The question is not whether you’ll change; you will. Research clearly shows that everyone’s personality traits shift over the years, often for the better. But who we end up becoming and how much we like that person are more in our control than we tend to think they are. 
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Posted September 12, 2022 Reviewed by Michelle Quirk
The basics of money management are not rocket science—set a budget, make more than you spend, have a savings account, pay off your debt, and plan for the future. It seems simple enough. However, how we think, emote, behave, and relate to money shapes our financial reality.
As I counseled working professionals, I became increasingly interested in the psychology of money. I started to see how my clients’ past traumas and beliefs about money impacted their bottom line positively and negatively.
While the concepts behind money management and financial goal setting are pretty easy, putting them into practice can be hard. Popular radio host and author Dave Ramsey believes that financial success is all about your ability to control the person in the mirror. Your thoughts, feelings, attitudes, self-care, goals, motivation, and support directly impact your finances. I, too, believe that self-love is a significant factor in financial success. In fact, in my book, The Financial Mindset Fix: A Mental Fitness Program for an Abundant Life, I’ve identified 12 mindsets that improve mental health, relationships, and financial prosperity, and self-love is at the top of the list.
As you embrace your self-worth and expand your thinking to welcome abundance into your life, you can shift from a scarcity to an abundance perspective, unlocking the doors to a more expansive, supported, and prosperous life.
In my practice, I’ve noticed that when people were making progress in therapy, they received raises and promotions, started successful businesses, and did better financially. Why? In therapy, no matter what issues we are working on, we are always simultaneously treating underlying feelings of self-worth or the value we place on ourselves. So, as my clients’ sense of worth improved, so did their finances—because of increased confidence, empowerment, assertiveness, and self-care.
Ask yourself, “What do I want to accomplish with my money?” For some people, the answer is easy. They know what shape their finances are in and want to concentrate on saving up for a down payment on a home or car or maybe start paying down student loans or credit card debt. Others aren’t aware of their financial reality. They don’t know their credit card or loan balances, interest rates, or credit score. As a result, they feel stressed out.
No matter what camp you fall into, the following money management tips can simplify the way you view your money and remove the perceived rocket science complications.
Once you move past the intimidation of treating money management like rocket science, you can leverage psychology to improve your financial health.
References
https://journals.healio.com/doi/10.3928/00485713-20121003-07
Joyce Marter, LCPC, is a psychotherapist, entrepreneur, mental health thought leader, national speaker, and author.
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The question is not whether you’ll change; you will. Research clearly shows that everyone’s personality traits shift over the years, often for the better. But who we end up becoming and how much we like that person are more in our control than we tend to think they are.
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