How to Improve Your Relationship With Money

Everyone has a relationship with money, whether you are consciously aware of it or not. 
Similar to your relationship with food, exercise, or other habits in your life, your 
relationship with money can be anywhere on the scale between good, needs 
improvement, and toxic. 

What is a relationship with money? It combines your mindset about money and wealth, 
the actions you take, your morals surrounding the concept of money, and any other 
patterns of thought about finances. It is really important to understand what your current 
relationship with money is before you can start building a better one.


Signs of Having an Unhealthy Relationship With Money

Not sure if you need to improve your relationship with money? There are quite a few 
signs of having a bad or toxic relationship with money or making money that you might 
no be completely aware of. Some common signs include:

Feeling guilty every time you spend money
Looking down on people who either have a lot of money, or very little of it
Connecting a certain amount of money with happiness
Resenting people who were born with a lot of money
Feeling as if your money controls you
Experiences a lot of financial anxiety or shame


Reflect on Where Your Money Mindset Comes From

To start improving your relationship with money, you first need to understand where 
your money mindset comes from. Believe it or not, it typically starts in adolescence, 
often the result of what your parents or other adults you are around told you about 
money. 

Get out a journal or notebook and start writing down how you feel about money, 
whether you think it helps or hurts you, its impact on society, people who have money, 
anything you can think of. Once you do that, go through each point you write down and 
consider when and where it came from. 

Was it something you picked up from your parents? Did the news or social media 
convince you it was true? Is it based on your own life experience or feeling of lack? 

When you can figure out where your mindset about money comes from, it gives you a 
better idea of where to start.


Be Open to Changes With Your Financial Situation

If you want to have a good relationship with money and improve your financial situation, 
you need to be open to it. Some changes will probably have to take place, whether that 
is with your budget, how you view money, saving vs investing, and many other changes. 
If you are not open to doing things differently, nothing will ever change.

Improving your relationship with money is different for everyone, but for you, it might 
mean sticking to a tighter budget and saving for financial goals. It may mean a career 
change, going back to school, or finding a second stream of income. It might be more 
about shifting your mindset itself and having a more positive outlook on your future 
financial situation.


Set Small, Achievable Money Goals

A good way to improve your relationship with money is by setting small, achievable 
money goals. These are goals that won’t take too much time or effort, but can start 
increasing your confidence with making and saving money.  

What you need to see is that you have control over your own finances, from making 
money to how you spend or save it. If you can create some money goals and figure out 
a way to achieve them, you will start to really see how much control you have over your 
own financial situation. 


Focus on How Money Benefits You

A really important practice is to consider the ways in which money benefits you the 
most. What GOOD is it doing for you? Don’t think about your lack or anything negative, 
even if you don’t have a lot of money right now. Just focus on all the benefits of money.

Make a list of all the amazing things money can do for you. If you don’t have a lot of it 
right now, come up with an amount you would love to have, then write down how it 
would change your life. What would you do if you won the lottery? If you had a career 
that paid 7 figures a year, how would you spend it? What would improve your life if your 
financial situation was better?


Try These Money Journal Prompts

The last recommendation we have is to start writing in your journal about your money 
mindset. In addition to writing down what it is and where you think it comes from, there 
are some writing prompts that can help you get started on shifting your mindset and 
improving your relationship with money. 

Here are some to start with:

What do you spend your money on the most?
What in your life is negatively impacted by lack of money?
How would more money in your life improve your situation?
What are your beliefs about people with money?
Do you think it is hard to earn money?
How are you about saving your money?


