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Almost everyone has at least a few money habits that interfere with reaching financial goals. Interestingly, if we are truly honest with ourselves, we probably know exactly what those habits are. Once recognized, the next step is to change those undesirable habits so we can reach our financial goals and create the life we want.
Many money habits are the simply result of childhood influences. Without even realizing it, we can be operating entirely from someone else’s money beliefs. Beliefs often stem from long ago relatives since they are passed down from one generation to the next, frequently unspoken. This seems especially crazy for women since we left the room when money was discussed as recently as fifty years ago! Those very money beliefs are what drive our money habits.
Money mindsets can also be the result of an experience that happened earlier in life but beyond early childhood. The outcome from an experience can be a positive or a negative mindset. Maybe you saw that the people in your community who owned their own business were more successful than those who didn’t, or vice versa. This may have led you to avoid working for someone else and influenced the pursuit of owning your own successful business. Or it could have happened the other way around leading you to a corporate career.
Many people have experienced financing that first car loan at a high interest rate, and then the subsequent feeling of it taking an entire lifetime just to pay off the debt. The result of avoiding high interest debt, then, is a positive mindset shift due to a negative experience. These are all examples of how money experiences can have a positive effect on subsequent money habits.
On the other hand, if you suddenly lost your first significant job, you may always be fearful that it will happen again; this may lead you to find it difficult to feel financially secure. You may always feel as though your financial bottom is about to drop out at any moment.
Or maybe you decided to put all of your savings into a hot stock tip that you got at a cocktail party only to see that stock lose 70% of its value within three months. As a result, it may be difficult for you to ever invest in the stock market again. This fear can remain, even though you know that you can invest in the stock market in a more logical way.
Take a good look at your money mindset. The best place to start is with your money habits, especially the ones that cause trouble. Decide whether your mindset is your own, and whether it supports what you truly want in your life. A financially empowered woman knows that she can choose a healthy money mindset that will allow her to create the life she wants while on the journey to attaining her financial goals.
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