Your Money Mindset

Everyone has their mindset – their outlook, their attitude. And your mindset changes how you view everything – your career, your business, your relationships, and yes, your finances.

If you change your mindset, you change your life. The past 12 months I have been studying how people get results in life, people like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, who are very successful people. To understand their success, I’ve been working with Matt, a consultant of Bob Proctor’s, who has over 50 years of experience working with the mind. I am now applying what I’ve learnt to improve how we help our clients with their money.

When your finances aren’t where you’d like, it’s easy to focus on the negatives. The mistakes you’ve made, how much you don’t have, your debt, or your lack of savings. This focus on negativity impacts your mindset and your motivation. If you find yourself living pay-to-pay, you likely have a mindset revolving around never having enough money to save. This type of mindset only serves to exacerbate your problems.

So, how can you shift your mindset to focus on the positive, and move in the direction you want, with increased motivation? Well, there are three keys to shifting your money mindset.

1. Focus on the flip side of your negative thoughts. Think of times you have learnt lessons from your past mistakes that will help you succeed in the future. You have already taken the first step towards changing your mindset – after all, you’re reading this article, so you’re keen to learn how to change and improve your situation. You may not have it all now, but you won’t be broke forever, because you are going to create a plan, and put it to work.
2. Find your direction and formulate a plan. Your plan stems from your goals. If you do not have a plan for your money, then I can guarantee you will not be able to change your financial situation. Write down your financial goals, keep them big, and create a plan on how to reach these goals. Focus on your goals. This means changing how you think about your money. If you’ve ever said to yourself “I’ll never be able to afford that!” or despaired that you’ll never be as successful as your wealthy friends, then you are using a negative money script. What you think about affects how you feel, which shapes your actions, and eventually determines your results. It’s important to identify any negative money scripts so you can shift them into positive lines, that will shape your financial life for the better.
3. Stop spending and comparing. It’s easy to compare your financial situation to the situation of those around you. This can create feelings of envy and despair about the state of our finances. Consider your personal financial goals, and don’t frame your life in the view of others. You may see someone driving a supercar and feel jealous, but they may be just barely scraping together the money to make payments every month. As you compare your situation to theirs, it shifts your mindset from being appreciative of what you have, to being insecure about what others have.

Emotional spending is a huge issue in many people’s lives, because we are driven by our emotions, which depend on what’s happening in our lives. If life isn’t going according to plan, then we feel powerless, and turn to unnecessary spending to make things right. Money represents power, so its no surprise that many use it to ease their pain and regain a sense of control over their life. Don’t let this happen to you.

As you consider changes to your finances, start by examining your mindset. You may start to see that you are sabotaging yourself even while planning for your financial future. So stop worrying about the negative, and shift your focus to fulfilling your potential. Trust yourself and what you’re capable of, believe that you can, and believe me you will.

If you’re ready to get financially fit and develop your mindset, check out our Wealth Gym program that tackles your money head on. Just like weekly trips to the gym, you get your own personal trainer, to keep your finances in check and grow your wealth. You have what it takes to become financially fit, and the Wealth Gym is what gets you there. Time to get fit?

For more about Bob Proctor, click here.

For details on our consultant, Matt, click here.

7Wealth Pty Ltd ABN 44 609 210 246, is an Authorised Representative of AMP Financial Planning Pty Limited ABN 89 051 208 327 Australian Financial Services Licence 232706 and Australian Credit Licence 232706
This blog contains information that is general in nature. It does not take into account the objectives, financial situation or needs of any particular person. You need to consider your financial situation and needs before making any decisions based on this information. If you decide to purchase or vary a financial product, your financial adviser, and other companies within the AMP Group may receive fees and other benefits. The fees will be a dollar amount and/ or a percentage of either the premium you pay or the value of your investment. Please contact us if you want more information.