Your money mindset has a significant impact on how you handle your money. It can make you wealthy or it can lead to poverty. This blog post will explore how your money scripts influence your relationship to money. It will also delve into the causes of those money mindsets.
What is a Money Mindset
Money Mindset refers to a set of attitudes and beliefs you have about money. Those attitudes and beliefs are heavily influenced by Money Scripts. I will speak more about Money Scripts later.
Your mindset can either help or hinder your financial life. It influences the way you earn, spend, save or even invest.
If you ever found yourself in a difficult financial position, your mindset has an effect on how you respond to it.
Some examples of money mindsets are:
“I can’t spend any money on myself”
“Money is the root of all evil”
“Money doesn’t make you happy”.
“You can’t trust people that have money”
“Money should be saved, not spent”
“It’s impolite to talk about money”
Why Understanding Your Money Mindset is Important
It’s important to understand your money mindset because it has a big impact on your financial goals. Being aware can prevent you from making money mistakes and allow you to make wise decisions.
For example, your mindset might be: “It’s impolite to talk about money”.
This belief may make you secretive about your finances. You might not be honest with your partner about your earnings or your debts. Moreover, you might not seek appropriate support and financial advice if you are experiencing difficulties. Your mental health can be impacted as a result.
Abundance and Scarcity Mindsets
The two most prominent money mindsets and Abundance and Scarcity.
An abundance mindset is the belief that there is more than enough for everyone. When it comes to money habits, someone with an abundance mindset is more likely to give freely and risks. They know that there’s more to earn and they are open to that.
Conversely, a person with a Scarcity Mindset believes there isn’t enough. People with this mindset tend to be more anxious about money. They are more likely to be greedy and less likely to embrace risk. They limit themselves. This is because their mind is fixated on not being enough.
What are Money Scripts?
Like I said before, Money Mindsets are heavily influenced by Money Scripts.
The term Money Script was coined by psychologists. This was in an effort to understand people’s money beliefs and behaviours.
They came up with four money scripts. They are: Money Avoidance, Money Worship, Money Status, and Money Vigilance.
1. Money Avoidance
A money avoider sees money as a source of anxiety. They fear not having enough money or having a low income. Extremely frugality is a prominent characteristic of money avoidance. The person might avoid spending on essential items.
Single and lower income individuals are more likely to be money-avoiders. It’s unclear whether the money avoidance causes the lower income or vice versa.
2. Money Worship
If you’re a money worshipper, you believe that money gives you power. You may be materialistic, as items symbolise that power. Money worshippers believe their issues will be solved by money.
They may engage in behaviours such as gambling, compulsive spending and overworking.
3. Money Status
Money status is similar to Money worship but people with this script believe there’s a relationship between their net worth and their self esteem.
They tend to be materialistic but instead of it being to show off, it’s for them to make themselves feel better about themselves.
4. Money Vigilance
Money vigilant people exercise caution with their finances. They are more likely to be concerned about the dangers of not having money.They may also be secretive about their spending habits. The vigilance can prevent them from taking out credit or investing. They are less likely to enjoy their money but they are more likely to be financially stable.
Click here and do a questionnaire to find out what your money script is.
What Influences Your Money Script/Mindset?
Childhood
One of the biggest sources for our attitudes about money comes from our childhoods.
Children subconsciously pick up on their parents’ behaviours.
If you grew up in a family where money wasn’t a source of stress, You may have an attitude like:
“I can work hard for anything I want. Financially, anything is possible”.
In contrast, if you grew up in a household where money was scarce, you may have a negative attitude toward money.
You should examine your own upbringing to see how it influenced your money script.
The Media
The media is hugely influential towards our money mindsets. Social media is one of the biggest culprits. Sites such as Pinterest and Instagram provide an unlimited supply of images of other people enjoying their lives.
This has given rise to Flex culture. When someone “flexes”, they are bragging or showing off their material possessions and experiences. Influencers flex by showing private jets, shopping trips or their mansions.
There is also a rising trend of “luxury unboxings”, where people film themselves opening expensive designer goods.
Tv shows such as MTV Cribs, Million Dollar Listings and Selling Sunset provide a window into the life of the ultra wealthy.
All of this can make us feel inadequate in our own lives. As a result, people may end up living above their means or going into debt in order to emulate the perceived lifestyle of others.
Conclusion
There is a relationship between money script and money mindset. They all have an impact on our money behaviours.
In extreme cases, they can make us rich or poor. Money mindset is influenced by factors such as childhood and social media.
Understanding your money mindset will allow you to make good decisions about your money.
What is your money script? How has it influenced your finances? You can message me and let me know.
