When we’re working to address our finances, many of us focus solely on implementing new money management systems or learning about accounting. But there’s actually a foundational piece you’re missing out on that needs to come before anything else—and that’s your money mindset. 

Before you start addressing issues in your business or working to improve your financial organization, you have to have a healthy money mindset. It’s a foundational piece of having a great relationship with your money!

What Is A Money Mindset?

Your money mindset is the set of beliefs you hold about money. This unconscious mindset shapes every aspect of your financial life, from spending and saving to earning and sharing. 

All of our habits start with our mindset. If you have a positive mindset around something, you’re more likely to experience positive feelings—and positive results. Your confidence, certainty, resourcefulness, and sense of security all stem from your unique money mindset. 

Although you probably never noticed, over the course of your childhood and adult life, you’ve built and internalized a specific money mindset. Some of your thought patterns and beliefs have been passed from generation to generation. But those patterns aren’t always beneficial!

One of the main areas that you’ll see a divide in your money mindset is scarcity vs abundance. 

With a scarcity mindset, you: 

• Always feel like you’re scrambling to make money
• Feel stressed at the thought of paying your bills
• Avoid giving away money
• Don’t spend on the things that light you up
• Never feel like there will be enough money

People with scarcity mindsets often believe: that they aren’t good with money, that people with lots of money are greedy, or that they aren’t smart enough or worthy to have lots of money. 

If you can relate to those traits, you’re not alone! Many people struggle with a scarcity-based money mindset. But you can make a change and experience an abundance mindset, which is much more positive. 

With an abundance mindset, you: 

• Appreciate everything that you have, no matter how much money that is
• Enjoy being generous and sharing your wealth with others
• Feel confident that you can successfully make money
• Know that there’s plenty of money (and that you can always make more)
• Don’t feel stressed about bills or unexpected expenses

People with abundance mindsets love to learn about money, contribute to others, and take charge of their finances. Even more importantly, they feel that they are enough, they are worthy, and they are capable of achieving their financial goals. 

An abundance mindset is what you should aim for when shifting your money mindset.​​

Why So Many Business Owners Struggle With Their Money Mindset

Many people struggle to develop a positive money mindset…but why? Most of us carry baggage with us surrounding money. From shame about debt or overspending to overwhelm that leaves you feeling powerless, there are so many emotions that pop up based on our money habits. 

No matter your experiences with money, those negative feelings impact your ability to effectively manage your finances. Even worse, they impact how you manage your business—after all, you want to have a profitable business…and that means being comfortable and confident in your money mindset. 

If you’re struggling with any of those negative emotions surrounding money, you’re not alone! Those feelings are valid, and honestly, all of us struggle with our financial habits at one point or another. 

And many of us never learned anything helpful about money in school or from our families. We expect ourselves to know how to do everything naturally, and that’s just not how it works. 

Remember to give yourself grace when it comes to your finances. Patience and grace are huge tenets of a positive money mindset. 

You aren’t bad at your finances…you just haven’t honed your money mindset yet!

How To Adjust Your Money Mindset

Now that you know what a money mindset is and why it’s so important, let’s talk about ways to shift your money mindset for the better. 

Journal About Your Current Relationship With Money

One of the best ways to improve your mindset is to journal. 

Think about what you currently know about money and where that knowledge came from. When you’re reflecting, you could consider practical things, like who taught you to balance a checkbook, or emotional ones, like where you learned to avoid talking about money. 

List out both helpful and harmful things you’ve learned. You’re basically trying to create a comprehensive list of what you already know about money. Then, you’ll be able to identify which beliefs and ideas are serving you, and which you should let go of.

Schedule Consistent Time To Work On Your Finances

A huge impact of a negative money mindset is when people procrastinate working on their finances. So how do you stop procrastinating and start loving your relationship with money? 

The best trick is to schedule consistent time into your calendar to work on your finances. 

Be strategic about when you schedule that time, too. Only block out time during your high-energy, prime brain hours. For some people, that’s bright and early. For others, it’s late afternoon or even after dinner—do what works for you! 

Make sure you’ve identified your prime brain hours so that you can time block effectively. 

Once you identify your prime brain hours, look at your schedule and time-block a specific period for your bookkeeping and money management. You may even want to turn off notifications during that time so you don’t get distracted!

The ideal scenario is to find one day of the week that you can consistently block 30 minutes (or however long you need) for your bookkeeping. That way you know you will consistently do your money tasks (such as categorizing transactions, paying bills, invoicing clients, and allocating your money). Even better, these money mindset-friendly tasks start to become enjoyable, efficient habits. 

Learn As Much As You Can About Managing Your Money

If you’re feeling self-doubt as part of your money mindset, it’s time to focus on educating yourself. Learning about money management is so empowering. 

Make sure you have a handle on basic financial knowledge, like building an emergency fund, managing your money, and overcoming debt over time. These skills are the foundation of a confident money mindset.

There are lots of incredible books you can read to educate yourself about money. Start with The Art of Money by Bari Tessler, which is all about improving your relationship with money. Another great book is We Should All Be Millionaires by Rachel Rodgers—this book gives you a realistic, step-by-step path to finding financial success. 

Be Grateful For What You Have

Remember to be grateful for all that you have. To build an abundance mindset, you need to actively shift your thinking and recognize that there’s plenty to go around. Get into the habit of appreciating what you have. It’s 100% okay to want more, but we also have to be thankful for where we are now. 

Developing a money mindset is worth all of the effort. These steps will help you shift your mindset and start experiencing a much more positive relationship with your money!