Although most don’t know it, we all have our perceptions of money that affect the ways that we see it and use it in our day to day lives. It is also sometimes the case that these perspectives can negatively affect the way that finances are approached, so learning what some of the more common beliefs related to money can help overcome these and put you back on the path to a healthy relationships with your finances. In this article, we demonstrate what a few of these beliefs are to give you a clearer idea of how they might be shaping you.
Finding the right balance
Whether it be due to credit card debt or the occasionally stressful psychology of student loans, money can carry a very tight grip on us. One of the most common things that people believe in relation to money is that they never have enough. Even now you might be reading this and agreeing, but being highly frugal at every possible point can eventually have negative consequences on your mental health – particularly when it gets to a point where someone refuses to spend money. This should not at all indicate that you should not save (saving is great), but stressing over very minor financial issues can cause a lot of unnecessary stress, particularly when there is regular money coming in through a salary. This comfortably leads us to our second point – those who spend money to relieve their mental health woes. Those who readily overspend in their daily lives, whether it be through impulse purchases online, delivered food or other disposal and unnecessary items, cause their finances to become highly unstable, and are limiting their long-term monetary growth potential significantly. Remember, spending right now can be a lot of fun, but that small dopamine rush every now and then will eventually come at the cost of your retirement plans. It’s can even develop into an addiction, whereby this small release of dopamine is regularly relied on for comfort and pleasure, and it’s a situation that will very quickly lead to financial ruin.
It’s alright to talk about money
Perhaps the most important bad habit that people nurture is acting like money is a sacred cow. Money is very frequently treated like something that should be swept under the rug and whispered about, despite it being something so very ordinary. It can even get to the point where people refuse to talk about their finances to their own detriment, such as when they might benefit from a friend or family member providing some great advice in a time of need. This obviously doesn’t mean that you need to brute force your way through conversations at work asking how much everyone makes – it simply requires an open mind. A lot of people might close up when the topic of money is brought up due to past financial mistakes, but by everyone having a proper discussion related to money they’ll be able to see that everyone has made financial mistakes! At the end of the day, it’s all about sharing.
Do you need to change the way you see money?
Changing how you see and use money can provide you with a suite of mental health benefits – if you haven’t considered exploring your own use of your finances, perhaps now is the time to do so.
