The pattern I keep seeing with money (after a decade of watching people)

After years of working with money and people, I’ve realised something.

I’ve seen everything.

The big spenders.

The extreme savers.

The generous ones.

The scared ones.

The ones who look wealthy.

And the ones who actually are.

Different incomes.

Different jobs.

Different lifestyles.

But the patterns repeat.

And the reason people make the money choices they do usually has very little to do with maths.

This really hit me a few years ago when I noticed something strange.

Two people could earn the same money.

Have the same expenses.

And get very different results.

One would feel calm and in control.

The other would feel stressed, behind and stuck.

Same numbers.

Very different outcomes.

The difference wasn’t intelligence.

It wasn’t effort.

It was their relationship with money.

Most of that relationship is formed early.

We absorb it as kids.

From what we saw.

From what we felt.

From the environment we grew up in.

Money might have meant stress.

Or safety.

Or control.

Or something not talked about at all.

By the time we’re teenagers, many habits are already locked in.

Then adulthood arrives… and we just keep playing the same pattern on repeat.

Different pay.

Same behaviour.

The hard truth?

Long-lasting change with money doesn’t come from a new budget, a new app, or a new strategy.

It comes from changing how you relate to money.

One quote I come back to often is this:

“Money is neutral. It simply reflects the relationship you have with it.”

Money doesn’t make people better or worse.

It just turns the volume up on what’s already there.

I think about money like a mirror.

If you feel unsafe, rushed, or on edge — money tends to feel tight.

If you feel calm, grounded and clear — money tends to behave better too.

Not because of magic.

But because your decisions change when your nervous system is calm.

That’s the real framework:

Awareness before action

Calm before control

Relationship before results

When people shift this part first, the practical stuff finally sticks.

And that’s when things start to feel easier… not heavier.

If this resonates and you’ve never really explored why you make the money choices you do, you’re not broken.

You’re human.

And this stuff can be learned.

If you’d like help unpacking your own patterns or want support creating healthier ones, just contact us with “MONEY” or SMS to 0483 937 777 and we’ll take it from there.

Talk soon

7Wealth Pty Ltd ABN 44609210246 is a Corporate Authorised Representatives and is authorised throughCobalt AdvisersPty Ltd ABN 64 628 654 099 who is an Australian Financial Services Licensee 512550. 7Wealth Pty Ltd is a Credit Representative ofAustralian Finance GroupLtd ABN 11 066 385 822 (AFG) Australian Credit Licence 389087.
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