Last week, I shared my money mistakes and lessons learned. This week, we are going to look at 5 ways to welcome in more financial abundance. I’m pretty sure you aren’t expecting me to dive into all sorts of complicated financial tools and you would be right. That’s not really how I roll.
You can take fancy financial courses and read all the money books in the world but that won’t do much until you look into the 5 points below.
#1 YOUR MONEY MINDSET
In my previous post, I shared my money story and mentioned how my relationship with money as a younger person affected how I behaved with it later on my life (not very responsibly). Do you know what your money story is and if you might have a mental dialog that is keeping you from potential wealth? Our money mindset is often based by the impact money had on us growing up. Most of us have memories of how our parents dealt with money and the discourse they had on the subject. Some people have anxiety associated with money if their parents fought over their finances. Others have a story of lack because that’s the message they heard over and over again.
For me, because of how I received what my father taught me about money, it became a scary topic. I saw it as something so serious that I was terrified of making mistakes. I also believed I didn’t have the smarts to manage my money well. In your case, you might have guilt associated with money.
For example, certain people in the wellness world think that you can’t be focused on the greater good and be wealthy at the same time. This is of course a bunch of B.S. What matters is the type of person you are when you do have money rather than how much you have. In fact, I see it this way: the more money you have, the more freedom and resources you possess to make the world a better place. Take some time to jot down your earliest money memories and see how they have impacted your current money mindset.
#2 KNOWLEDGE = CONFIDENCE = ABUNDANCE
If you are like I was not that long along, your self confidence around money is somewhat shaky. I didn’t like to deal with money because I didn’t think I had the skills to. When this is our belief system, we tend to put our head in the sand and ignore our financial situation which can lead to unwanted consequences such as debt.
Once I decided to face reality and take control of my finances, I created a simple Excel sheet that tracked my revenue and expenses. This allowed me to see how much I was earning vs spending and set a plan in place to build my wealth. Part of that plan was setting-up monthly automatic withdrawals for my savings. The only way I could determine the amount I could afford to withdraw was to see how much was actually going out (expenses) vs how much was coming in (earnings).
It’s extremely empowering to have the full financial picture even if you consider it dreary at first. Putting things down on paper (or Google Drive) makes everything less overwhelming and more concrete. You’ve got to know where things stand before you can make any improvements.
#3 ACCEPT ABUNDANCE WHEN IT’S SENT YOUR WAY
This might sound like an obvious one but many people (women in particular) have the bad habit of turning away abundance when it’s offered to them. Whether it’s in the form of someone treating you to lunch or even a compliment, welcome it with appreciation and let go of the guilt.
Our energy has a huge power of attraction so if you feel uncomfortable saying yes to the gifts that is life offering you (be it material or otherwise), you are blocking more from coming in. You might have to dig deep and see why you are unable to receive. Often the answer is that we don’t feel worthy. If that’s the case, don’t judge yourself. Simply start nurturing your self esteem, allowing it to grow and make you feel deserving of the abundance you want to attract.
#4 CLEAN UP YOUR MONEY POSSE
Successful businessman Jim Rohn once said “You are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with“. Go through a mental list of those you are closest to and notice what their relationship with money is. Are they always complaining that they don’t have enough? Are they spending cash left and right and bringing you along for the ride? When we want to take things to the next level we have to make sure that we surround ourselves with people that will influence us in that positive direction.
It’s not to say to eliminate friends that aren’t managing their money well. Just be aware of you who are in contact with and how they impact your behaviour towards money. Finding a money mindset mentor is a great way to set the stage for healthy new financial habits. This can be a coach like Denis Duffield Thomas or simply by watching videos such as Marie Forleo’s Grow Your Wealth playlist on You Tube.
If you would like support in this area, next week’s post will be all about fun financial resources that can help you on your journey so stay tuned!
#5 ADOPT AN ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE
I probably sound like a broken record when it comes to gratitude but there is a reason I talk about it so often: it can greatly impact your life when you integrate it in your daily routine. To practice gratitude towards money is first of all to be grateful for what you already have, even if you perceive yourself as having very little (it’s all about perspective). If you have a roof over your head, eat when you are hungry and have access to resources such as the internet (you can’t deny this one), then you are blessed.
When we start counting all that we are grateful for, it shifts our energy to are more positive one that affects everything we do. My personal take on this is this: why would life send more your way when you aren’t even grateful for all that you already have? Wouldn’t it be a waste? In addition to setting you up to welcome more abundance, practicing gratitude is a huge happiness booster (more on that here). So really, it’s a win-win in my opinion.
Don’t you feel richer already? All jokes aside, as much as I am a spiritual person, I’ve got to pay the bills like everyone else so why not maximize the financial side of my life just like I do with my health and well-being? Plus, money can be a major source of anxiety for many and I’m all about giving you tools to reduce those stress levels.
Let me know if this article as helpful and if it was, like it, tweet it and share it with your friends! Once again, if you missed last week’s post, you can read it here. You might also like Money +Mindfulness, the top 10 financial lessons I learned from Lisa Messenger’s game changing book.
Image sources: (1) Bloguettes (2) Female Entrepreneur Association (3) Danielle Laporte (4) Melo and Co. (5) Some ecards (6) Lisa Messenger