Are you one of those people who finds it almost impossible to save money? Maybe you live from one paycheck to the next and struggle to pay your bills. Or you’re chasing your tail trying to get your credit card balance down. 

No matter how hard you try, you don’t seem to be able to get ahead. Maybe it’s time to see if your subconscious is sabotaging all your best efforts. Your money mindset could be making you your own worst enemy.

What Is Your Money Mindset?

Back in your childhood, you were given powerful lessons about money, success, and wealth. Maybe you come from a family where money was scarce or where money was seen as something shallow or even immoral. Were you told that ‘money doesn’t grow on trees’ or ‘money is the root of all evil’? Was money a subject for worry or anxiety?

Whatever lessons you absorbed as a child are lodged deep in your subconscious mind and form the basis for your money mindset. Chances are those beliefs are no longer serving you.

How Do You Work Out Your Money Mindset?  

You can start to bring your money mindset out of the shadows by asking yourself what you believe to be real about wealth, money, and success. 

How easy do you think it is to become wealthy? 

Plenty of people believe that success is something that happens to a lucky few or that you have to work hard to get anywhere. Maybe money doesn’t come easily is one of your core beliefs. 

Maybe you were taught that money could make your life better. Perhaps you think that if you can get that promotion or buy that big car, then you would be happy, and everything would be alright. This belief can set you up for perpetual disappointment, as the happiness goalposts keep moving. 

Up the other end of the spectrum, maybe you believe that money doesn’t matter. Are you passionate about your work? Perhaps you work in one of the helping professions or for a not for profit. Maybe you see a desire to do good as incompatible with being wealthy.

How Do You Change Your Money Mindset?

A useful way to start to change your money mindset is to do a quick brainstorming exercise by quickly writing down all your assumptions about money, spending, debt, being rich, being poor, investing, and success. 

Once you have uncovered your deepest beliefs about money, you can start to change those not serving you. Challenge those beliefs by seeing if they stand up to scrutiny. 

Proven Ways Your Self-Worth Impacts Your Net Worth

How do you feel about money? Is it something that’s “hard-earned” but easy to spend? Do you believe you’ll be wealthy, or is wealth something for lucky people? Studies have shown that you can grow your net worth even if you earn an average salary. And the big difference between those who are relatively wealthy and those who are just getting by is something that’s well within your control: self-esteem.

Rich people have high self-esteem 

One thing wealthy people have in common is that they don’t worry too much about whether they deserve their money or not. They have a healthy sense of self-worth, they believe in themselves, and they expect to make money quickly. 

You can grow your self-esteem right now by changing your attitude towards yourself. 

Accept compliments, don’t bat them away. 

Think of all the good things you contribute to the world.

Start your gratitude practice by thinking about something you’re proud of about yourself. 

Step into your light and assert your worth. 

Just do it 

Learn to feel the fear and do it anyway.  Know your money fears or blocks and push through them to get ahead. Not many people enjoy asking for a pay rise or negotiating a better contract. But if you don’t do those things that make you feel uncomfortable, you start to believe that you can’t, and your self-worth plummets. 

The nice thing about being brave and taking a risk is that every time those risks pay off, you get a boost to your self-esteem, and it won’t be so hard next time. And when it comes to money, your bank balance and your self-worth can grow in tandem!

Mind Your Language 

It’s easy to get stuck in a negative language vibe. Do you complain about work and how hard it is to get ahead? Do you grouse whenever the bills arrive? Are you maintaining a narrative of scarcity or abundance? 

Are you ready to step up and change your subconscious beliefs about money? So many people are held back by their subconscious beliefs about money, work, and deserving. 

Do you need a money mindset adjustment

Do a quick check of your money mindset. Do you think that it’s hard to get rich? Are wealthy people ‘just lucky’? Maybe you can’t see a way out of living from one paycheck to the next. Perhaps you dream of ‘one day’ clearing all the bills and being debt-free. 

The good news is that your mindset can be changed.

Focus on Growth 

Abundance means growth. And growth comes from continually learning and expanding your experience. Say yes to opportunities to learn new skills, develop a curious attitude, ask questions, and dig to find the answers. 

Focus on What is Working Out 

It’s easy to get distracted by the things that are not working in your life. But do you ever take the time to notice and celebrate what is going right? Cultivating an optimistic perspective has been shown to lead to a happier, even longer life. 

Make Your Abundance Affirmations 

Studies have shown that using positive affirmations can have a demonstrable effect on stress levels and cognitive skills. Affirmations that are meaningful for you can help your subconscious move from anxiety and scarcity to confident abundance. 

Change your Perspective 

The first thing to do is to switch up your perspective on wealth. Look around and see where your life is already abundant. Stop looking at what you don’t have (yet!) and be grateful for the good things in your life. By acknowledging where you are currently wealthy, you can change your expectations and look forward to future wealth. 

Check Your Assumptions 

Look at your money self-talk.  Does thinking about money make you feel anxious? Do you talk about just getting by or living from one paycheck to the next? Maybe you think money is indeed the root of all evil and that somehow being wealthy is wrong or unfair. 

Reset your money beliefs by thinking positively about money. 

How can having more money improve your life? Will it mean you can travel more or pursue your creative goals? If you think of money as freedom or a way to build a better life for you and your family, you can start to feel and think like a rich person. 

Use Technology to Reprogram Your Mindset 

There are many apps for your computer or smartphone to help you break down those old negative money beliefs. 

You might find podcasts helpful or meditations. Some apps use neurolinguistic programming techniques to rewrite your brain’s wealth script literally. 

Be Generous 

One of the most prevalent negative beliefs about money is that rich people are mean. But a sure way to get money flowing into your life is to be generous. 

You can fire up a positive money mindset by sharing what you have in the expectation that more is coming. Reject scarcity and embrace money positivity by donating money to a good cause or buying little treats or gifts for your loved ones and yourself. Make it clear to the Universe that you are ready to receive abundance and to share it. 

Learn to Practice Gratitude 

Switching from a grousing, victim-based mindset to one of gratitude is probably one of the most powerful things you can do to step into an abundant life. You can choose to see what you have in your life. Look for the bad things, and you’ll find them, no matter how rich you are. Look for the good things, and you will always feel blessed. 

Write down all the good things in your life right now. 

Everything from being able to put food on the table to the unquestioning love of your pet. If you’re having trouble, start by being grateful for a new day and for your capacity to change.

Be Open to Possibilities 

An abundant mindset expects and is on the alert for opportunities. It’s easy to get focused on the here and now but make it part of your day to let your attention expand. Find a quiet spot and let your mind wander. You’ll be surprised at how many ideas and possibilities you’ll notice.

Take control of your life

A money mindset is imperative to you achieving your goals in life and, well, being able to live a good life.  A life that you and frankly all of us deserve to live.  You are not here to suffer but to thrive.  Your life is in your hands.

Refer back to this information daily if you have to until you feel your attitude towards money has changed.  You can make notes on your phone or sticky notes to put on your mirror or in your car.  Wherever you will be able to have them reminding you of the strategies you’ve read here to help you overcome your mental issues with money.  

There are many other tools and strategies that you can use to help you achieve a positive money mindset, so don’t stop with only these in this article.  Use this information as a grounding or starting point to change your mindset and improve your life.

Keep at it.  Make it a daily routine for your life.  If you set your mind to overcoming your emotional feelings and thoughts about money, your money mindset will change.  It will change for the better.

And as it changes, your life will change as well.  And it will be for the better.  

Julie Fairhurst
Author, Women Like Me
Women’s Coach
Real Estate Agent 

A real estate agent for over 20 years, author of multiple books including her most recent series, Women Like Me and Coach, Julie has been inspiring women for years. Sharing her own entrepreneurial journey, her passion for women’s issues, and drive to help women be the best version of themselves through guidance, support and encouragement, Julie contributes to Shared Stories and our Community on a variety of topics from entrepreneurship to life balance. She resides in beautiful British Columbia, Canada with her husband.