Your Environment Impacts Your Finances, You can change your perspective though.
I grew up in a hardworking but poor family environment, and maybe “poor” is a bit too strong a word. I don’t really remember not having the things I needed. There were always the basics like food, water, clothing, and warmth. I was privileged with a mostly safe and secure housing situation. I do remember that money, or the lack of, was ALWAYS a conversation that was prevalent in my household growing up.
We had to scrap and save and money was definitely a force of frustration, tension, and resentment in my youth. What’s more, is the guilt that comes from needing or wanting something and asking for it. I learned that needing and wanting money was wrong. I also learned deep rooted beliefs like “money is the root of all evil” and “someone else needed it more.”
Become a Business Owner!
I thought that becoming a business owner would help me. And it did. When I was working in the corporate space and still had my 9-5, I was able to generate additional income as a business owner. My main job held down the fort and all the things in the fort. Then, I paid off debt and lived the life I wanted with the additional income from my business.
When I left my corporate position in 2022 and became a full-time business owner in 2023, I thought I’d be making money in just a few months. And I did, I pulled in some revenue. But I also over-leveraged myself and ended up in a spot that made life hard in the here and now. I’ve been doing this for almost 2 years now. I can say that sometimes, anything to do with “money matters” feels difficult.
Perspective Shifting on Money Matters
Last year I attended a fantastic session where we dove into financial wellness under the idea of creating financial freedom. The person instructing obviously had a more affluent client base than I was but I learned so much. There were some very relevant things that I implemented right away.
Much of these lessons have helped me to shift my perspective on money matters. It’s allowed me to feel more comfortable (and dare I say in some situations) enjoy addressing my money matters.
Here were the takeaways:
1) Writing down your financial freedom vision –
Financial freedom is just a vision of how you will spend money when you have it. It starts you with a foundation to know what your life will look like when you become financially free and what you need to do in order to become financially free.
2) Changing your relationship with money –
Finding ways for you to enjoy looking and spending time on your finances again. The person who ran the show recommended “Money Dates.” This is an awesome idea to make the time that you schedule to do your finances something to look forward to. I loved this concept so much that I decided to put a “Money Date Monday” on our community calendar for the Perspective Shifters hub. I also scheduled 15 minutes into my day. If I’m just looking at it for 15 minutes here and there it doesn’t seem so difficult.
3) Cashflow the game –
Penelope also played a game with us called “Cashflow.” It was a bit different because it was on the computer and over Zoom, but she encouraged us to get the game and try it. I have two teens and it has been a great investment. The kids enjoy it and have realized it’s an expanded and more in-depth version of Monopoly. I enjoyed this game and I like that there’s a template for you to see where you’re at financially. It takes a little bit of work to get set up. However, if you implement that system, it will help you get a good handle on your business. The entire focus of this game is expanding your regular passive income so that you can exceed your expenses.
4) Money buckets –
Your money bucket is the bucket that your money will fit into. When I took this class I was keeping track of all the cool things that had happened to me financially. I was putting notes and money that I’d found into a chalice next to my desk. It had filled up for the year. I fell in love with the mantra that Penelope sent me: “My money bucket is always expanding.” I found and changed my “gratitude bucket” to a larger money container.
5) Profit First.
Okay admittedly, she wasn’t the first professional money expert to tell me about this book. She was the one, however, who shared it in a way that made me want to implement the process without even reading the book. I recently read the book, on loan from the library. I’m working on taking notes and compiling information for the Perspective Shifter’s Hub so that you can learn about it too.
Making a Shift
Listen, there’s not a one-size-fits-all all for money challenges, but there are things you can do to get better. What I’ve found, is that going from “ugh” to “cool” and “let’s do it” has changed the way I enjoy my financial projects and focus.
Finding a financial advisor/expert has been a bit of a challenge since we started the Perspective Shifters Hub. In fact, we’ve re-branded so that we’re not saying “expert” any longer. We want to help people with their financials and give them guidance and education, but not without the proper expertise. Ultimately, doing that needs to be done with care and concern. Additionally, We want to make sure that our specialists are taken care of, and claiming the title “expert” can get sketchy with financial regulatory bodies.
Who to go to for support on your perspective on money matters:
Penelope Jane Smith hosts the wonderful event that I mentioned above and all you need to do to attend and claim a full scholarship for that event is to click here: https://realprosperity.isrefer.com/go/scholarship/slkunkel
Another person who can help you shift your perspective on Money is Nicole Majik. She hosts workshops that get us out of our money blockages and into the next layer of limiting beliefs so we can crush our goals. Her workshops give some unique perspectives about our limiting beliefs and the angst we bring to the table about money.
During my first workshop with her, I uncovered that I had a limiting belief about others needing money more than I did.. She helped me remember the moment that it had held me back recently, and then I was able to connect that to the moment in childhood that it was stamped on my subconscious. Through working with Nicole I have been able to move past that limiting belief.
Lastly, check out organizations near you who are community focused. Thrivent is a great resource and they have classes as well as financial advisors who will help others within their community.
How I’m Shifting
Things aren’t financially perfect for me. Some might consider me to be “in trouble” with the amount of debt to income that I have. On the other side, I’ve been in worse situations and I know that my finances are not the only thing involved in my happiness. I’ve realized that my finances are a very small portion of my happiness. I want to let you know that I am still paying attention to my finances, and I invite you to joing us while we figure things out. We can exchange ideas, tips, tricks, and insights like these. You are welcome to come and learn during our Money Date Mondays.
The hub is a great place to share and find the insights you need to make a profound perspective shift in money matters, as well as other areas of life. It’s all in one place. Join us here.
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