How good is your relationship with money? Honestly?
42% of U.S. adults say that money negatively impacts their mental health.
Your money mindset drives every financial decision that you make, so it’s wise to invest time in getting it right.
Our top mindset hacks will help you change your attitude towards money so you can make a positive difference in your life and your individual financial situation.
What is a money mindset?
Your money mindset is made up of beliefs, attitudes, and past experiences with money.
A good money mindset will help you make important daily financial decisions such as what to spend money on and how much to save.
Mindset hacks are simple methods that can be used to change the way you think about money and your behavior towards it.
How does your mindset impact your finances?
The mind is extremely powerful. If you have a positive outlook on life, you’re more likely to deal with stress and other challenges that come your way.
The same applies to money. If you have negative thoughts about money, it’s more likely to hold you back.
Here are three ways that a positive money mindset can change your life for the better.
Achieve your financial goals
Regardless of your personal financial goals, they can be really hard to achieve without the right mindset.
So many people set goals that are never completed simply because their mindset isn’t in the right place.
You’ve probably heard of SMART (specific, measurable, attainable realistic, and timely) goals. If your money goals feel out of reach, they can help focus your mind on your plan to meet them, making it more motivating and easier to achieve.
If you have a positive mindset about money, you are much more likely to take the positive, decisive steps you need to succeed in smashing your goals.
Overcome financial challenges
No matter what financial trouble you may find yourself in, a positive outlook can help you overcome money-related issues. If you’re facing more than one financial obstacle, a clear outlook can help you prioritize how to tackle each one logically.
Your mindset will not only help you figure out how to fix your finances but also keep you motivated to change your behavior about money.
Find the right financial balance
Managing your money is all about finding the right balance. To do that, you may need to change the way you think about your spending habits. For example, if you want to stop spending money on daily takeout coffees, you have to believe that you can do it.
But life shouldn’t be all about saving and being frugal. It’s about balance. A little reward will encourage you to keep going to achieve your bigger financial goals.
10 Mindset hacks that will transform your finances
Give these 10 mindset hacks a go this week. You may be surprised at how much they change your outlook on money.
1. Visualize your financial goals
What would you really like to achieve in your life? Dream big! Come up with a few goals that really excite you and are important to you. Not everyone wants to buy a house and get married, and that’s ok.
Not sure what your goals are? No problem! Some people find that creating a vision board helps to figure out your hopes and dreams for the future. It’s also a really fun activity to do. The purpose of a vision board is to help you visualize your goals.
Here are a few examples of financial goals for inspiration:
- Save for a vacation
- Buy a home
- Pay off debt
- Build an emergency fund
- Save for a car
Or how about…
- Taking a break from work
- Traveling every country in the world
- Starting your own business
- Paying for medical expenses
- Giving back to society
Once you’ve got your goals, write them on a goal card along with how you’re going to achieve them. For example, “I really want to save enough money by the end of the year to travel to Spain. I will achieve this by cutting out unnecessary spending”.
Put your goal cards somewhere that you can see them every day and read them aloud to yourself regularly.
2. Expose yourself to new things
Visit the neighborhoods that you want to buy a house in and visualize living there. If you aspire to own a certain type of car, go and test drive it to experience what it would feel like when you own one yourself.
Exposing yourself to things that you want is a great motivational tactic on those days when you feel like you want to give up.
3. Recite money affirmations
Research has shown that using positive affirmations can change the way your brain thinks.
For your finances, this means that regular money affirmations could change your money mindset so you can achieve your financial goals and manage your money more effectively.
Affirmations are more powerful when they are personal to you, so pick some that are aligned with your values and goals. Try reading or repeating the statements several times a day, especially when you wake up and before you go to bed.
4. Know your triggers
Understanding your spending triggers is the first step to changing bad habits. Do you have a weakness for buying clothes or monthly subscriptions? Whatever it is, acknowledging that you’re spending too much in certain areas is key. Once you understand something, it’s much easier to deal with.
Now, track your spending and allocate a budget for your spending areas. Don’t be tempted to stop spending on leisure completely as this could have the opposite result and end up with you splurging more than usual.
The key here is to take small steps to change your mindset gradually, rather than trying to change everything at once.
5. Celebrate your financial achievements (even if they’re small)
Recognizing and doing something to celebrate your wins is important. We aren’t suggesting that you go on a spending spree and blow $200. But a small reward such as purchasing some new at-home spa products or a new book won’t blow your budget. Instead, it will make you feel good!
6. Take a break from social media
Your social media feeds may be full of your friends and acquaintances’ pictures of expensive cars and luxury gifts, but their lives are not yours. Comparing financial situations encourages people to spend money that they don’t have.
If you find yourself saying, “I’ll never make or save as much as so-and-so”, you need to stop and take a breath. It won’t do your bank balance or mental health any good.
Buying things that your friends have rarely brings the same satisfaction to you as achieving your own goals. Find happiness in making your own financial decisions.
7. Invest in yourself
Investing in yourself can have a huge positive impact on your self-confidence and self-esteem. It can also change your relationship with money by seeing how putting it to good use can affect your mental health and see the benefits it can achieve.
Here are a few ways that you can invest in your future:
- Take a course to learn new skills that enhance your strengths.
- Advanced degrees and certifications are valuable investments that will lead to new career opportunities.
- Grow personally by tapping into your creative side. Writing, cooking, playing an instrument or painting can be extremely rewarding, both personally and professionally.
8. Forgive your financial mistakes
We’ve all been there. Whether it’s not having an emergency fund or paying off the wrong debt first, money mistakes happen to even the most financially savvy people. The important thing is to correct them.
The best way to move forward after a financial mistake is to acknowledge it, talk about it, and forgive yourself by learning from your actions and focusing on the future. This puts you back in control of your finances.
9. Read a book on personal finances
When you are educated on a subject, it can help you feel more confident and in control. Money is no different.
Blogs, podcasts, books, and magazines are all great sources of financial information, but your learning will be more effective if you choose something that you enjoy doing, whether that’s reading or listening to an industry expert.
10. Give some of your money away
Nothing beats improving your money mindset by giving some of your cash away to people who need it more. So choose a charity that means something to you and give.
Not only will you feel good about helping somebody in need, but it will also positively change your relationship with money and how you decide to spend it.
Money mindset hacks: Final thoughts
Are you ready to positively change your money mindset with our mindset hacks?
It may take time to change bad habits and your attitude towards finances, but you will get there and your future self will thank you for it.
