Mind Over Money: Taking Control Of Your Financial Psychology

Introduction
The Link Between Thoughts, Feelings and Financial Behaviors
Common Unhealthy Attitudes Toward Money
How to Develop a Healthier Financial Psychology
Strategies to Program Your Mind For Financial Success
Bouncing Back from Financial Setbacks
Staying Motivated on Your Financial Journey
When to Consider Working with a Financial Therapist
Key Takeaways and Call-to-Action
Additional Resources on Financial Psychology
References

Introduction

Our relationship with money goes much deeper than just dollars and cents. The way we think and feel about finances drives our financial behaviors on a conscious and unconscious level. If money has ever been a source of stress, fear, or confusion for you, it likely stems from ingrained beliefs, thought patterns and emotions tied to finances that sabotage your best intentions.

The good news is that you can change this by adjusting your financial psychology. When you get your mindset aligned with your money goals, it becomes far easier to budget properly, save consistently, invest wisely, and alter spending habits as needed. Essentially, you take control of your money rather than letting it control you.

Why is this important? How you manage finances now impacts your entire future. Those carrying heavy debt into retirement risk lifestyle downgrades later. Under-savers won’t have enough to self-fund golden years. Overspenders fail to maximize potential.

This guide will walk through:

The powerful link between our thoughts/feelings and financial behaviors
Common unhealthy attitudes we adopt toward money
Steps to develop a healthier financial psychology
Proven strategies to reprogram your mind for success
How to stay motivated and bounce back from money setbacks
When to consider working with a financial therapist
Additional resources to continue expanding your money mindfulness

Let’s get started examining how you can leverage mind over money to create an abundant future!

The Link Between Thoughts, Feelings and Financial Behaviors

Behind nearly all financial behaviors lie complex webs of beliefs, attitudes and emotions related to money. Whether conscious or unconscious, this shapes habits and actions sometimes in ways we don’t even realize.

For example:

Carrying excessive credit card debt frequently correlates to underlying feelings and fears of not having enough.
Repeated overspending can indicate unhealthy beliefs that material goods equate joy and status.
Not saving often ties back to short-term scarcity rather than abundance mindsets.
Under-earning links to limiting beliefs about not deserving higher pay.

In many ways, how we think and feel drives what we do and don’t do with money. The three elements build upon one another:

Thoughts → Feelings → Behaviors

Our thoughts about money, which reflect conscious and subconscious beliefs plus assumptions, trigger associated feelings and emotions.
Those feelings inform our financial behaviors â€“ where we save, spend or scrimp.

Therefore, to permanently change financial behaviors and habits, we must first adjust underlying money psychology and unconscious belief patterns. Attempting to budget better or curb overspending sometimes fails because the root drivers remain unaddressed, which walks behavior back to status quo over time.

Common Unhealthy Attitudes Toward Money

There are several dangerous attitudes people often subconsciously adopt about finances fueling issues like getting into debt, self-sabotaging wealth potential, and chronically feeling financially insecure:

Scarcity and Lack Mindsets

Viewing life through a lens of limitation where you believe there is never enough manifests in ongoing money struggles as this idea repeats playing in your subconscious. Fears of lacking enough money or resources also drive tendencies to overspend, accumulate debt, cling to jobs we dislike rather than pursue dreams, and other self-defeating patterns.

Sense of Entitlement

Feeling you deserve certain luxuries or instant gratification of wants without the actual income or savings to support it often breeds out-of-control spending along with denial, blame or victim mindsets. The signs of entitlement thinking include:

Living beyond your means
Depending on credit rather than actual earnings
Secretly hoping for bailouts from family/friends
Becoming resentful or bitter toward wealthy peers

Judging Self-Worth by Net Worth

Tying self-esteem directly to your income levels, account balances or how you stack up to others financially leads to ongoing disappointment, feelings of unworthiness and low self-confidence. The reality stands that no single amount of money will ever be enough to feel good about yourself if operating from this mindset.

The key becomes recognizing these unhealthy thought patterns around money early before they spiral into greater self-sabotage. If left unaddressed, they often magnify over time.

How to Develop a Healthier Financial Psychology

Realigning your financial psychology involves:

1. Examining current money beliefs and attitudes

Start by deeply reflecting on the assumptions, narratives and beliefs you currently possess around finances - especially any limiting or negative ones. These provide clues revealing where issues potentially developed and which mind activity requires reworking.

Ask yourself introspective questions like:

What money messages did your parents or childhood environment implicitly model growing up?
How did those formative experiences impact your core development and money beliefs?
What deep-down assumptions do you carry subconsciously about finances, wealth building or rich people?
Do you view money itself as good or bad? Why?
Are financial issues a source of shame, anxiety or low self-confidence for you? Why?

Look for recurrent themes about lack, entitlement or tying self-worth to finances emerging.

2. Processing painful emotional events

Explore any significant emotional events related to money (old money traumas, family arguments over finances, major losses or even witnessing community members struggle with poverty) that may unconsciously drive current behaviors like overspending or under-saving.

Then actively process that historical financial pain so you begin managing money rationally rather than with knee-jerk emotion. Talk therapy can help tremendously if you get stuck while addressing old money wounds or grief.

3. Adopting an abundance mindset

The core belief that life offers unlimited financial potential opens doors previously closed by scarcity or poverty thinking. Operating with a prosperity consciousness allows you to boldly pursue wealth-building since the possibility dramatically expands.

Signs this empowering financial mentality has taken root include:

Feeling excited rather than anxious taking smart investment risks
Confidence pursuing promotions, raises and abundant income streams
Welcoming large financial goals rather than self-sabotaging progress

Strategies to Program Your Mind For Financial Success

Once youâ€TMve done thorough inner work on examining and releasing limiting old money beliefs and emotional baggage, diligently implement these proven tactics to actively rewire your financial brain:

A. Affirm empowering money beliefs

Spend time crafting short, targeted positive statements that affirm fresh attitudes of abundance, unconditional self-worth, deservingness of prosperity and your magnetism for wealth.

Examples include:

"I release all past money trauma, reclaiming my power"
"Infinite wealth flows to me effortlessly"
"I deserve financial freedom and connect with generous people"

Repeat these mini financial affirmations to yourself aloud or silently several times daily to cement new empowering beliefs into your subconscious.

B. Visualize your goals

Spend focused creative visualization time daily picturing your financial dreams as already complete. For bigger visions, also break them down into digestible milestone markers along the journey.

When you immerse yourself imagining the financial reality you wish to attract, universal Law of Attraction energy brings this into form rapidly as long as beliefs support rather than resist.

C. Foster an attitude of gratitude

Combat tendencies to fixate on money lacks or whatâ€TMs missing by instead nurturing consistent gratitude for financial blessings already present and those increasing.

Keep a physical journal listing money and abundance expressions you feel thankful for
Share appreciation aloud or in written messages to wealth sources

This keeps you energetically vibrating positive rather than falling into complaining, which yields more financial influx.

D. Limit negative financial influences

Be mindful regarding who and what you expose yourself to regarding money matters. Toxic people latching onto fearful scarcity mindsets or trying to drag you into get-rich-quick schemes can sabotage through ignorant advice.

Likewise, turn away from media nourishing anxiety, greed, entitlement rather than uplifting financial education. Garbage in, garbage out.

Curate your financial influences as carefully as you design a gourmet meal. The ingredients building your money mindset require aligned vibrational resonance.

Actively programming your mind using those techniques reorients your financial psychology over time. Soon positive changes in behavior reflect the inner financial healing work.

Bouncing Back from Financial Setbacks

Unfortunately, living in the real world means you'll still encounter money challenges even after inner work healing your relationship with finances. Unexpected crises drain savings accounts. Recessions cause investment losses.

Growth mindsets remain resolute during setbacks by responding with self-compassion rather than criticism along with solution-focus. Follow these guidelines to build financial resilience and remain motivated despite downturns:

Emergency Savings - Keep adding to your liquid savings account so it eventually holds 6-12 months of living costs. This becomes your financial resilience safety net able to weather most storms without sabotaging other financial goals.

Reframing Failures - View money mistakes or losses as learning lessons making you wiser rather than attacking self-esteem. Pull value from the experience about what no longer works for future decision enhancement.

Reward Milestones - Keep motivation and spirits up in your wealth creation journey by celebrating each financial goal achievement reached. A special dinner out, trip away or desired purchase reminds your subconscious more positive money manifestation unfolds.

With the right financial psychology, you can bounce back faster while course correcting after setbacks rather than abandon hope. Destructive thought cycles dragging you further down negative holes short circuit quicker too.

Staying Motivated on Your Financial Journey

The road toward financial freedom like eliminating all debt, hitting seven figures in investments or building generational wealth rarely happens quickly without immense mental resilience. To sustain momentum during lengthy money marathons integrate these motivation and anti burnout strategies:

1. Track progress daily/weekly - Sometimes frustratingly gradual financial growth fuels doubts. Counter by recording metrics like debt amounts decreasing, savings totals increasing or investment portfolio balances growing over weeks and months. Hard data encourages persistence.

2. Schedule realistic mini-milestones - Break intimidating long-range money goals down into smaller achievable markers as motivation injection points. Plan mini celebrations recognizing each win.

3. Practice self-care - Don't become so obsessed with money making that you deplete energy reservoirs through ignoring personal health via lack of sleep, exercise, nutrition or fun. Prevent burnout with restorative habits.

4. Limit money talk - Continually recounting frustration over current financial circumstances with others keeps you energetically stuck. Redirect conversations to more inspiring progress made.

5. Focus on abundance - Foster regular appreciation for existing and increasing money flow rather than what is lacking to stay grounded in positive manifestation energy.

With the right mental resilience techniques combined with financial reeducation, you can sustain motivation during months or years of intensive wealth building work.

When to Consider Working with a Financial Therapist

If self-guided attempts to adjust your financial psychology don't provide adequate relief from self-defeating behaviors or mental distress tied to unhealthy money issues, working one-on-one with a professional financial therapist offers a breakthrough.

Some signs it makes sense to seek their guidance sooner rather than later include:

Financial Anxiety - Do money worries disrupt your ability to focus at work, sleep soundly, maintain relationships peacefully or function overall?

Compulsive Spending - Do you keep overspending despite escalating negative consequences like growing credit card debt or secretly raiding retirement accounts?

Workaholic Tendencies - Are you overcompensating for subconscious money fears or feelings of unworthiness by becoming a chronic workaholic?

Perfectionism - Does financially falling short of unrealistic expectations fuel relentless self-criticism, feelings of failure or not being enough?

Look for a qualified financial therapist holding accredited credentials like the following certifications:

Financial Therapy Association (FTA)
Association for Financial Counseling & Planning Education® (AFCPE®)

Collaborating with a finance-savvy therapist equips you with cutting-edge insights, tools and coping methods tailored to your unique psychological roadblocks and money history. Investing in specialized support jumpstarts your financial freedom.

Key Takeaways

Our financial behaviors, money habits and wealth-building prowess tie closely to underlying subconscious beliefs and emotional baggage regarding finances.
Challenging scarcity thinking, unhealthy entitlement and separating self-worth from net worth prevents ongoing self-sabotage.
Purposefully retraining your brain via affirmations, visualization, active gratitude and curating inspiring financial influences reprograms restrictive money mentalities inhibiting past success.
Boost motivation during arduous financial goals through tracking incremental progress, scheduling milestone rewards, practicing self care and focusing on existing abundance.
If unhealthy money mindsets persist despite your best solo efforts, leverage financial therapy experts for tailored breakthroughs.

The more you master your financial psychology utilising strategies discussed here, the faster you progress toward every money goal because your mind accelerates rather than inhibits financial success. Healthy money mindsets build wealth.

Additional Resources on Financial Psychology

Books

Mind Over Money by Brad Klontz
Wired for Wealth by Brad Klontz
Financial Intimacy by Shaunti Feldhahn

Podcasts

Wealthy Mind with Dr. Brad Klontz
HerMoney with Jean Chatzky

Youtube Channels

The Financial Confidence Coach
Miracle Mindset - Money睿

Invest time continuing your financial reeducation around the psychology principles governing wealth for maximum empowerment manifesting financial freedom.