What’s Your Money Mindset? {Day 6 of 21 Days of Hope + Help for Your Money}

This is Day 6 of 21 Days of Hope + Help for Your Money, a series providing you encouragement and tips to start the year off on a note of hope. Catch up on previous posts here. For future posts, come back daily or subscribe to have them emailed directly to you.

“Your beliefs become your thoughts,
Your thoughts become your words,
Your words become your actions,
Your actions become your habits,
Your habits become your values,
Your values become your destiny.”
― Mahatma Gandhi

You may have heard the term “money mindset” tossed around a time or two. If not, your money mindset is the very thing that causes you to think the way you think and do the things you do when it comes to your finances.

It dictates your habits, behaviors, choices, and attitudes about money.

Your money mindset is primarily formed by how you grew up and what was (or wasn’t) modeled for you. You could hold the exact money mindset as you were exposed to or the exact opposite—especially if you grew up in an extreme setting.

You could have a healthy money mindset or a poor, unhealthy one. Your money mindset could reflect the reality of your situation or a distortion of it.

Holding beliefs like, “I’m just not good with money,” or “I’ll have this debt for the rest of my life,” flow from your money mindset.

Some common unhealthy mindsets are:

• Scarcity Mindset
  There’s never enough money. This can lead to unhealthy behaviors like hoarding money or becoming a workaholic.
• You Only Live Once (YOLO)
  The mindset that you should throw caution to the wind, because, after all, you do only live once. This can lead to irresponsible money choices.
• Everything Will Work Out
  The unrealistic belief that no matter what, things will just be okay. This leads to avoidance.
• This is Just How Things Are
  The mindset that you’re a victim of your circumstances and that things are beyond your control. This leads to giving up altogether.

Identifying your money mindset helps you be aware of and break free from incorrect or harmful thought patterns that affect your finances.

Action Step

Additional Reading
•  Common Money Mindsets That Hold You Back
•  Why It’s Important to Address Your Money Mindset
•  The Cognitive Biases That Lead to Bad Money Decisions

Go to Day 7

How has your money mindset affected your finances?