5 Steps to Improve Your Money Mindset

Here’s How to Move Financially Forward

5 Steps to Improve Your Money Mindset

Many of us want to earn more, save more, keep an eye on spending so as not to go overboard, and invest in a smart way. Looking to the future with optimism is good, and undertaking concrete steps to improve money mindset even better.

What is a money mindset? It is your unique financial perspective. It is the sum of your lived experience and attitudes, formed from how people around you regarded money, and your own outlook. Your new money mindset will carry you through life’s tribulations. Change your mindset now to make it robust enough to hurdle whatever stumbling blocks life throws at you.

Here are steps to improve or change your mindset:

1. Set a realistic financial plan or goal. Having a budget that one can stick to is a basic way to save for a rainy day, yet most people feel like they are sacrificing their needs and desires, and falter.  Learning how to change your mentality and adopting a new money mindset that does not equate budgeting with deprivation can work wonders.  Look at it from another perspective and consider how living a more minimalist lifestyle and creating your own money story (or changing your mindset) will soon pay off.  

Let’s say may want to try investing in a new digital coin or tech stock, but have multiple debts to settle. The best route is to devise a plan of action to settle debt and free up funds for investment. If a single income source is not sufficient, look for additional earning opportunities. Try peer-to-peer investing, for example, which not only rebalances your investment portfolio, but also generates passive income on a recurring basis. Taking time off from work because of the pandemic may have given you the opportunity to reassess things. Now wake up, it’s time to make money and map out your future.

2. Discard half-truths & Invest early. Investing early may start with a small amount, and as you earn more, you can increase your investment. Some people discover only when they have advanced in years that they are not in a place where they want to be. Some retirees, for example, wish they had not splurged money on cars and swanky condominiums. In other words, they have financial regrets, which could have been avoided had they started learning how to invest at an early age, debunked myths, uncovered half-truths, or banished limiting money beliefs held by elders. What some successful investors do is reassess some of the things their parents or older counterparts did with their money that they wanted to do differently, read books, learn the `tricks of the trade’ or in short, uproot money beliefs that would not work anymore. They have a mindset change and firmly believe that success can happen.

Investing early enriches knowledge, lessening the chance of being duped. Having a healthy money attitude and investing early lets you master strategies and consistently reap returns. Being exposed to investing fundamentals early in life will give you a rich mindset. You can  begin investing now, even with a modest amount, and benefit from the power of compound returns over time.

3. Know the risks and have a good mix of investments. Being adept in managing money may take time, so learn about investment options that will pay off as early as now. Ditch age-old money beliefs and practices, including propaganda that your money will grow by depositing it in a bank. Find better investment instruments that can beat inflation. Realize how futile old money vs new money behavior and habits can be when it comes to long-range savings. Use digital tools to your advantage. A trusted online platform like Blend.ph, for instance, is not risk-free, but the company provides the necessary tools and services to lower the risks. Learn about the Blend.ph investment plan that meets your financial goals and risk tolerance.

Market conditions may cause one type of investment, such as stocks, to dip or have average returns, while others will continue to do well. Having a good mix of investments reduces the risk of losing money, because if the investment return in a particular asset category falls, the investor will be in a position to counteract losses with better investment returns in another asset category.

4. Visualize your future self, and work towards it. Figure out what your future self will enjoy doing long-term. Do you envision yourself running your own business? Or earning extra by renting out a property you own? Able to spend more time with family with retirement funds secured? That’s what the money’s for. All the years of learning, working, saving, and investing can go to the most important things, like living a worry-free life with family. Knowing what you would want to do early on will make you see what you should do now, such as saving, and then filling in the missing pieces over time.

5. Use the power of positive affirmation. Having a can-do attitude helps. A positive mindset lets people construct habits that support beliefs like being destined to succeed, and deserving it. Think “abundance” and forces of the universe will converge to help you get it. If you believe that money will fall into place once you empower yourself, chances are it will. Changing your mindset to something positive will soon enough begin shaping how your life will unfold. Of course, you cannot just say “money money come to me.” Just as important as your revamped money beliefs is taking action.

For starters, you may consult a peer-to-peer lender like Blend.ph. It is managed by Inclusive Financial Technologies, Inc., which has a track record of steady growth. If you need help financing a startup business, or extra cash to consolidate your debt and take care of other expenses like education, medical, or home improvement, Blend.ph has array of loan products designed especially for temporarily cash-strapped Filipinos like you. Having a sound money mindset will enable you to make well-informed decisions when you are ready to borrow, and to make the monthly repayments on time to avoid problems down the line.

Finance expert and bestselling author of the book, “Know Yourself, Know Your Money” Rachel Cruze encouraged readers to go beyond baby steps to take control of money decisions. If you change your mindset, and start believing things like having the ability to say “no” to a purchase;  the fact that there is no need to keep comparing yourself with others; and that you can achieve your financial goals, then you gain the upper hand and sail on to a better life.

People can determine how incidents in their lives play out. They can make bad financial decisions and live with the repercussions, or be happy with how things turn out, which can happen by adopting a healthy money mindset. Give yourself permission to move financially forward by using a money mindset to your advantage.