Money mindset: how important your attitude to money is

|

Young woman with positive money mindset
Key facts about Money Mindset

reading time: ca. 5 minutes

  • The money mindset describes one's own money consciousness or attitude towards this topic. The mindset includes a variety of affirmations that influence us and our lives.
  • Negative affirmations have a negative impact on our well-being and our approach to money. Therefore, it is important to question and closely examine one's affirmations.
  • Negative ones can be transformed into positive beliefs in order to achieve optimistic thinking and a more mindful way of dealing with oneself.
  • Those who have created a positive mindset will find it easier to put their finances in order and go through life more satisfied.

We have known for a long time how much inner beliefs determine our lives – both positive and negative ones. In relation to our finances, we repeatedly come across the topic of "money mindset". But what is it actually, how does the trend of the new money consciousness work and how does our inner attitude influence us in everyday life?

Positive affirmations are a popular topic. By developing and internalising positive beliefs, not only one's self-confidence is supposed to be improved, but also one's career, one's relationship – and now also one's finances. It is a fact that many people tend to hold negative beliefs, whether consciously or unconsciously. However, the knowledge that positive thinking contributes to our well-being and ultimately to our own success has been around since the 19th century. Through a lot of training, self-reflection and mindfulness, it is possible to uncover and debunk one's own negative beliefs.

What does Money Mindset mean?

When it comes to our finances, the term "money mindset" has become established. This refers to our inner attitude towards the topic of money, i.e. what we think and believe about finances, how we see it and what we feel about it. In addition to attitude, "mindset" also means the way of thinking, mentality or lifestyle regarding a particular topic. This includes a variety of inner beliefs that describe, for example, our relationship to money or to our financial situation itself. These affirmations can be positive or negative and are in every person, even if we are not always aware of them.

Anyone who deals with the topic of money mindset quickly comes across a whole series of promises: Full bank balance, private and professional success, more wealth and happiness in life... Of course, it's not quite that simple.

But dealing with your own affirmations is definitely the first step towards better money awareness and a more mindful approach to your own finances. These are still often neglected, especially among young people.

The topic is considered boring and complicated – but a good financial education is extremely important, even at a young age, in order to be able to provide for oneself and to secure one's own future.

Young woman on the couch

What are beliefs and affirmations?

Beliefs are inner convictions that everyone acquires in the course of their lives. This happens automatically - through our own experiences, upbringing, external factors and the influence of family, friends, society and the media, for example. Often we are not really aware of our beliefs or affirmations – only when we take a closer look at them and question fixed ways of thinking we can uncover such beliefs.

There are affirmations in the subconscious that are good for us and those that limit us. Depending on whether we focus our thinking more on the positive or negative things in life, we are either more satisfied or more pessimistic in everyday life. This applies to the topic of money just as it does to all other areas of life.

Negative beliefs about money

Studies have shown that negative affirmations about finances predominate in most people. This is a pity, because negative thoughts have been shown to block and inhibit our everyday satisfaction and also our decision-making ability when it comes to money issues.

Typical negative beliefs include:

  • I can't handle money.
  • Wanting to earn money is greedy and selfish.
  • Money makes the world and people worse.
  • I never have enough money.
  • I don't deserve to have more money.
  • Saving means renunciation.

If one's Money Mindset is in negative territory, we focus our attention mainly on the things that are not going so well at the moment, for example a major expense, too little salary or something we can't afford. The good thing is that obstructive beliefs are not unchangeable, but can be replaced by positive affirmations.

How to turn them into positive beliefs

The first step is to become aware of our own affirmations in the first place. Only when we know about our personal thoughts we can actively change them. It is important to deal with the origin and the effects of one's own beliefs. Where does your own (negative) attitude towards money come from? How does it influence your own actions?

If you get to know yourself better, it is easier to change negative thoughts into positive ones. Since negative beliefs have often manifested themselves in us over years or decades, it takes a lot of time to change one's own attitude. Positive thinking has to be learned, just like any other skill.

Positive beliefs can be, for example:

  • I am mindful of money and I am good at evaluating myself.
  • Earning money means having done something well and correctly.
  • Money expresses appreciation towards me and my work.
  • We can do a lot of good with money.
  • Money helps me to go through life with fewer worries.
  • Money gives me financial freedom and self-determination.
  • I am grateful for the money I have.

Everyone has to find out for themselves which thoughts fit best. Those who keep reminding themselves of their new beliefs train their subconscious and their ability to think positively in the long term. The more we deal with our positive affirmations, the more natural good thoughts become in everyday life.

How the Money Mindset influences our everyday life

Affirmations are only in our heads at first, but: actions and behaviour patterns arise from affirmations that directly influence our everyday life. A large part of our decisions is based on our subconscious, as science shows. Negative beliefs can, for example, lead us to handle money less well, to enjoy things rarely or to constantly pursue money worries.

Young woman with tablet smiling with good money mindset

The shift in thinking towards positive affirmations helps to shake off such blockages. Those who cultivate a positive money consciousness find it easier to manage their money sensibly, to save and to take care of their own finances more calmly.

Just like internalising positive beliefs, changing habits does not work overnight. It takes time and many small steps to reach a goal.

On the way to improving one's own money mindset and the resulting behavioural patterns, these measures, for example, can help:

  • Define goals we want to achieve in relation to our own finances.
  • Develop and strengthen mindfulness and appreciation towards ourselves.
  • Feel gratitude for what we have.
  • Improve and continuously maintain our own financial education.
  • Bring order into one's own finances.

Those who have adopted positive affirmations and thus a positive money mindset will find it easier to organise their own finances. Because with an optimistic perspective, getting things in order is much more fun!

Does money make us happy?

Actually, most people know that money alone does not make you happy - and yet many still chase the eternal dream of wealth and success, believing that then everything will be fine. But money is never the only solution to all problems. Though, those who constantly have too little in their bank account are not really happy either. Studies show that a higher income does indeed increase the feeling of happiness, but only up to a certain point - namely the point at which we can reliably fulfil our basic needs without constantly worrying about money. Beyond that, the individually perceived quality of life and feelings of happiness can hardly be increased just by having more money.

After a certain point, it is not money that makes us happy - but our thoughts and our attitude towards it, in other words: our money mindset. It is in our hands to change our thinking and thus contribute to a greater sense of happiness.

Money Mindset as a trend - and why that is good

The fact that more and more people are dealing with the topic of money and their inner attitude towards it is a trend that is good for our society. It is not only about financial success, wealth and prosperity, but above all about more mindfulness and joy in the subject of finances. It is about saving with fun and a good feeling instead of the constant sense of restriction and renunciation.

Those who organise their own finances and put money aside create the good feeling of being financially prepared, of being able to treat themselves and of being secure for their own future. Providing for the future should not be done out of fear, but out of conviction and the knowledge that you are doing something good for yourself.

This is what we contribute to financial happiness

We help people get their finances in order and secure themselves financially - in 15 countries across Europe.

Related News

Young woman with dog reads a book in nature during a digital detox

| OVB Holding AG

Digital detox – the best tips for a digital time-out

We wake up with our smartphones in the morning and fall asleep in front of our laptops at night: It is normal now for modern technologies to accompany us throughout the day. However, the "always-on" mentality causes stress, poor concentration, and sleep issues. That's why it makes sense to consciously take a digital break from time to time and avoid mobile phones, tablets, and other devices for a while.

A man sits at a table and counts money

| OVB Holding AG

This is how Europe saves - what people in Europe do with their money

Who saves the most? Who is a fan of flexible deposit accounts and who puts their money in the bank for the long term? In European countries, there are different tendencies and preferences in how people handle their savings.