Money Mindset Reset For Moms (By Mrs. Yemi Oshifowora)

Mrs. Yemi is a daughter, a wife and a mother. An accomplished professional with experience in accounting, financial reporting, Information technology, enterprise resources planning, personal and business finance coach.

She is a Fellow Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), An Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN), ACCA Diploma in International Financial Reporting Standard (Dip IFRS), and a MBA from University of South Wales in the UK.

She is the founder of the money community for moms, finance4moms. She is that money mum friend that would teach you financial literacy.

Here is her session with us:

So the aim of this session is to look at what money mindset is and see how we can have the right mindset about money as moms.

Typically, if you’ve listened to or read any money advice out there, it is all about diving right into your personal finances and putting a plan together.

Instead, you must start with understanding how you think about money and why it has held you back so far.

If your attitude towards money is negative or you constantly think results are impossible, what do you think the odds of you succeeding truly are?

So, if you are ready to improve your life and make better financial decisions, it has to start with your money mindset.

What Is Money Mindset?

Your money mindset is the unique beliefs and attitudes you develop about money. These ideologies can stem from your environment, influences from family, friends, and other areas as you navigate through life. And your views will also drive decisions about managing money.

What is your own mindset? Abundance or broke?

How to change your mindset about money?

Changing the way, you think about money can prove to be pretty difficult and may take time to adjust. Depending on your age, you have years of various influences that have been ingrained into your beliefs.

Removing the broke mindset and replacing it positively won’t happen overnight, but you can mold your mind in a better direction. So, if you have found that your money mindset is negative and you need to change it, there are a few steps you can take to move your perception in the right direction.

Make the commitment to financial stability
If you want to adjust your money mindset, one of the first places to start is ensuring you’re committed to becoming financially stable. So, before you jump into investing or saving money, you need to be ready to stick with your plan and trust that your efforts will work.

By committing to your process and getting excited about it, you are already boosting your mindset! And when you make the choice to be dedicated, you are subconsciously lifting yourself up and motivating yourself to keep progressing.

Read personal finance books
Not everyone in your life is a money expert or can pass down the right mindset. But fortunately, there are tons of great personal finance books that can guide you in the right direction. Much of what you read is about teaching you to be better with money, but you’ll find your views on money will change for the better too

Some of the books we can read to change our mindset

Millionaire Mindset: Habits and Simple Ideas for Success You Can Start Now by Dr. Darnell Smith
You are a Badass at Making Money by Jen Sincero
The Richest Man in Babylon by George S Clason
Renewing Your Money Mind: How to Go from Comment Cents to Kingdom Wealth by Barbara R. Galloway
Tapping into Wealth by Margaret M. Lynch
Get Rich, Lucky Bitch by Denise Duffield-Thomas
Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki
The Millionaire Next Door by William D. Danko and Thomas J. Stanley

Practice Money Affirmations
Have you ever visualized how your finances could be better? Do you think about things you want to accomplish with your money? How often do you tell yourself all these positive things you are going to do? That’s what money affirmations are about, is helping you visualize results and keep you focused on your goals. When you are constantly telling yourself all the things you will accomplish and positive ideas, slowly you begin pushing negativity aside. Naturally just sayings things will happen with your money isn’t going to solve everything, you’ll need to put in the work and continuous effort. But as you begin moulding your money mindset, creating various affirmations can start to influence the way you think.

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4. Stop Focusing on What Others Have
Fear of missing out (FOMO)can be a killer on your wallet and on your mindset.

Think about it, have you ever been jealous of what others have financially? Have you ever felt you are behind other people your age when you see the things they have?

I think most of us have been there or felt this way before. By worrying about what others have it can make you become pessimistic and you end up spending money you don’t have just to try and “keep up.”

But the ironic thing is the people you are comparing yourself to, also feel the same about others or might not have their finances together. It’s all for appearances!

Be Grateful and Practice Gratitude
Besides being concerned about what others have and causing yourself more financial stress, it’s a good idea to practice being grateful for what you do have and your own progress. When you start being grateful, you are more appreciative of your progress, your beliefs, and what you have. It’s looking at all the positives, instead of focusing on the bad sides of your finances.

You certainly do not want to hide from your financial problems either, but often your money mindset is too focused on what’s not going your way.

Believe in Yourself
Believing in yourself and having confidence that you can improve your finances might be a challenging aspect to changing the way you think about money.
Often, people let their past experiences dictate everything that happens in life. Any of these sounds familiar to you?
- “I was raised poor, so I’ll always be poor and broke.”
- “I will never be able to retire because I don’t know how to invest.”
- “I’m drowning in debt and I will never be debt-free.”

Regardless of where you are from, experienced, or grew-up with, you alone have the power to change your story. And there is no doubt that bettering your personal finances and mindset is easier for some than others — it’s just life!