Have you ever had a goal in mind, but felt like you needed a little more confidence before saying “Yes, I can”? Often, money can feel like a barrier to embracing opportunities in life, but it doesn’t have to be this way. By saying yes to positive change, and making a plan to overcome financial challenges, you can unlock a brighter financial future. It all starts by embracing the power of improving your money mindset.
Big dreams? Say yes I can with a life coach Q&A
Award-winning life coach Carole Ann Rice joins Loqbox to help you overcome barriers and say yes to your goals. Watch this Q&A to learn about how to develop a positive money mindset, manifest a higher income, set meaningful goals and build your self-confidence.
10 coaching tips to help you develop a happy and supportive money mindset
Empower yourself to say yes to your dreams with 10 tips from Carol Ann Rice, as she shares with us her tried-and-tested strategies for improving your financial mindset. Feel confident about creating the future you want: enjoy financial freedom, save for a holiday, improve your income and achieve your money goals. Say yes, I can!
1. What was is no longer what is….
Often we inherit our beliefs around money from our upbringing. “The rich aren’t happy/are bad” or “People like us will never earn big bucks” and we can take on fears and limitations around what money is and what it can do.
Especially if we saw the negative fall out of poverty or money issues, then money can be something you don’t like handling. Going forward, what would you like your new money legacy to be?
Make statements along the lines of “My money supports me and gives me freedom to choose. I respect my money so that it will give me the life I desire”. Put these somewhere you can read them often.
Read this blog to learn more about how to change your financial mindset.
2. How to overcome the fear factor
If money has caused upset in the past you may feel afraid about your finances.
When we understand our cash and income it builds confidence and a sense of control. Get used to checking your outgoings daily and know what is coming in and out of your account. Being in control — and actively thinking about how to be financially stable —will lessen the fear and build your confidence to make wise purchases and saving plans.
3. Build a fun fund
If you’re someone who enjoys little treats to look forward to, then it’s time to set up a financial fun fund. Put a little away each week just for something joyful that you have set your heart on. New shoes, a meal out, home furnishings, cosmetics; a nice treat you can plan and pay for. This way you don’t feel deprived, but instead you’re working towards a happy purchase you have earned and looking forward to.
4. The urge to splurge
Society is set up to constantly tempt us with delightful new things we didn’t even know we needed until we saw it. New tech, trainers, beauty products — the list goes on. Minimise online or lunchtime shopping perks by avoiding shopping websites and the shops. Try to embrace a saving money mindset: go for a walk or make a cuppa instead of giving in to temptation.
If you do see an irresistible item, examine it and walk away with the promise that if you still need it in a week’s time you will reassess and purchase it. Chances are a week later the urge will have subsided and you will have saved your money and boosted your self-esteem. You did good!
How do emotions influence what we buy? Learn more in this blog.
5. Analysis paralysis
If you’re avoiding looking at bills and feeling fearful about making sensible purchases, it is time to invest in your dreams, not your doubts. Instead of thinking “What’s the worst that can happen?” try the much under-used, but equal possibility of “What’s the best that can happen?” Even if times have been tough, you can still invest in new things you have planned for, but without guilt and fear.
6. Make friends with your money
Your finances are not something to go to battle with, and money is not your enemy. Our money supports us, keeps us safe, allows us options and helps us plan. See it as your guardian who is looking after you.
What would it take for you to trust your finances to help you? Could you flip the limiting belief that “money is always scarce” to “I use money wisely, it helps me plan and support my life”? Write out positive sentences about what money can mean to you.
7. Healthy and wealthy
Creating a happy and hopeful outlook about your financial future takes a little planning. Looking at your finances, what do you want to see on the horizon? What small steps can you start making today to create a wealth cushion? Taking packed lunches to work (saving up to £10 a day), cutting out café coffees (£3+ per cup), or looking at everyday money leaks in your outgoings. Have a short-term financial goal and keep track of that
and a landmark on the horizon to aim for — a holiday, new car, deposit for a mortgage, family event, new hobby, or season ticket. Let your money make sense for you by seeing what it can positively create, and what you can achieve.
8. Time To Think BIG!
Sometimes we sabotage our idea of financial security with our lack of self-belief and self-esteem. “I don’t deserve/I’ll never have enough/I’m unlucky” - that sort of thing. You serve no one by playing small. Could there be other ways of increasing your income? Selling things on Ebay, Ziffit, Vinted, car boot sales? Could you ask for a raise or develop a side hustle? Perhaps upskill your knowledge so you can make more? Take off the lid of what you expect to make and allow in the possibility of free-flow abundance. We become what we believe — are your beliefs keeping you stuck in “just getting by”? Embrace a financial freedom mindset.
9. Visualise abundance
A fun and very powerful way of helping yourself out of an austerity mindset is to do a vision board. Take time choosing random images from magazines (or Pinterest) and create a collage of how you would like your life to look in a year from now. How do you look? How comfortable is your home? Are you on holiday with family or friends? Have an intention with your financial future that feels meaningful and attainable.
10. Time to forgive and forget
It may be time to give yourself a break from harsh thoughts and overthinking mistakes from the past. You are learning new ways of handling your life and your finances now, so there’s no point beating yourself up and living with regret. Show yourself unconditional kindness and compassion as you go forward with a fresh new perspective and leave yesterday’s errors in their place.
Bonus tip: Don’t contract comparison-itis.
In today’s age of social media, it’s so easy to find yourself drooling at the wealth and good fortune of others and then, sadly, finding yourself lacking. When we compare ourselves unfavourably to someone else, it’s an instant downer and we feel “less than”.
Avoid the “compare and despair” trap by limiting social media and, instead, start keeping a gratitude journal for all the things you do have in your life. What we focus on expands, so develop an abundance mindset and you feel instantly happier and more satisfied with what is — and not with what isn’t.