Self-worth for Net-worth
by Belinda Fuchs, CPA

Financial worry is prevalent in today’s turbulent times. You may be feeling stretched and insecure about your financial future. What just might help is recognizing that a lack of funds or money management know-how are likely not the main causes of your concern. In fact, these are likely the symptoms and products of your inner beliefs about money. [read more]
You may not even realize you have these inner beliefs—which you may have “inherited” from your family or internalized over time—or that some of them may be holding you back from wealth and financial security.  Supportive beliefs provide encouragement, empowerment and positive feelings. Non-supportive beliefs can bring disempowerment, helplessness, hopelessness, and panic. Once you identify these latter beliefs, you can learn how to control them and make more conscious, objective, and smart financial decisions.
To begin to understand your own “B.S.” (your Belief System), answer these initial questions:

1. How would you describe your relationship to money and your current money management habits?
2. When you hear the words money, wealth, or rich, what comes to mind?
3. What did your parents tell you about money?
4. How do you currently act with money?

Now compare your answers to the supportive and non-supportive belief criteria. Were your thoughts and feelings empowering or disempowering? Here are some examples of non-supportive beliefs:

1. I’m not good at money or math.
2. If I try and I don’t succeed at making money, I’ll be a failure.
3. I have to work very hard for money and I won’t be able to make money doing what I love.
4. If I do what it takes to make a lot of money, it will take time away from my family and people won’t like me.
5. I don’t deserve to have a lot of money.
6. I can’t do anything about the financial crisis, so why bother saving, or even watching my spending, anyway?
7. No matter how much money I make, I’ll never have “enough”, and I’m not even sure what that would be or when it would come.

Holding onto these beliefs can be very destructive—both emotionally and physically. According to a recent study by the American Psychological Association, 73% of Americans name money and work as their top 2 stress factors in their life. You may carry shame, judgment, and guilt around having these feelings, creating palpable stress and an uncertain financial future.
However, there is an alternative. Even though most of us don’t have a direct impact on financial markets, we have 100% impact on our personal beliefs and behaviors about money. You can choose to leave your money past in the past starting today, and instead decide to “own your money”. When you choose to “own your money”, you gain a new view on wealth and can create new supportive beliefs and behaviors that will help you to make more money, save more money, and stress less about money.
You will soon discover that your inner wealth creates your outer wealth, and your positive self-worth quickly leads to your positive net-worth. Your “rich life” is waiting for you.

Belinda Fuchs, CPA is a wealth coach, CPA and president of OwnYourMoney.com, a financial coaching and education company dedicated to helping women, entrepreneurs, and couples achieve the lives of financial freedom they deserve. She will speak at the Massachusetts Conference for Women in a workshop titled “It’s Your Money: Take It Personally!” Additional money success tips and articles by Belinda are available by subscribing directly at www.OwnYourMoney.com.

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