Could your “money story” hinder your ability to achieve your financial goals?

You may be used to thinking of money as facts and figures, but have you ever considered your relationship to money, or how it makes you feel?

While this might be a new way of looking at and thinking about money, it can be a very important part of working towards your long-term goals. How you feel about money can help or hinder your intentions to build wealth and create a dream lifestyle for yourself and your family.

This is because it can feed into something called your “money story”, sometimes known as your “money mindset”.

Read on to learn more about money stories and how your planner could help you to master your own in order to help you achieve your goals.

Your money story is often formed in childhood and can affect how you perceive yourself and your money

A money story is often formed in your early childhood and is based on your experience of money, whether it’s your own or other people’s.

Your money story might be adopted from those closest to you, such as your parents, grandparents, or other close relatives or friends. Over time, these experiences can solidify into a belief system.

For example, if one of your parents was often fretting about not having enough money, you might have developed the idea that money is often in short supply. As a result, you might feel that money and wealth are difficult to come by more generally. This can create feelings of guilt or fear when you do spend money.

Alternatively, perhaps you had a parent who was more of a spender. If your early experiences suggested that money is there to be spent, you might feel uncomfortable about having large sums of money in savings or investments.

These are just two examples from an endless list of possibilities. In reality, no two people will have the same money story because each of us has a unique background and experience of money.

Your money story can affect your ability to achieve your financial goals

While you may consider yourself to be a logical person making sensible choices, there’s no doubt that we can all be affected by our emotions to a certain extent when it comes to our personal finances.

Let’s consider the examples of the two money stories above.

In the first example, if you believe that wealth is difficult to come by, you might find it difficult to spend money on things you enjoy, because you feel it’s important to save as much as possible. Perhaps as a result, rather than buying the holiday home you’ve always dreamed of having, you keep the money in your savings because this feels more comfortable to you. In doing so, though, you may be delaying your ambitions and failing to improve your standard of living even if you could afford to.   

In the second example, if your money story tells you that money is for spending, you might find it challenging to set money aside each month into savings or investments. This could mean that it takes longer to achieve your long-term goals, perhaps delaying things that you are looking forward to, such as your retirement.

Your money story might have many layers and be more complex than these examples. Hopefully, though, they can help you to start thinking more deeply about your own relationship to money and how it makes you feel.

In doing so, you can start to recognise the way those feelings could be influencing the way you manage your personal finances.

A financial planner can help you to overcome any psychological barriers to money and wealth

Working with a financial planner can be a helpful way to address your money story and overcome any barriers it might be creating when it comes to achieving your goals.

As well as their expertise in managing your financial matters, your planner is also well-versed in the psychological barriers that many people have when it comes to wealth. Their years of experience mean that they have plenty of tools available to help you to feel calm and confident in the decisions you are making.

This means that they are perfectly placed to guide you through any uncomfortable emotions that can arise when talking about your finances. Consequently, they can help you to make sensible decisions about your wealth so that you have the greatest chance of achieving your goals. 

Get in touch

If you are looking for a reliable financial planner in Towcester who can help you to master your money story and achieve your long-term financial goals, our friendly team is here to help.

Email theteam@fortitudefp.co.uk or call us on 01327 354321.

Please note

This blog is for general information only and does not constitute advice. The information is aimed at retail clients only.