I’ve collaborated with hundreds of clients over the years to manage their budget, reduce their spending, and show them how to live on less than they make.  I’ve mediated productive family discussions.  I’ve shown clients step-by-step how to manage bill collectors, pay off their debt and avoid foreclosure or bankruptcy.  I’ve helped them determine the type of term life insurance and retirement savings that would be the best fit. I’ve illustrated how to give to charities and plan for college without breaking the bank.

Working with my clients in this manner, I discovered that many also needed to address underlying money beliefs that were sabotaging their efforts and keeping them poor.  I realized that they often struggle with the emotions behind handling and earning money. I found that we have many universal and individual money beliefs and fears that are preventing us from getting ahead, regardless of our income level or how many hours we dedicate to our work.

Have you ever stopped to really think about what your beliefs are around money?  Did you know that many of our money beliefs were shaped during our childhood?  Some of those beliefs were planted unintentionally by our parents or other influential people in our lives.  Others rise out of our own personal experiences, especially past negative experiences.  I developed a fear of writing checks because I bounced so many of them in the past.  Some beliefs serve us well and are helpful, while others hold us back.

Negative money beliefs limit us and hold us back because they block our ability to take in information that is in conflict with them.  They keep us from seeing how to make meaningful changes.  As long as we are being held back by negative money beliefs that don’t serve us, we go through life blindly following those negative beliefs, without conscious thought or the realization that there are other choices available to us.  These negative beliefs and the negative energy that they create in our lives lead to self-sabotage.  The key is to raise your awareness of your beliefs around money.  If you continue to let negative beliefs define your relationship with money, you will always feel like you are fighting with yourself.

My own money beliefs were all screwed up.  This negative belief system guided my life for many years, until I finally woke up.  To put that behind me and change the path I was on in life, I had to focus on each money belief, one at a time, and say – you served me in the past, but I don’t need you anymore.

If you have a belief that is causing you pain, you can change it to one that will get you to where you want to be in your life.  You can turn your beliefs from negative to positive.  Increasing your wealth is a matter of increasing the quality of your thoughts.

Examine your beliefs about money.  Decide which ones will get you to the next level and which need to be replaced with more positive ones.

Here are some of the most common negative money beliefs:

• ‘More money will make my life better’
• ‘Money is bad’ or (in some religious circles) ‘Money is the root of all evil’
• ‘Money is unimportant’
• ‘I don’t deserve money’
• ‘If you are good, God or the universe will provide for you.’  This goes hand-in-hand with ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’

Do any of these beliefs sound familiar?  Have these beliefs held you back, perhaps on a subconscious level?  What about your children – what money beliefs are they absorbing?  You certainly don’t want them carrying on negative beliefs and habits.  Free yourself, so your children can experience freedom and success, too!

I am offering a 6-week “Can I Really Be Paid That Much?” Bootcamp beginning November 12th.  I offered a free introductory call on November 5th, so you could get a preview & see if the bootcamp is right for you.  Sign up for the replay here.

What money beliefs have held you back?  Once you see and admit to them, you begin taking away their power over you.  Please share your thoughts by posting to my blog or on social media.