What Is Fear Of Money?
Wow. Where to start? Money is so deeply ingrained in our society and can have such an emotional charge, that it’s not hard to see how having a fear of money would be understandable and somewhat rampant.
Many of us are brought up with negative childhood experiences that we sabotage ourselves when it comes to money. This self sabotage leads to further negative experiences (excessive debt, bounced checks, unpaid bills, bad credit, foreclosures, even bankruptcy) that the cycle continues and it can be tough to dig yourself out.
The good news is that, like with any fear, we can learn to manage our financial fears and learn to have positive experiences. As we learn and grow with change, the fear will lessen until one day we wake up and it has become a thing of the past.
Moving Past Fear Of Money
We cannot get to where we want to be unless we know where we are now. The first step is taking control of your money and while this can be a tough emotional experience, a great place to start is to forgive yourself for any past mistakes. I have found through my money coaching clients that past issues with debt or bad credit become distorted in our minds and cloud out the positive accomplishments we have with managing our finances.
If we can accept that the past is the past and that today is a new day, we allow ourselves a fresh start. And you deserve that.
Where to Start?
I am not going to bombard you with worksheets or homework assignments that will only further overwhelm you. For today I would just like you to think about what a few of your beliefs about money are and where they might have come from.
What did your parents teach you about money? Did you grow up rich? Did you grow up poor? Was money talked about in your household? Was it used in place of love or possibly withheld as a form of power?
These are just questions to get you started. Much of our beliefs are unconscious and even just start starting to question them can bring about change in the choices we make.
Knowledge is power.
You make reading your blog, interesting! I like your writing style. It wasn’t totally clear whether you are still selling for the financial industry or whether you are a money coach now. I guess I see the two roles as sort of contradictory. To me a money coach helps people get out of debt…while many financial planners would gladly encourage people to be in debt — and invest borrowed money with them.
Where are you? It appears you are in Canada — which is good, but where in Canada?
Hi Kristi! Thanks for your comment and your kind words about my writing style (I do try…). I am in Montreal, QC.
Yes, I am in still in the financial industry – but in marketing, web design and social communications. This blog was started before all that – what I learned from blogging (although you would not guess from the limited number of posts on this blog) led me to a fantastic opportunity working for an independent investment research provider based here in Montreal.
While I completely agree with you about Money Coaches helping you get out of debt, I’m hesitant to paint all financial planners as encouraging people to be in debt (and invest borrowed money with them – probably in high MER, deferred sales charge mutual funds…). A good financial planner will not use these questionable tactics. The key will always be to educate yourself.
A Money Coach can help you with a lot of your beliefs about money, help you track your spending (http://mint.com is good for this as well), and get you on the right track about how you associate with and feel about money. A good financial planner (fee based is best, in my opinion) can help you move forward with a strong plan for saving and the future.
Good luck!