Do you spend a lot of time thinking about money? As humans, we are often emotional creatures first and rational beings second. And our emotional relationship with money is no exception. The good news is, knowing what your emotional relationship with money is can help you transform it.
Check out these tips from online magazine Conscious Lifestyle to transform your money relationship into a positive one.
What does money mean to you?
The meaning of money goes beyond the fact it can pay your bills. Is money a means to an end, or does it have some other significance? Do you ‘bestow’ emotional attachments to your use of money? For example, do you feel annoyed when paying bills, or happy when you are buying a new item of clothing?
Money itself does not have the power of emotions; its power lies in the way using money makes you feel.
A good way to start building a more positive money mindset is to try and understand your subconscious feelings about money. Conscious Lifestyle suggests completing 12 sentences about money, to uncover the ‘unconscious reasons behind your decisions.’ For example,
‘People with money are…?’
‘I’d have more money if…?’
‘If I were rich I would…?’
Write down your answers, and start see what money beliefs or patterns might be holding you back.
How does other people’s wealth make you feel?
When you see someone who clearly has money, what are some thoughts you have? Do you find yourself being envious, or feeling inspired to do better with your money? For example, if you see someone driving down the road in a brand-new Ferrari, what do you think? Do you think ‘that’s a lovely car, I would love to own one someday’ or do you find yourself thinking something like ‘they’re just showing off, no-one needs an expensive car like that’?
If you are finding yourself more envious than inspired, try changing your thoughts to more positive ones, to help develop your abundance mindset. Even thinking something simple such as ‘I bet that costs a fortune in fuel’ is more negative than positive; try changing it to imagine how great it would be to take that car for a road trip.
What are your negative money beliefs?
‘I’m just not good with money’, ‘money doesn’t grow on trees’, ‘investing is only for the rich’. Are any negative money beliefs holding you back from taking a step toward financial well-being? Stop and think about why you feel this way, and whether your thoughts are in fact truthful.
Once you start to realise that most of these are just programmed thoughts, and not necessarily what you actually think, you can work on changing that mindset about wealth. Investing, for example, is not just for the rich; you could start off with saving $5 a week and watch your wealth grow. And instead of thinking you’re not good with money, why not remind yourself that you can learn and use knowledge about money every day?
Whatever your emotional attachment with money is, if it is holding you back from achieving the lifestyle you want, it may be time to review some of those limiting beliefs (and maybe get rid of them).
If you feel stuck in a debt cycle and finding it hard to be positive about creating wealth, perhaps a personal debt consolidation loan can help you. Talk to the team at CarMoney about your loan needs. Contact us on 0800 100 050, seven-days week between 9am and 5pm. We’re here to help.