When it comes to changing your finances, few things are more important than changing your money mindset.
The mindset that got you into debt won’t get you out of it. You’re going to have to confront your old habits and thoughts about money. Even if you're finally out of debt and looking to achieve new financial goals, you're going to have to adjust how you think in order to hit them.
While completely changing your mindset is a longer journey than we can cover in this article, there are a few tips you can use to get it started.
Learn from people who are successful with money
This step doesn’t mean you need to go study billionaires. Instead, you’ll want to think of people in your inner circle (or find new friends online) and ask them about their money habits.
Ideally, you’ll want to ask someone with the same goals as you. If you have a friend who just recently got out of debt, and you’re starting your debt free journey, that is the perfect person to ask advice from.
(Bonus points for being comfortable enough to talk about money with people in your life! Here at MSTRPLN, we believe everyone should be talking about money more often.)
Consume content that aligns with your goals
As the founder of MSTRPLN, most of you know my story of climbing out of a mountain of college loan debt. That’s most likely why you’re here reading my story!
You want to make sure your social media feeds have people in there who are working hard toward similar money goals as you.
Break habits that contribute to your problem
If you have a bad spending habit, following brands and subscribing to their emails might be your kryptonite. You might need to unfollow influencers and brands who contribute to your bad habits.
You need to make sure you’re constantly being reminded of your goals, not things that tempt you to get off track.
Even if you’re out of debt and just want to start building your retirement portfolio, be sure to follow people who inspire you to hit your own goals.
We love a good travel influencer as much as the next person, and as long as you're hitting your goals it doesn't matter if you treat yo' self. However, if you're traveling and eating out at the cost of your goals, it's time to sit back and think about your money habits.
Focus on your own journey
On the flip side of what was said above, there is also the dangerous trap of falling into the problem of comparing yourself to others as you follow their journey.
Just because I paid off six figures of debt in two years doesn’t mean that’s the standard. I know it’s a rare case when it comes to getting out of debt. Use the people you follow as inspiration instead of a metric to measure yourself against.
Just because you don’t pay off your debt in two years doesn’t mean you’re failing behind or that your goal isn’t worth it.
Your journey is unique and while benchmarks can help you figure out how your goal is going, ultimately know that it will be different from other people’s experiences.
Accept that it’s a journey
Keep in mind, it will take some adjusting and you need to be patient with yourself as you adjust your mindset around money.
Most of us were not raised in an environment where money was a fun and stress-free topic. It was often a huge point of contention between family members – no wonder so many of us struggle to have good money habits as adults.
It’s essential to know that when you have slip ups, you need to forgive yourself sooner than later so you can get back on track.