What’s your money story? I know you’ve got one. We’ve all got one.
A money story is about how and why you feel the way you do about money. How many times have you heard someone say “you should create a budget” and then you responded with a “yeah, but I was never taught how to manage money as a child”. Or “yeah, but I don’t really make enough to budget”, or even “yeah, but I enjoy my life and don’t want to have to give up anything just for the sake of a budget”.
So, what’s your money story? Did your parents teach you how to manage money? Have you ever felt the pains of never having enough?
Think for a moment about your money story. How and why do you feel the ways that you do about money?
Now, change the story.
Better yet, choose to change the story. Let go of the past and avoid responding with “yeah, but…”. No buts. It’s time for a change – you’re holding the keys and you control how this story ends so take charge and choose to change the money story.
“I’m Seeing What I am Believing”
Do you want to feel more peace? More calmness? Then choose to feel those ways about money. Instead of seeing money as something evil, choose to see it as something that can give you peace. You will believe what you choose to see so choose to see something that will benefit you, not destroy you.
Money is a tool and should be use as such. Use money to help you achieve financial peace by killing off the debt monster, creating a budget, building up a solid emergency fund, and saving for retirement. Choose to see money as something good not evil…after all, the love of money is the root of all evil, not money itself. (1 Timothy 6:10)
I once heard that the fastest way to worship money is to stress over it. And how true is that? If you’re stressing about how you’re going to pay this or that, isn’t your mind constantly turned towards money? The only way to stop it is to take charge and do something about it. There’s an old expression that I’m sure you’ve heard before but it rings so true when we’re going through financial hell…
“If you’re going through hell, don’t stop and build a house.”
Choose to change the story and change your financial future for the better. Create a budget, work to kill the debt monster, and save for a rainy day. Make a plan and stick to it. Force yourself to follow through and change your money story.
And definitely don’t stop to build a house in financial hell. Choose to change the story.
How have you changed your money story?
I used to hate payday. I know that sounds kind of silly, but it’s true. Payday was the worst two days of every month. It was so stressful for me to see my hard-earned money come in, and then have to give it to a bunch of other people immediately. I felt cheated. It wasn’t until I started doing a zero-sum budget that I got things turned around. I changed my attitude from “I am losing money twice a month” to ” I am making the money work for me”. This is a great article and really hits the nail on the head!
Money was not discussed in our house. And then I married someone who’s parents would spend every dollar they made on big purchases. It was a recipe for disaster. Over the years I gradually started to hand over all the financial management to him and closed my eyes to the debt that we were accumulating. 15 years later, when we were separating, I found out that we had 3 maxed-out credit cards that he had not paid in 3 months. I was in financial hell! But I decided then and there that that wasn’t going to be my story. I read everythink I could, watched every webinar I could find, and learned how to manage my money. This blog was my mentor and I want to thank you for all your advice. 1 year later, I’m well on my way to being debt free and I’m talking about money with my kids because my story will not be theirs.
I dont ever recall discussing money or budgeting as a kid or a teen. I did have a desire for independence early on so I feel somewhat self taught. When I got my mustang i would go to work every day calculating how many hours i had to work to earn enough to buy whatever part i needed and pay for the usual stuff. Im not in the best financial spot but we’re making strides to go in that direction. I think my hubs grew up seeing a lot of arguements about money. The odd thing today is my in laws make phenomenal money. My in laws are about to pay off their house and my mil said “we make too much money to live in the house we do and drive the cars we have” … I see their position as a blessing!! No mortgage and plenty of money for fun! My parents on the other hand i think have burried themselves in debt and absolutely cannot retire in the near or distant future. I want to end up like my in laws … Rich with freedom! Hubbs and i arent super financially savvy bit were going in that direction. One more year a lnd we get to sell the house we’re in and we’re downsizing … WOOT. LOL i never would have thought id be excited at that thought.