Do you ever wonder why money does not appear in your life and stays there no matter how much you wish or how hard you work?
Why is it that some people miraculously have thousands of dollars in their accounts while you can barely scrape enough together to pay your bills this month?
Money Beliefs
It turns out that your deep-seated beliefs surrounding money can significantly impact whether it will be present in your life or not. Two common threads of money beliefs relate to money worship and money avoidance. To begin with, people tend to worship or avoid money matters because it is part of their story that defines them.
But before we get into the different beliefs that can keep your pockets empty, let us dig a little deeper into how our beliefs can materialize into our money habits.
- First, it is essential to note that our beliefs are different from our wants and desires.
- Second, you may want that high-paying managerial position with its golden salary, but you never will if you don’t believe that you are worthy enough to get a job like that.
- When we enter this world, we are like empty vessels ready to draw in the beliefs our family or society surrounds us with daily. For example, if you constantly watch your parents struggle for money and curse the taxman, you may grow to believe that money is hard to make and that no matter what you do, you will always stay broke.
- Unfortunately, if your beliefs do not align with your wants and desires, you will never get past the money issues that hold you down in the form of lower-income and higher debt. So how can you change your money beliefs? To start, you must learn to recognize your personal beliefs and, with serious intent, start rewriting them.
Here are some common beliefs that people have. Let us see if you can identify with any of them.
If I work hard, I will make more
Have you ever heard the phrase “work smarter, not harder?” Yet, while some people grind day in and day out at their jobs, they still find that it is never enough to keep their finances in the black when their paycheck arrives.
While it’s true that good working habits can provide a stable income, there are times when your path reaches the peak of its financial payout.
For instance, maybe you think that your only chance of getting a raise is to wait for it to be offered to you. Instead, consider taking the initiative to thoughtfully ask your boss about how you can get a raise or tell them why you deserve a raise. At the very least, you may learn whether a raise is even possible.
I don’t make enough to save money
Enough money is relative. People who avoid saving money often have difficulty setting financial goals and achieving them. Years of potentially saved time will drift away if you are always waiting to earn enough money, and you will have little to show.
A small amount of $25 per month can lead to a savings of $300 by the end of the year. Of course, that is more than nothing. But if you put it into a tax-free savings account or mutual fund, you can slowly grow your savings.
If I can afford it, taking on debt is OK
Just because you can pay for something does not mean you should. Often, when people look at buying things like a new car or a house, they consider how much of a monthly bill they can afford and then choose the maximum amount.
Instead, consider what you need rather than what you can afford. For example, do you need to buy a brand-new car, or could you still buy a used one? Are you buying a house rather than an apartment because all your friends have houses?
https://medium.com/swlh/this-money-belief-is-what-keeps-many-people-in-debt-34601d27636e
Little expenditures don’t add up
For many of us, this is why we are stuck in the cycle of living paycheck to paycheck. Spending money on the little things, such as eating out for lunch or buying coffee every day, can add up quickly.
A $5-a-day coffee habit can add up to a $150 bill at the end of the month. Would you seriously pay that if it was presented as that much, to begin with?
Probably not! Start tracking your spending habits closely to see what you spend your money on in a day/week/month and cut out anything that is not serving you or your savings goals.

Money is the root of all evil
Some of us are ingrained with the belief that we are better people because we do not need money to be happy or that people must do bad things to make any real money.
The truth is that some good people are good at making money, too. And guess what? They do good things with their money, like donating to charity because they can afford it.
Staying broke will not put you in a situation to be able to help anyone. Decide who you want to be, with or without money, and start to think about who you can benefit from by making more money. If you don’t do it for yourself, do it for them.
I don’t deserve to make good money
People often take on a lot of societal beliefs about education and status when it comes to making money. For example, maybe you think that you will never be able to get a high-paying job because you do not have a master’s degree in something.
Or maybe you have imposter syndrome and believe that you will never be good at what you went to school for. These beliefs can cause people to devalue their work and set low pay standards, preventing them from earning more money.
How do I change my money beliefs?
Begin by identifying your patterns of thinking around money. Then, consider where these thoughts come from and how changing these thoughts could improve your financial situation. By redesigning your belief systems around money, you can start to build habits or seek opportunities that lead to earning more money.
Image credit: [Nicoletaionescu].