How to Choose Your Thoughts About Money

Did you know you can choose your thoughts about money?

You’ve learned a lot about money in your lifetime, and it’s impacted the way you think about spending money, earning money, and investing in yourself. One of the things entrepreneurship has taught me is that I can choose to change my thoughts about money. The money lessons I learned growing up, whether intentional or unintentional, are not the money thoughts I continue to use in my life.

In this episode, I’m sharing four money thoughts I’ve adopted and now freely share with my clients. I’m explaining how creating your own intentional thoughts about money will allow you to ditch the guilt of paying to get your house cleaned, raising your prices, or investing in personal development. Shifting your mindset can make it easier to make, manage, and use your money in a way that feels intentional.

In this episode, you’ll learn…

How you can choose your thoughts about money and change your mindset for the better [2:51]
How my thoughts about money have changed how I move and act in the world [3:50]
Why you should see your money as a tool [4:01]
How my feelings about money allow me to invest heavily in myself [4:21]
Why you should put yourself first when it comes to your financial priorities [9:16]
How money has helped me do good in the world [10:59]
How your money mindset might be the reason you’re underearning [14:33]
Why money is simple and managing it doesn’t have to be hard [15:03]
How I accepted that money comes to me easily [17:03]
How to overcome mindset blocks and make the decision to invest in yourself [20:46]

If you’re ready to choose your thoughts about money, tune in for this week’s episode.

Tune in to this episode to learn how to intentionally choose your thoughts about money so you can start making, managing, and using money with ease.

In the episode…

The way you interact with your money is a direct reflection of how you think and feel about it. While a lot of your money lessons come from your environment, you’re not bound to the thoughts or feelings your parents and peers have instilled in you.

You have the power to actively change how you think about money. And in doing that, you can free yourself of the guilt that comes with investing in the things that matter to you.

Today, I want to help you choose new thoughts about money so you can feel powerful and aligned in your financial decisions. When you change your thoughts, you change your feelings, And when you change your feelings, you completely change the way you react to and interact with money.

Here are four thoughts I have about money that I share with my clients:

1: Money is a tool.

Many of my clients struggle with money management because they’re so wrapped up in the emotions of money. But when you get right down to it, money is just a tool. You use it to operate in your life, simple as that. When you learn to strip away the messy, emotional thoughts you have about money, you can start using it as it’s meant to be used: to improve your life and the lives of others.

2: Money allows me to do good in the world.

So many people I know either feel guilty about how much money they make or feel guilty for wanting to make more. But money isn’t inherently good or evil. When you make more of it, you can use it to do good in the world by donating to charities or those in need. If you can see money as a tool to create positive change, you can release any guilt you have about increasing the amount of money you make.

3: Money is simple.

Budgeting, investing, saving, debt–it all sounds complicated, but it’s truly very simple. When you choose to think that money is simple, you start to approach your finances with curiosity. The feeling of curiosity will encourage you to check your bank account, schedule a money date, or even spend time planning ahead with your finances.

4: Money comes to me easily.

When you believe money comes to you easily, it shifts how you show up in your personal life and your business. It might mean you decide to finally ask for a raise with confidence, or you might even seriously date the idea of leaving your job to work for yourself full-time. For business owners, it might mean you stop focusing on the “doom and gloom” of inconsistent numbers, instead focusing on doing what feels right in your business. When you shift to thinking about the ease of money in your life, it will create space for you to share more value in the world and detach from the financial result.

So here are the takeaways I want you to remember from this episode…

You have the power to change your thoughts about money, and in doing so change how you feel about money..
Money is a tool. It’s neither good nor bad, and making more of it allows you to improve your life and the lives of others.
Making, managing, and using your money can be simple, so long as you have the right mindset and tools.

You didn’t get to choose how you first learned about money, but you can choose how you feel about it now. Make a change, shift your mindset, and start feeling good about your money management skills.

If you’re ready to improve your relationship with money and start making moves towards your financial goals, apply to work with me so we can create a plan to get you there.

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Are you ready to dive even deeper into your money thoughts? Check out this episode, where we clean up your money mindset!

The Transcript

Hi and welcome to Money Files, I’m Keina Newell from Wealth Over Now. I work every day with professional women and solopreneurs to help them get out of financial overwhelm and shame so they can experience more flexibility and ease with their finances. Are you ready to gain confidence and learn to manage your finances intentionally? Tune in and grab financial tips that will help you master the way you think about and manage your finances.

Hello and welcome to another episode of Money Files, so I was supposed to record an entirely different episode today, but I have that in so many different conversations about money and thinking about money because this is where my brain spends most of its time. And I just feel like maybe you need to hear this today, and I want you to really think about how this episode can impact the choices you desire to make when it comes to how you think about money, how you manage your finances, how you think about investing in yourself.

So many of us have just been taught or we claim that we haven’t been taught about money and you have been taught about money, whether it was intentionally or unintentionally, because of how you’ve watched other people manage finances. So whoever raised you, they have given you lessons on what you should or shouldn’t do with your finances. And it’s formed how you like. I said, think about money. Maybe you’ve seen people try to control and manipulate you with finances. I see that with my clients or you. Maybe you have adopted a scarcity based mindset because people in your life didn’t have money when you were younger. And so you are someone who hoards money because you want to always make sure that you have it. Or maybe on the flip side of that, you came from a family where they also didn’t have a lot of money, but you decided as an adult, I am getting ready to spend all of my money to get all of the things I didn’t have when I was younger. You developed habits like not talking about money because money was something that you never talked about. Or you’re like, maybe in a position where you feel like you need to give people in your family, all of your money because they’re looking for you to be the one who has made it. We’ve learned a lot about money, even if you think like, I haven’t learned how to manage my finances with the budget or any of those things? But the fact of the matter is you have learned a lot about money. Maybe you’ve learned that they don’t pay really well in the profession that I’m in, just because teachers don’t get paid. You can’t be in a nonprofit space and not get paid.

I say all that to say that today, I really want to talk to you about the fact that you can choose your thoughts about money. Choosing your thoughts about money is the most powerful thing that you will ever do. I’m going to say that again, choosing your thoughts about money is the most powerful thing that you will ever do. And you can choose your thoughts. I don’t know if you knew this or not, but you get to choose your thoughts that you have right now. You chose them. And you also can choose to unravel them. You can also choose to think about how I want to feel about money. Whether I’m thinking about managing my finances or not, I’m thinking about receiving money. I get to choose those thoughts, I get to choose those feelings and I can choose feelings that I desire to have. And I can choose thoughts that I desire to have and work to be that person that feels and thinks in a particular way. So I’m going to talk to you just about a few thoughts that I have about money and how they’ve helped me move and shift in the world.

One of my thoughts that I have about money is that money is a tool. Like, that’s it. Money is a tool. And when I think about that, it makes me like, not like, I’m not attached to money. I just see it as a tool that allows me to do things in the world that I desire to do. Adopting the thought of money as a tool has really helped me also learn to invest in myself because I would say, like prior to entrepreneurship and prior to being in this space that I’m in now, I don’t know that I knew how to invest in myself. I don’t think that that’s something that we’re ever taught. I think that we get to the point where like, you know, you’re going to go to college, you put out student loan debt and like, that’s kind of where you stop. And that’s probably some of the most expensive things that anyone has ever invested in. And maybe you’ve never even thought about your student loans or going to college as an investment. But I think about it like we invested in college because we expected to get a certain result: a job, a degree or whatever status, whatever we thought that is. And so over the past few years, I’ve started to see, like I said, money as a tool. And so seeing money as a tool has allowed me to invest in myself. Seeing money as a tool has allowed me to look at a price and say, like, OK, that’s ten thousand dollars. That’s twenty five thousand. But what do I want to do that has no meaning in my life when I think about money as a tool and how it relates to investing in myself? That was a big shift for me as a business owner and as a person, because my thoughts about money and the other people around me, they may not have the same thoughts.

I had a conversation with a potential client a couple of weeks ago, and she told me on the call that she had seen it on Instagram. But I shared that I spent fifty thousand dollars a year on coaching, and some of you probably just lost it. Like, What are you spending fifty thousand dollars on? Yes, I spent fifty thousand dollars. And because I see money as a tool and able to invest in myself at that level. And I ask, Well, I ask her. I said, like, what do you think about the fact that I’ve invested fifty thousand dollars in coaching? And she said that you make a lot of money. And I laugh because I think that’s also relative. We can break down business finances and what a lot means. But when I think about me investing in coaching at a level of $50000. I work with my coach twice a year. It’s twenty five thousand dollars for six months. And when I think about investing at that level, it’s because I am seeing money as a tool. But I also realize that there is a result that I desire to create in my life and that this particular investment is going to help me get this result. I see not the money, but I see the value exchange and I am working with this coach. I wanted to work with her since I was making like fifteen thousand dollars a year in my business, and I never thought about the money as a barrier because I was so focused on wanting access to her thoughts, knowing that if I got access to her thoughts, I got to shift my thoughts. And I know that if I can shift my thoughts, I can shift and create results in my life. So that’s a different way of thinking about money and thinking about value because we get so caught up with what we should or shouldn’t be doing with money. What is somebody else going to think? What about what about? What about no? Sit with yourself? What do you want to think about money? So for me, like I said, money is a tool that has allowed me to invest in myself. Whether I mean.

Another investment that I’ve made in myself is hiring someone who is coaching me on my health and is coaching me on my nutrition. I guess health and nutrition can be the same way, but she works with me for both, like what I’m eating, but also like my workouts so I can get the best bang for my book. Some people would say, like Keina, that’s not. That’s not valuable, and that’s their thoughts that that investment isn’t valuable. But I see money as a tool that helps me actually create results in my life that I desire to create. And one of the things that I value is when I think about my why or working with her, it’s because I want to be someone who is healthy and fit. And so she has knowledge. She has access to different thoughts that I don’t have. So yes, I’m going to pay her and I am going to use the information that she’s given me to create results in my life. So I just become this person that’s healthy, like, that’s just who I am. So that’s how I use the thought like money as a tool to learn, to invest in myself. And as I have this thought, it’s also a thought that I pass on to clients because when I’m working with clients, I see that when they’re making different decisions about how they desire to spend their money, sometimes they don’t put themselves first. They are going with and this may be like, Oh my goodness, Keina, are you really saying this like the priorities of paying down debt or the priorities of saving money? They’re conflicted when something might come up like recently with a client, what came up was that she wanted to spend money on therapy. And I was like, Yeah, we’re going to put therapy in your budget. Like that helps your brain, which is going to help you function as a better person. It’s going to help you show up differently for the people in your life for yourself, like there’s all of these benefits. Like, why wouldn’t we put that in your budget? Like, we can shift some other things around to make that a priority. And it doesn’t mean that I don’t. I don’t know exactly how long she’ll be in therapy in terms of do you want to go every week? Do you want to go once a month, whatever that looks like? So the numbers might shift. But what we’re not going to do is devalue the value of that result and make this all about like you have to save money and pay off debt. And so that might be this unconventional idea that you’ve never thought about when it comes. To spend money in your life, but money is truly, truly a tool. And if you want to adopt that thought, think about how, how does that make you feel and how would you choose to spend your money differently? Or to think about money? If you see money as a tool, especially when it’s connected to a value or a result that you’re looking to create in your life?

Another thought I have about money is that money allows me to do good in the world. So this thought has really helped me as an entrepreneur, because if you’ve listened, I think I’ve shared this and one other episode. But I was in education and it was very clear like, this is what you’re going to be paid. You’re going to make X amount of money next year because there’s like a very clear pay scale with different ladders. And so I realized early on that I had like a money ceiling where I was OK with making like one hundred twenty thousand dollars a year. Like, yeah, yeah, that’s fine. And when I first started my business, it was just to replace my salary. That was my thoughts about it. Someone challenged me and asked, like, what would happen if you made more than what you were making as a vice principal, as a teacher? And that one question blew my mind because I had never considered that I could make more money. And then as I started to consider that I could make more money like narratives from childhood came back. But like, you know, you don’t need to make a lot of money. You know, life isn’t just about making money. All those things. And so I had this underlying money story that money is evil, and it wasn’t something that was intentionally taught to me. But that’s kind of what I had picked up on. And so where I’ve shifted in my thoughts about money is that money allows me to do good in the world.

As an entrepreneur, I can make a lot of money. My goal this year is to make four hundred thousand dollars in my business. And for some of you, that may seem like a lot of money. I’ve broken down all the numbers and I’m like, and it’s actually not a lot of money because there’s taxes, savings, all these things. But when I think about that four hundred thousand dollars, like, I no longer feel like that’s a lot of money or that, like, that’s evil for me wanting to make that amount of money because I think about that, that money allows me to do good in the world. One, it’s a direct impact of the people that I’ve influenced through my coaching. Two, I get to hire other people to help me in my business. So I get to help other people earn money doing something that they love, and then they’re also helping me in my business. I get to set aside money in my business to donate to causes and organizations that align with my mission and value. Like that lights me up and like, why wouldn’t I want to create more money? Because I can have impact not only in my business, but I can have impact in the world as a teacher. I went into education because I really wanted to serve like black and brown communities. And what’s been impressed upon my heart is that I still want to serve in black and brown communities in different ways. And so I’ve been looking for different organizations that I can contribute to that impact the students that I served, whether it was issues like gun violence, incarceration, families experiencing homelessness. Those are the organizations that I want to give money to that are doing work that I know impacts those sweet babies whose bottoms are in those seats that need to learn and their home life looks different. So the thought that money allows me to do good in the world has helped me as an entrepreneur. It helps me when I think about selling like it helps me in so many different capacities. So that’s a thought that I have chosen for myself. And it’s a thought that I love to share with clients because what I also see as a coach is that people are under earning. They have their own thoughts about what would happen if they made more money. Maybe I won’t be able to manage it. Maybe I’ll be a bad person when all of these things come up and we get to debunk that and help them create new thoughts. So if money allows you to create good in the world, it is a good idea to borrow it, play with it, try it all and adopt it for yourself.

Another thought that I have is that money is simple and this one is huge because that’s the one thought that I want to give to all of you. Like, I need you to write it down. That money is simple. So many people discredit their ability when it comes to numbers because math has always felt hard. Budgeting feels hard, and so money feels hard. No, money is simple. Money gets to be simple. And so when you think about money being simple, it just for me, it creates curiosity. It helps me plan ahead with my personal and business finances. It helps me look at my business when I’m projecting numbers and where I desire to be three years from now. It lets me look at numbers that my brain probably once would have been like. That’s really scary to think about running a seven figure business. What would that look like? Now my brain’s like, I want to be really curious. What would that look like to have a seven figure business? Like, how much would I be paying employees? How much would I be putting into savings? What would it look like to pay taxes like? It just helps me digest a lot of questions that I know we’re going to help me be successful as a business owner. It also helps me be successful in thinking in my personal life. How much do I desire to be paying myself, how much money do I want to be earning? I can do scary things like file an S-Corp in my business, whatever that looks like. But being fueled by money is simple, allows me to have curiosity. It allows me to dream. It doesn’t just keep me in a place where I’m stuck. So today I give to you that money is simple. And when you believe that money is simple, you’re going to be able to create more money in your life, you’re going to be able to look at numbers, you’re going to be able to not be afraid, you’re going to be able to have conversations with people about money because you believe that money is simple.

Another thought that I have is that money comes to me easily. And this one is a newer thought. I mean, I think a lot of entrepreneurs will love this one because sometimes we want to think about doom and gloom when we think about money in your business, especially when you have to make hard decisions. And I say hard with air quotes, whether that’s raising your prices, maybe it’s actually creating a budget in your business. Maybe it’s deciding to pay your cell phone a set schedule and you start to freak out about, Oh my goodness, I’m never going to sign another client. I’m never nobody’s ever going to reach out to me about hosting an event, whatever that looks like. And so one of the thoughts that I like is like, money comes to me easily. And so when I’m thinking about money coming to me easily with that shift for me as a business owner is that I am able to be focused on giving value. Like in my business, I’m able to think about service, which is actually the thing that I love the most. And it’s not attached to the numbers because everything else will just be like the money will be a byproduct of how I’m choosing to show up, how I’m choosing to love my people and how I’m choosing to ultimately love myself. And that looks like not overworking and trying to figure out like, where where is the next dollar going to come from? Because at the end of the day, that’s not what it’s about. And money comes to you easily. I think that’s also true if you are like you now have a business. So how can I use this one in my life? I think it’s thinking about betting on yourself. If you’ve been thinking about going for a job that seems really scary, if you think about going to your boss and seeing and asking for a raise, if you believe that money comes to you easily. What would you do? How would that shift how you view money in your life? Maybe it even is tied back to like money is a tool and you would choose to invest in yourself in some way. I also see this when people start to talk about giving, especially as it relates to tithing. If you think that money comes to you easily, would you decide to tithe more if that’s something that you do in your life? So money comes to me easily. Is it thought that you can also borrow?

So I’ve shared four thoughts with you and the thoughts that I’ve shared with you in my life, the four thoughts that I’ve shared with you create allowance, curiosity, certainty and fun in my life like money does not have to be hard. Money doesn’t have to be restrictive. Like, that’s just not what we’re talking about. That’s not what I desire to talk about as a financial coach, because I really want to help you choose to be expansive with your thinking about money because it’s going to help you show up and make different choices in what you do and do not want to do with your money. And I talk about these four thoughts and my desire to pass them on to you. Because I talk to people every single day about money. And I know that like literally there’s so much in society, there’s so much fear, there’s so much shame, there’s so much guilt, there’s so much overwhelm and people seemingly don’t know where to start. I want you to start with your thoughts. Like, if I could choose to think different thoughts about money, how would that support me today, not tomorrow, but today? And maybe you’re listening to me right now and you’re like, Keina, I want to work with you. What thoughts come up for you about money and even thinking about choosing to work with me? Like, you got to decipher that for yourself? One, not even just one call. I see this all the time. It’s like when I’m alone consulting because I do it on Zoom and I tell people like, Hey, we’re going to make a decision about coaching today. Right? And like, you’re on this call because you want something in your life to shift. And when we start talking about paying for coaching, I can watch people’s bodies visually shift. And so where the shift happens and some of you may notice this is when you think about especially paying for something that seems expensive or you’re not sure whatever that looks like. The shift that I see is that their shoulders rise and their chest kind of caves forward. And you may have experienced that. And I can like, just see this fear and anxiety in their body because they have so many thoughts about money. They’re scared and they’re scared to let go of money because of their thoughts. And the thoughts might be like, this might not work for me. This is expensive. Debt is bad because I told you guys before, like some people put their coaching on credit cards and I’m like, Yup, it’s the best investment you’re going to make because we’re actually going to help you pay that off and earn more money. But you can see that they’re there, they’re racing and they feel this decision in their body.

But what I would offer to you, if you’re thinking about coaching with me, it’s like, what if you chose to think about money as a resource? How would that impact all of your actions and not just investing and coaching, but even just your day to day spending? You might be someone who’s always looking for the sale or you’re always looking for the cheapest thing, and that’s not one how I desire you to live. Nor do I think, is that how you desire to live, right? Like, you want to be expansive with how you think about money. So if you chose to think about money as a resource, how would that shift everything in your life? Like, I’m sure that you would lose the guilt of paying for a housekeeper because you would start to be thinking about like, Oh, if I could have somebody come in and help me clean my house once a month, then that would allow me to be more present with myself, with my family, with my friends or or whatever other areas of your life that that would impact if I want to go buy a lot, right? And I wouldn’t be thinking, Oh my goodness, I’m never going to be able to retire because of the latte. But you could enjoy that moment to potentially sit down and read a book and refresh and rest. If you start to see the possibility of money being a resource, maybe it actually allows you to start thinking about, Oh my goodness, you know what? I’m going to start charging more of my business, and I am therefore going to earn more, or I am going to ask for that raise, or I am going to start to look for new jobs because like money is a resource that I choose to use as a tool in my life that will allow me to impact other people.

Guys, I’m telling you the shift with your relationship with money is connected to your thoughts. Yes, we can attach a budget to it and make it all look pretty. But at the end of the day, the access to the budget is by way of your thoughts. So remember. You can choose your thoughts about money, choosing your thoughts will allow you to choose your feelings. And you’ll be able to take action from a different place. I also want you to practice. For those of you listening. And when you start to look at prices in your life, whatever it is, I want you to look at it from a values based perspective and not like the value that I’ve talked about with, like what are your financial values? But let’s just say I was telling you about my client that wanted to go to therapy, right? We could sit there and debate that, Oh, I’m going to pay one hundred and fifty dollars for a session. What is the value of that in your life? What is that one hundred and fifty dollars actually creating? Because it’s not about the money, it’s about what that is going to create in your life.

All right. Thank you for tuning into another episode of Money Files. Like I said, I was going to record something different for you, but I just wanted to share how you can choose your thoughts about money and that’s the most powerful thing that you can choose. And if you’re ready to work with me, you can go to www.WealthOverNow.com/Appointment and book your call with me. I would love to walk you through this journey in my five month partnership. We’ll spend time focused on your thoughts about money will shape your thoughts about money, but most importantly, you’re going to gain the peace of mind that you desire to have with your finances. All right, guys, one chat with you next week.

Thank you so much for listening to Money Files. If you’re ready to take the next step to reach your financial goals, head to www.WealthOverNow.com/Appointment and let’s get started.