What’s Your Money Conditioning?

And no… we are not talking about shampoo 😆

What assumptions and “givens” have you been raised to accept?

To be honest… a lot of money conditioning is negative.

I don’t make enough money. Other people are doing better than me. 😒

I don’t know enough about money. Other people know more than me. 😕

Investing in the stock market is the only way to grow my money. Losing money in the stock market is inevitable. 🤷

And my personal favorite… I’m never going to retire. I’ll just work until I die. Sometimes people love their jobs that much; sometimes they think they can never afford to.

I’ve suffered from lots of negative money conditioning. And I realized that I don’t want to go through life feeling bad about money- or about any other facet of life. Even if a situation I’m in is awful, I’d rather be optimistic or feel good about my chances, instead of being in a bad situation AND suffering emotionally at the same time 😉

Some people might not feel this way- which is awesome! I think it has to do with confidence, having a great support network, and more. And if you are one of the people who feel gratitude, happiness, and contentment when you think of money… I am happy for you, and proud of you 😊

But over half of people feel shame, anxiety, and anger when we think about our money situation. And that’s bad. Not just because of the emotional toll that takes- negative emotions can negatively affect our relationships, our careers, and our health 👫 👷🏼 🤒

Having negative emotions around money- and believing false myths- affects our money situation negatively, too. When we feel bad, we don’t act in healthy ways. Have you ever had any of these negative money thoughts- or known someone who has?

Negative Money Thought 1: Hopelessness. I already have so much debt, I’ll never be debt-free. 😩

Negative Money Thought 2: Helplessness. I don’t know enough about money. 😔

Negative Money Thought 3: Anxiety. I have no idea how to make my money situation better. 😖

Negative Money Thought 4: Fear. I’ll never get to where I want to be. 😳

And if you have any of these negative thoughts, have you ever had any of these reactions?

Common Reaction 1: Avoidance. I’ll just let my partner deal with things. I won’t check my bank account balance. I don’t know where all my money accounts are. 🤷

Common Reaction 2: Self-Sabotage. I’ll just spend more- it’ll make me feel better, and it doesn’t matter because things are already hopeless. 😒

Common Reaction 3: Anger, Blame, or Self-Blame. Perhaps you fight with your partner, or say nasty things to yourself or your partner. 😡

How do we get out of this vicious cycle?

Educate yourself. There are so, so many online resources on basic money mindset and basic money management. See if there are any community or free college classes that will teach you more. Many more financial companies are also offering free financial education, because they know that education is what people want nowadays 👩🏼‍🏫

Here’s a link to the classes offered by my company- and it really is free financial education. No sales pitch, ever; just ideas and knowledge. We’re going to educate our clients anyway, and it’s just as easy to educate all Americans at the same time 😊

Start small. Make a small change, and repeat that new behavior until you’re comfortable with it. Then create another small change. Rinse and repeat! 😄

Make a plan now. You can create a plan now, to be acted on later. Think of it as building a path first, and then later you will walk down the path. Come up with milestones: “When I make $X per year, I will act on _______ part of my financial plan.” “Once each child reaches X years of age, I will start putting 1% of my income into a college savings plan.” You are far more likely to reach a goal that you have thought about and planned for. 💸

What money conditioning ideas have you absorbed in your life? Is each thought a positive or negative one? And- a different question- is each thought true, or is it a myth- inaccurate- or incomplete? Examining these ideas can help reinforce the positive, true thoughts- and you can transform each negative or false thought into a belief about money that is true and helps you reach your goals 🏆

For each financial goal, you can make a three-step plan- educate yourself; make small changes; and make a plan to reach each goal 😊👍

Now That’s Smart Money 🧐