12/11/2014
The Psychology of Money.
Most people do not recognize that the way that they relate to money depends on how money was viewed in their earlier years. Children who experienced plenteousness may have a callous relationship with money; whereas children who grew up in lack tend to respect and value money. In either case, it can lead to aberrant behaviors where money is concerned. The child who experiences abundance in life may not know how to manage money and therefore, no amount of money will ever be safe with them. On the other hand the child that does not grow up with money in excess tends to be good savers and investors with their hard earned money.
In matters of finance, we must learn to live within our means, as well as appreciate the finer things that money can buy. We must not live to extremes and excesses nor give in to lack and subsistence. Learn to live moderately, so that when financial challenges arises in your life-and they will-you will not be over whelmed. You will simply be able to cut back during the lean times and manage to get through your crises unscathed. Whereas, on the other hand, spending frivolously can lead to financial disaster and cause great emotional harm to both the individual and family.
Most of us make a unconscious choice when relating to financial matters. Either, I will treat it the way my parents treated it or I will not live as my parents did-in relationship to money. Either choice can be an extreme which governs the management of our financial affairs.
Moderation, as in all things, is key in financial planning. Many of our dealings with money has a direct correlation with our feelings about ourselves: worthy, deserving, expectations, history-to name a few. We fail to realize that our relationship with money begins with an individual choice to treat money with respect but do not give it complete control over our lives. The less that money is our focal point, the more money that we will attract. We must realize that our relationship with money is both individual and personal and is not connected to the dictates of our families at all. Each of us can create as much or as little wealth as we desire-it begins with a disciplined mindset. Think about it, how do you feel about money and where did these feelings stem from?