Financial independence means different things to different people. For some it means being able to meet one’s financial needs without assistance from parents or others. For others it means being debt-free and being able to cover living expenses without incurring debt. For others still, financial independence means having enough savings and investments to maintain one’s lifestyle in the future.
Whatever financial independence means to you, the first step to attaining it is first changing your mindset about money.
What is a Money Mindset?
Your money mindset is a set of your beliefs and attitudes about money. We seldom think about it, but we all have a money mindset. And it is this mindset that drives our financial behaviour which in turn shapes our financial situation.
It all started when you were a child. As a child is developing and finding their way in the world, like a sponge, they absorb everything in their environment as fact and with no question. This means what you grew up hearing from the adults in your life such as parents, relatives, teachers etc your brain recorded it as truth. This recorded information in your brain then shapes your beliefs about life. Your beliefs then become your values which influence your behaviour and how you respond to the world.
Say, for example, you grew up hearing the adults around you time and again say things like “rich people are evil/corrupt”. Perhaps the Bible verse, Matthew 19:24 “And again I say unto you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God”. These statements became imprinted in your brain and you ultimately developed a belief that being rich is bad and should be avoided.
Now, as an adult you are finding yourself struggling financially. Of course, you don’t want to be struggling but try as you might you always seem to find yourself in the same position of struggle. You believe a new job or the promotion you just got will ease the financial pain except the financial relief never lasts long. Within a year, though, you seem to be back to your financial struggle. This is simply a result of your money mindset doing its job by ensuring your life reflects your deep-rooted beliefs.
Your Money Mindset (Subconscious) is Sooo Powerful
Though you don’t want this life of financial struggle and think you want financial independence, the truth is your money beliefs are driving your financial behaviour and until you change them you will always revert to your beliefs. Essentially, against your best efforts, you are the one sabotaging yourself.
Most of us look to something outside of us for our financial situations. We say “If my employer paid me enough I would be financially ok”, “If I had gotten that promotion I would finally afford to save”, “The Government is failing us with this poor economy/no employment/etc”. Though these statements could have some truth to them clinging on to them does us no good because;
- We cannot control or change the external factors,
- We are missing an opportunity to improve our lives by starting within ourselves.
External factors are not fully responsible for where we are. Our mindset is on the driver’s seat and even if external factors were perfect our subconscious (money mindset) would quickly find a way to sabotage our success so we can return to the comfortable land of our beliefs. We have heard of how some lottery winners lose their millions within a few years thus going back to being broke. This is because their new reality is in conflict with their money mindset and thus they self-sabotage so they can return to a life in line with their money mindset.
First Step to Financial Independence
We all have money beliefs and attitudes which influence our relationship with money and consequently our financial situation. Our daily reaction to and our behaviour towards financial matters give us a hint to what these beliefs are but as these are happening at a subconscious level it may not always be easy to pick up.
If you start paying attention to your responses though, you will learn a little bit about yourself and you can successfully start changing your thought patterns and eventually your beliefs and attitudes will change and align with your financial intentions. Before you know it, you won’t be sabotaging your efforts such as saving one month then spending it all next month; getting into unnecessary debt; or ‘itching’ to spend your money just because it is there. In time, you will be well on your way to attaining your version of financial independence.
Lima Consulting can assist you with figuring out your money mindset. Our Beliefs and Attitudes Assessment Tools help clients learn more about themselves as the first step to our financial planning approach. Contact us today to unveil your money mindset, learn how you can shift it so you stay on the path to attaining financial independence.