What is your money story?
How have you been raised to think about money? How have your experiences with money growing up reflected how you think about money today?
Think back to your first memory around money… was it positive or negative?
My first memory was at the age of 7. I went around the house and made it my mission to collect as many pennies as possible. I quickly advanced to any type of spare change I could find. Okay, maybe I was also a bit cheeky and would sneak into my brothers’ rooms and steal their spare change, but I was so driven to collecting as much as I could. After this, I would place it in those paper bank rolls and show my parents.
I was after the praise they would give me and to make it extra special my father would take me to the bank, and I would get to show the teller my mountains and mountains of penny rolls.
This was such a positive money story reflection that when I look back and analyze most of my money experiences, I must give credit to my parents’ careful influence. My family was not well-off, but they were grateful for the opportunity to be able to make money in such a free country as Canada. That gratitude was passed down to me.
I was raised to believe that if I wanted to make something happen, I could do it.
There is a lot of money available in this world. Sure, there were hard times and some stressful moments but the general feeling around money was that it can be made, saved and spent on living a great a life. All in healthy moderation. I watched my parents build budgets, make changes and reach out for knowledge on how to make things happen for our family. The saying in our house was always: “We can. Let’s just figure it out.”
It's not only how you were raised by those around you, but also the environment you grew up in and what was the social norm. Every generation had something to keep up with and this also influenced the way you thought about money. Think about it… if you grew up in an environment that kept low standards, you would assume living in a low standard was normal but if you were surrounded by individuals with a lot of wealth who also knew how to spend it, you’ll likely mimic them.
“Keeping up” will be different depending on your age group. Think of today’s youth and all that they have been bombarded with through the means of social media and influencers! Now more than ever is a time of consuming!
On the other hand, if you were in survivor mode growing up and had a family that struggled to keep their finances afloat then you hold this story in your mind and it would either serve you positively or negatively. Understanding your money story will help you decide how you want to think about money…
Do you want to follow what you have been taught to believe or do you want to create your own individual story?
Coaching questions:
1. Think back to your first memory regarding money, was it positive or negative?
2. How were you raised to think about money? Do you still believe this to be true today?
Here is where you get to decide if your money story is serving you for the betterment of your life or is it holding you back? You, my friend, are in control of your thoughts as an adult and from here on out you get to decide what you want to believe. Choose a belief and positive money statement that will serve you best in order to live your best life.