Examining your money mindset

Improving your finances involves more than just creating goals and setting budgets. While these are essential in your journey to financial independence, they shouldn’t be the first step on your list.

Instead, you should start by improving your money mindset. Let’s talk about what money mindset is as you continue reading this post.

What is a money mindset?

Money mindset is a person’s unique beliefs and attitudes about money.

Several factors can affect your money mindset: your environment, family, friends, media, and so on. It not only affects how you set financial goals for yourself but also determines how you manage your money.

For example, if your outlook about money is that it's always not enough or you think that you can never achieve your money goals, then you are setting yourself up for failure. To achieve your money goals, you need to adjust your money mindset for the better.

Individuals with a money-making mindset tend to have characteristics such as:

• Seeing money as a tool they can use to accomplish their goals and aspirations
• Refraining from comparing themselves to others or worrying about what others have
• Believing anyone can learn how to manage money properly
• Knowing their financial goals are obtainable as long as they have a realistic and specific plan

How do you adjust your money mindset?

The first and often overlooked step is introspection. It involves exploring and adjusting your money mindset. You need to reflect on how you perceive money and why it might have kept you from reaching your financial goals.

Adjusting and changing your money mindset takes time. It might take years, if not decades.

While changing your money mindset from a negative to a positive one won’t happen overnight, you can make small tweaks to help you move towards a healthier and more positive outlook.

• Make a commitment to financial stability. If you want to change your money mindset, start by ensuring that you are committed to your financial goals. You have to be 100% ready to stick with your financial plans and trust that you can achieve them.

      Take note that financial goals will vary from person-to-person and may not always include financial stability. Some may want to become a millionaire by 30, while others may focus on sending their siblings to school or raising a family.

• Practice money affirmations. Money affirmations can be a number of things: visualizing how your finances could improve, thinking about how to properly manage your money and save even a little, or imagining yourself paying off your debts.

      Money affirmations help you visualize results and keep you focused on your goals. When you constantly think about the positive things you can do with your money and how you can achieve them, you start letting go of your negative perception.

      A word of caution: imagining a scenario and actually doing something to achieve it are two different things. But having positive affirmations help keep you motivated so you can reach them.

• Stop focusing on others. When you focus on what others have and compare it to what you have, you start feeling bad for yourself. This makes you feel less motivated about reaching your goals. Keep your eyes on the prize and focus instead on how you’ll succeed.

• Dream big. Everyone knows about the importance of creating short-term and long-term goals. But apart from these, you should also dream big—bigger than you ever have!

      Of course, having achievable goals is important, but you also want to have a huge goal for your future. Having bigger goals help you stay focused and more committed to your financial plan and may help you devise a strategy on managing your money better.

• Believe in yourself. Lastly, you need to bet on yourself. Have the confidence that you will attain all your financial goals. Believing you can achieve your goals is often half the process, as it pushes you to keep fighting to reach your financial goals, no matter how far away they may be. Don’t let the pains of the past hold you back in dreaming a brighter future.

Your money mindset can influence how you successfully achieve your financial goals. While it may take time to change it and differ from person to person, adjusting your money mindset is essential in improving the way you deal with money.

Let Metrobank be your partners in your financial journey. Open a savings account today and let us help you achieve your financial goals.