Cultivating a growth mindset around money

Welcome back to the Team Jackie Porter live at 5 every Wednesday! If you have been following our live conversations you Will know that our goal is to make financial conversations accessible to everyone. Let’s get into the conversation today about cultivating wealth and the power of mindset..

How do you feel when you reach a goal you have set for yourself? Are you elated or deflated? Sometimes when you reach a goal you never thought you would, it may not make you as happy as you thought it would. Why is that? Ask yourself? Do you have a tolerance for how much happiness you will allow yourself when it comes to cultivating wealth?

Let’s get into the strategies that can help you break through the mental barriers that hold women back from achieving great success. Starting with the upper limit theory

What is The upper limit theory?

Author and coach Gay Hendricks describes the upper limit theory as a self-imposed limit on how much love, happiness, and success we believe we’re capable of experiencing. When it comes to building wealth, the upper limit theory can manifest as a limiting belief that we’re not worthy or capable of achieving financial abundance.

Community, how many of you have got this negative self thought, have you had that conversation with yourself? Do you have imposter syndrome? Then you need to face the situation head-on and take action towards being financially and mentally free. The first step is to identify some of the common spending patterns that could be limiting you financially

1 Guilt spending – are you a guilt spender? Do you know what that means?

Let’s use an example to help you figure out if you fall into this category – when you go out with friends and family, do you pick up the tab because you feel like the other people seated on the table are not earning as high? Do you feel the need to do so because you earn higher? Are you loaning money you know you won’t get back to family out of guilt? Are you buying things you can’t afford for your children out of guilt? All these are examples of guilt spending. You need to be aware of these unconscious patterns that could be limiting your financial growth and walk through conquering them

2 Distracted Spending – Are you a distracted spender?

You don’t want to deal with what’s really bothering you so spending money allows you to distract yourself and get some dopamine released. The epitome of going to the mall without having any idea what you are buying.

Let’s use this example – I had a client who is a lawyer and earns over a million dollars per year yet she is living hand to mouth due to guilt and distracted spending. She worked long hours and is away from her family so she gives them a generous allowance that she really can’t afford right now- as she has credit card debt and personal loans she needs to focus on paying off. However as soon as she makes progress and a significant case is settled in her firm, instead of using the funds to pay off her debt and build cash in her corp for a future cash emergency, she goes back to distracted spending sprees, to cope with the anxiety that comes with not having the cash to pay her bills in the leaner months.

It took a while but she started to come to terms with the root of her vicious cycle. It was about the anxiety she got so used to, from watching her dad make and lose money from his gambling habit as a child and she didn’t even realize that emotionally she was not prepared to build wealth. It is important to think about behaviours that aren’t serving you, where they may have come from, and how that could be limiting your ability to build wealth.

3 Status Spending: Community, are you a status spender?

Do you feel you need to buy luxury items, cars? The latest i-phone or some other status symbol of conspicuous wealth>?

So a few years ago a valued client referred me to a client who was doing well. She was at the top of her game in the marketing industry. However, something about building the asset side of her net worth statement scared her. She would rather look wealthy than be wealthy.

Have you thought about what the opposite of these spending patterns are? -Intentional spending, budgeting, optimizing assets and acquiring things for the long term. That is where our mindset needs to be to acquire and maintain wealth.

Here are some strategies for overcoming the upper limit theory and building wealth:

1. Recognize your limiting beliefs: The first step to overcoming the upper limit theory is to recognize when it’s showing up in your life. Pay attention to the negative self-talk and limiting beliefs and actions you take that undermine your ability to build wealth. One of my favorite mantras when it comes to cultivating a positive mindset I say to myself: I LOVE MONEY AND MONEY LOVES ME. REMEMBER MONEY IS ENERGY- SO IF YOU DON’T LOVE MONEY – MONEY WON’T LOVE YOU BACK

2. Reframe your mindset and think about what your limiting beliefs about money are. One of the ways to do that is to think big and start drawing up strategies in your head of what you can achieve when you make millions or even billions! Yes anyone can achieve that amount of wealth and it all starts with your mindset. Start thinking about what you will do when you achieve your financial goals and how the money you make will help elevate you and make a significant impact. Instead of focusing on the negatives you may associate with money, focus on what you can do with money.

3. Set realistic goals: Setting realistic goals can help you build momentum and boost your confidence. Start small and gradually work your way up to bigger goals. Start with the things you can control, like how much you spend, how much you save and how much you put towards high interest debt. Make a plan, challenge yourself to put money away for your future, stick to that budget and ensure you are not living above your means or deep in negative patterns that could be limiting your financial growth

4. Take action: It’s not enough to simply believe that you’re capable of achieving financial success. You have to take action. Start by making a budget, and increasing your financial literacy around an area of finance you feel particularly vulnerable about. Maybe that’s investing, understanding taxes or something else. Commit to learning something new about money each year.

5. Surround yourself with positive influences: Find a mentor, a trusted advisor or join a community of like-minded individuals who are also focused on building wealth. If you need support in this area please feel free to reach out to our team

Do you feel confident about your finances? Let us know where you stand. Team Jackie Porter is happy to help walk you through these financial circumstances and get you to where you need to be. Reach out to jody.euloth@askjackie.ca for a free 30-minute financial strategy session.