Why it’s worth looking at your money mindset

The cost of living crisis is on a lot of people’s minds right now and it’s important that those with the biggest worries don’t shy away from the issue.

We spoke to Emma Langton a leadership and wellbeing consultant and she has been doing a lot of talking with organisations and individuals about the effects of the cost of living crisis on people.

We might not be able to solve the money worries but we can recognise what’s happening with those money worries and begin to shift our mindset, actions and responses.

Understanding your money mindset

People’s relationship with money can have a big impact on how they spend, save and plan.  When we understand what’s going on in the background, we can have a deeper understanding of other people’s beliefs – and our own beliefs around money.

For example, Emma had one client who told her that their dad used to take them for walks in the woods when they were little.  The dad used to throw coins above their heads and told them money fell from the trees.   Even though logically, they know this isn’t true, there’s a subconscious message embedded to this day, so that belief is still there.  This person is really good at spending and forgets to think about where the earning is going to come from!  They often ran out of money at the end of the month.

There’s nothing like money worries to cause an increase in stress, anxiety and sleepless nights.  When the fear of ‘what if’ rises then dealing with money can feel very overwhelming and make it difficult to think and plan.

When we feel low or overwhelmed we can lack motivation to do anything, and it’s going to be particularly difficult to do the tasks and activities like sorting money and finances and budgeting. 

Another of Emma’s clients knew that they had grown up with money worries. They constantly worried about money, even though they had a good job and were well paid. This client was even managing and saving quite well. However, their mindset was that there is never enough money. Those never ending money worries were exacerbating mental health issues, rising stress and anxiety levels too. It’s an unhelpful no win situation!

Spotting spending habits

It’s important we learn about ourselves and our own relationship with money. It can make a difference to helping us be able to move forward in a more knowledgeable way. Greater awareness allows us to deal with our finances from a more educated start point.  

We might see patterns in our spending, or there may be certain times when we’re more impulsive.  Maybe we begin to see habits occurring. We’ll also identify times of poor decision making, risky investments or avoidance of budgets and saving plans.

By getting to know moods, habits and other emotions such as overwhelm, guilt or feelings ashamed we can learn how we respond in those situations and enable us to plan or get support for those times..

Emma often works with people who are making decisions about next steps in leadership.  She’s had many conversations about what the pension and retirement prospects look like for them. Often there needs to be a turnaround in the mindset there too. These people have spent a lifetime saving for retirement, then they need to learn to spend those savings. It’s a big shift!

Financial scaffolding

By ensuring there is a plan is what will provide the ‘scaffolding’ around your money situation.  When we have that scaffolding, we create routines, plans, and budgets. It means we don’t need to spend quite so much time thinking about money.  It helps create space in our brain to do other things, like make longer term plans with financial advisors.

When we are honest with ourselves, we  might have to face some hard truths but it’ll be worth it in the long run to help ease the money worries and our mental and financial wellbeing.

Emma Langton has 11 years experience in supporting mental wellbeing in organisations. She helps leaders with 1:1 coaching and organisations with wellbeing speaking, training and workshops. Emma regularly provides insights on leadership and mental wellbeing on her Lessons for Leaders podcast. She has been featured in Forbes, Metro, Yorkshire Business Review and The Press Business Section.

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