How Your Views of Money Are Hindering Your Financial Future

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 Ask anyone for their opinion on money, and they will all give you a different answer. No one views money the same way as others, and sometimes the way that people do view their finances is healthy or unhealthy. The point of the matter is that we all have great views of money and we all have destructive views of it. It all depends on our outlook regarding money how our lives pan out, how we save, how our futures look and so many other things. Even the wealthiest people in the world feel they are not making enough money. Even the people who save and save and have so much money in their savings account that they never have to worry, worry. We all have ideas and thoughts and considerations that pertain to our financial lives, but we all let them get to us in a different manner.

It turns out, however, that how we look at money in our lives is a very big predictor of our futures. How we see it is a way of life, and it’s our choice how we live our financial lives. Do you live with any of the most destructive, most negative money thoughts? If you do, you might not even realize it; these are terrible ways to view money, and they might be hindering your future.

Your view of rich people

There is something that really bothers me about life; it’s the view that so many people have of those who do have money. It’s the negativity that circulates so many minds that really is a negative way of looking at money. Let’s look, for example, at how people respond to wealth and excess on social media. I was recently flipping through Instagram when I noticed a photo from Heather Dubrow, real housewife from the Orange County franchise. Her husband is a plastic surgeon, she’s an actress, they have several businesses of their own, and she was posting a photo of their newly built home.

As I was scrolling past the photo, the comment under it caught my attention. Someone said that it was ridiculous that she needs a wine cellar in her home when there are people who cannot even afford to eat a full meal, and that she should not waste her money on things like wine cellars and champagne when that money could feed so many other people.

So many comments were so negative in the fact that people were sharing stories of how they cannot even pay their utility bills that month, and she’s wasting money on things she enjoys. I was flabbergasted that people behave in that manner. She and her husband work hard, and it’s their choice how to spend their money – why should they forgo what they want and desire that they work so hard to afford so they can take care of someone else? I don’t think so; that negative mindset that the wealthy owe the less wealthy is a negative money thought that isn’t getting people anywhere. Why? Because if you’re sitting around assuming that those with more need to give to those with less, you’re not working harder to provide for yourself; you’re waiting for someone else to take care of you, and that’s the worst money mistake you can make.

Your view that money is evil

Money buys a lot of things – and it even buys happiness. I’m happy knowing my mortgage is paid. I’m happy being able to put food on the table and being able to travel. Of course, I’m happy in general so having the money to do extras is only a perk for me. It doesn’t make me happy if I’m unhappy, but it does make life more enjoyable.

When you live with the view that money is the root of all evil, you’re not doing yourself any favors. Money is not evil; it’s the way you look at it is that is evil. If you use it for the wrong things, it’s evil. If you use it for the right things, it’s not. If you make good decisions, do what you enjoy and have a healthy outlook about money, it’s not at all evil.

I’ll never have enough

The most destructive outlook about money that I’ve noticed is that people never think that they will have enough. “I want to go to Bora Bora, but I’ll never be able to afford that,” is a mindset that is preventing you from chasing your dreams and earning more money. Why can’t you ever have enough to live out your dreams? If you don’t think you will, you probably won’t since you obviously don’t envision yourself working harder and making it happen.

When discussing retirement with friends of ours, they told us that they want to sell their home and downsize to a much smaller home so that they can afford to live on the ocean when they are older. I asked them why they want to downsize since they have kids and will eventually have grandkids; don’t they want the space to accommodate big sleepovers and visits during the holidays? They responded, “Yes, we’ve love that. But we want to live on the water and that’s expensive.” All I heard was, “We don’t think that in 30 or 40 years we can afford to live on the water and live in a decent-size home,” and that shocked me.

When I think of my retirement and future, I think of abundance and being able to do whatever I want and not have to make sacrifices like that. I just assume that all we do in life will be successful and we will be able to do what we want. The fact that other people don’t assume that does actually hinder them, since you do tend to live up to your own expectations of self. If your expectations are low, then it’s going to affect your way of life.

Photo by Getty Images

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