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Creating Financial Abundance with Education and Mindset
Let’s talk about money. Did your ears perk up? Or maybe your stomach dropped a little. Either way, it’s hard to hear the “M word” without having some kind of emotional or physical reaction. I want to talk about money because we never do (at least openly) and at the same time it’s always on the back of our minds. To be honest, I think there’s more shame surrounding money, having it or not than there is around sex.
I think one of our biggest stumbling blocks when it comes to being open and honest about money is how uneven the playing ground is when it comes to education. When I first had Shannon, the founder of Financial Gym on the Chasing Joy Podcast over a year ago, she mentioned something that stuck with me. She said, “there’s no reason for us to be good with money.” Unless you are fortunate enough to come from a household who focused on educating you about how to use money there’s really nowhere else we would have formally learned.
I mean with all those years of trigonometry and calculus you’d hope we’d maybe get to spend a day talking about taxes, or credit cards, or loans, or savings plans, or investing or literally anything. But nope. Thank god I know about the sine curve though, can’t tell you how many times that’s saved my butt.
But there it is. Somehow we’re supposed to be really good at something that we’ve not only learned nothing about but also aren’t really allowed to talk about or ask questions about. Cool.
That’s why I want to start (and keep continuing) this conversation because like it or not we need money. Money can also play a huge role in our stress and therefore health and wellbeing.
- First I want to talk about creating a positive mindset around money &
- Then share why judgment-free guidance and education is crucial for making empowered choices with money.
Why Mindset Around Money Matters
Money and currency have no inherent value. It’s not gold, It’s paper and increasingly it’s electronic data. It’s something we as a society have all agreed on means something. Which if you stop and think about it is kind of crazy. In a world where we agree on so little, it’s amazing that we all have continued to accept that our currency holds value. The more we understand that money is energy and is not inherently good or bad, we can use it in an empowered way versus feeling beholden to it.
How we view, spend, understand, save, share, use money has so much to do with how we were brought up and how we think about it. You might be thinking “nawww girl, it’s not about my thoughts, it’s about how many hours I work and my bills.” Fair point, however from my personal experience I can say that how our parents talked about and modeled their money mindsets does impact how we see money.
For example, growing up my mom gave my sister and me an allowance. This subconsciously taught us that money was always coming to us. It gave us the concrete skills of deciding how to use that money. When we wanted something my mom would never say “no, you can’t have that,” or “we can’t afford that” instead she’d help me figure out a way to work for it. Maybe it was saving my allowance, or doing chores, or selling crafts at a craft fair.
That experience has created the powerful subconscious belief that nothing is out of my reach, I just have to find a way and that there are always creative ways to make money. Selling things at craft fairs also reinforced this belief that my creativity had value. All these things seem small at the time but have huge ripple effects.
I was lucky that I grew up in such a positive money household. We weren’t especially wealthy, but the positive attitude towards money built beliefs that have allowed me to always trust that money is available when I work for it. I was able to go to college without taking out a single loan because I believed it was possible and I was receptive to scholarships and jobs that could make that goal happen.
The reverse is also often the case. If you grew up in an environment that put a lot of shame on money or reinforced a scarcity mindset, then it’s likely you’d have a negative outlook on money (of course this isn’t your fault, and there are ways to slowly retrain how you think about money.)
The reason I’m sharing all this is that our thoughts are incredibly powerful. How we think affects how we experience and perceive events in our lives. Money works the same way. How we think and talk about money can have a real impact on how we attract it, make it, and use it.
I also totally respect if this feels too far out for you right now. It did for me, for a long time. Give yourself patience when it comes to anything to do with mindset work. It doesn’t happen overnight.
If this sounds like a topic you want to dive more into I’d check out:
Clarity, Education, and Guidance: Why Working with a Professional is a Game Changer
When your mindset is positive and open to attracting and being a steward of your money, then comes the learning about the tools. I wanted to share the mindset piece first because I believe that tools are incredible, however, they can only take you so far if you have underlying limiting beliefs that will sabotage your efforts.
If you’re feeling good about money and want to get more clarity, education and a roadmap for how to make the most of your it, then this is where Financial Gym is a game changer.
Like I mentioned earlier, I was first introduced to the Financial Gym last year when the founder came onto my podcast. In just that hour I felt so much more empowered because of the practical tools she shared. It’s like being able to tune to the right station on a radio or focus on the subject through a lens. The information and ideas were there all along you just get a clearer understanding and vision.
When I was approached this spring to work with a trainer one-on-one I jumped at the chance. I feel great about my attitude and mindset around money, however, there’s so much to learn. Working with my trainer Joy has given me so much clarity and confidence in my money and abundance goals.
I am self-employed and having such a variable income, navigating taxes and retirement can be really overwhelming. So much of the resources available are either too simple or too complicated. I was feeling like nothing was written in a language I understood.
What the process of working with a trainer is like
Once you are paired with a trainer, you have a one hour “financially naked” session with them. You go over all the details. You go over your specifics, like how much debt versus assets you have and your current budget. Then you talk about your goals from short to long-term. You talk about your attitude towards money and everything in between.
If that sounds daunting I totally get it. The hardest part with money is getting honest with where you’re at. My experience with my trainer Joy was so positive. I felt heard and zero judgment. Before I was nervous about how much money I want to be making, I was nervous that what I want my lifestyle to look like would seem superficial. However, Joy was so reassuring.
In the past one of my biggest hurdles of working with someone is a fear that they would put me on a strict budget. I love being able to splurge on coffee and travel and not be tracking every penny. Joy totally respected that.
I can’t tell you how much relief I felt after that conversation. I felt like my lifestyle and goals around money were valid. That I wasn’t “behind,” that there wasn’t “one way” to get to my goals. Finally, I didn’t feel like I’m supposed to put every extra penny to retirement this second.
Then you get your plan
After the initial session, you receive your master plan with breakdowns of budgets and action items. I was so overwhelmed in the best way. I felt like all the fuzzy dreams that swirled around in my head were crystal clear. Now I literally had a dollar amount that I should make each month if I wanted my dream house, a dog, regular travel and a daily coffee shop routine and yes, retirement, too. That number wasn’t even crazy daunting.
If I had to sum up my experience so far I’ve felt heard, validated, relieved and excited. About money! How cool is that? And no crazy penny-pinching budget.
If you’re interested you can find out more about Financial Gym here: Join the Financial Gym
Financial gym sponsored this post and also I can just say that I’ve already recommended them to family and friends. They’re the real deal and I feel so lucky that I get to work with them sponsored or not.
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