There’s more to money than meets the eye. It’s not just dollars, bucks, or cold hard cash. It’s something we have a strong emotional and psychological relationship with that has an impact on almost every part of our life.
What’s your attitude when it comes to managing money and financial literacy? Let’s take a look.
Managing money well helps us live the kind of life we really want. So learning how to manage your money is one of the most important skills we can develop.
That’s why financial literacy is now being taught in schools and more businesses than ever are offering financial wellness programs to reduce employee stress.
And it’s a good thing, too, because many of us have been dragging around inaccurate or negative beliefs about money for years.
To help recognize your money blocks and get closer to your life goals, try the following exercises and strategies for better financial literacy.
Money and Values
First, ‘prime the pump’ by thinking about what personal qualities you value. After all, living according to your values is the real goal in life.
Money is just a means – although a significant one – to help you attain that goal and enjoy what is truly important to you.
What values are most important to you? Maybe it’s leadership or creativity or independence. Also ask yourself what qualities you admire in others.
Money and Dreams
Once you’ve defined your core values, think about the things that excite and inspire you. Tap into your intuition and don’t hold back – allow yourself to answer without censoring your ideas.
Write down your thoughts, how you feel, and what you see when you let yourself focus on your dreams.
By giving yourself permission to let your dreams and goals surface, you can set a clearer intention of how you want your future to unfold.
Repeat this exercise often to reinforce your vision. This will help provide direction when making decisions about how to manage (spend) your money.
The Colour of Money
We define the values we want to live by, we decide on how we want to spend our time, and we direct money accordingly. Simple, right?
Well, not that simple as it turns out. Our attitudes about money are generally formed at an early age. They’re influenced by our parents and home life, friends, and other socio-economic factors at the time.
We either have a healthy, positive view of money, or (more often) we sabotage ourselves with unconscious beliefs that limit the flow of money. Importantly, awareness is the first big step toward overcoming, or at least managing, negative thoughts and habits.
Which attitude sounds familiar to you?
• I can’t. This attitude is all about worry, fear, and doubt that you can’t achieve what you want in life because you don’t have the time, the money, the talent, etc. Consequently, you’ll always have money problems because there’s never enough.
• I deserve this. This attitude is all about always having the latest gadgets or other material goods, even if they’re unrelated to what’s really important in your life. It’s usually justified by the feeling that you work hard so you should have these things.
• I don’t have time for this. This attitude is all about never making time to confront the real issues (like money) in your personal life because you’re just so darn busy. It’s the result of a compulsive energy (i.e. workoholism) that creates a vicious circle of drivenness and exhaustion.
• Money is bad. This attitude is all about the feeling that money is inherently bad, or that all rich people are greedy. Similarly, you don’t want to be shamed by family or friends because of your financial success.
Gail Vaz-Oxlade: Money Lessons from a Money Guru
Steps To Financial Wellness
So, how do you take charge of how to manage your money and create a more positive relationship with it? It can be very uncomfortable to challenge old beliefs and it takes flexibility and courage to move in the opposite direction.
Here’s seven quick tips to help you improve your financial literacy:
1. Take care of any ‘unfinished business’ related to money
Prioritize outstanding issues and begin to resolve them within a realistic time frame. Especially take a look at:
• Credit card balances
• Credit rating
• Car loan payments
• Money owed to you
• Savings for vacation or unexpected expenses
2. Create a household budget
This will help you keep close track of your money and better understand your spending habits. A household budget can make life easier by avoiding a paycheck-to-paycheck lifestyle, keeping your credit score healthier, and building savings toward your future plans.
3. Forgive yourself for money problems
Acknowledge that everyone makes mistakes, whether it’s money misjudgements or choosing the wrong spouse. The key here is to forgive yourself for feelings of guilt or shame over erroneous beliefs or blocks about money. Just learn from those mistakes and move on.
4. Practice more conscious ways of managing money
Try doing these for a week or longer and observe how it feels:
• Pay cash for everything you buy
• Give 10% of your weekly grocery bill to a food bank or charity
• Put $100 bill in your wallet and don’t spend it
• Tell someone how much money you make monthly
5. Calculate your net worth
Simply put, net worth is the difference between what you owe and what you own. Calculating your net worth gives you an invaluable profile of your current financial situation. Just as importantly, it’s an indicator of what actions you may have to take to keep your liabilities and assets balanced in future.
6. Get support from others
Make yourself accountable for your financial actions. Talk to a close friend or person you like and trust. Talk and listen to others who have made choices that work for them and share their own goals, dreams and values. Likewise, visit your nearest non-profit credit counselling service.
7. Think abundance
Finally, the power of positive thinking can take you a long way, especially when it comes to personal finances. When you think scarcity, there’s never enough.
When you think abundance, you face money fears from a position of strength and confidence. Keeping a gratitude journal can help reinforce that abundant feeling, as can inspirational books.
To Better Financial Literacy
Knowing your deeper feelings about money helps you make better financial decisions and life choices. It all starts with awareness and a willingness to look below the surface.
You Might Also Like These
• Financial Literacy Self-assessment Quiz
• The Next Frontier in Workplace Wellness: Financial Health
• Financial Literacy Month (Canada)
• Study: Your Debt is Making You Sick (2019)
• My Big List of Health and Wellness Resources
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