoughts

You’ve had money thoughts and beliefs for years. But if these thoughts are no longer serving you, then it’s time to completely rewrite these thoughts.

This practice takes time, and the more you practice, the easier it will become.

When a scarcity money thought enters your mind, ask yourself these 5 questions:

  1. Is this money thought true? 
  2. How do you feel or react when you believe this money thought?
  3. How do you treat yourself when you believe this?
  4. What if you didn’t have this money thought? How would you feel?
  5. How can you reframe this thought in a positive way?

When you’re willing to rewrite the money thoughts that enter your mind, you’ll be one step closer to creating a money mindset that brings you joy.

Money Mindset: Final Thoughts

If you feel like you are being prevented from having wealth or financial security, challenge yourself to look at your own money mindset.

Is it holding you back?

Take a look at personal finance from a different angle and let it open up new opportunities for success today!