As you focus on taking care of your financial self, try to picture a future where you have more than enough of what you need... more than enough money, more than enough savings, more than enough to buy your dream home, meet other financial goals, or whatever that might look like for you.
Sound impossible? This “more than enough” is exactly what abundance affirmations can help you focus on – setting a vision for your financial life you can then turn into actionable financial goals.
But first...
The Law of Attraction is the idea that you attract into your life what you focus on, per Jack Canfield.
Yes, there are exceptions to this. There are certain terrible things that just happen. There are certain systemic challenges that make it harder.
But the idea at its core is to focus on what you want for your future. And that includes what you want for your finances.
In financial counseling, this law translates to a concept that basically says you have to be able to envision the life you want your money situation to support before you can set goals to achieve it.
For example:
In a world without any obstacles, what would your life look like, money-wise?
Once you ask yourself these life-free-from-your-own-limitations questions, you can break that dream down into goals.
Then break those goals down into steps.
Then create an action plan, based on those steps and follow along to the life you want.
Need help setting practical goals you can stick to? Read THIS. It might focus mainly on setting goals for the New Year, but the same principles apply whether you start on January 1st, December 31st, or any day in between.
This is where I inevitably hit a snag with people. They struggle to even dream about a hopeful turnaround for their future financial situation, because they’re so caught up in the bad things that are going on right now. And the belief that they don’t deserve any better.
They get so caught up on what their mind tells them about money, their belief that they aren’t capable prevents them from even trying. But as you’ll see in the next section, believing you can is a critical piece of the puzzle.
I know from personal experience, which I’ll share in just a minute.
Here’s a basic outline of how to turn your money situation around, based on what I’ve witnessed in my own life and my practice:
Of course, feel free to adjust it however you need to to fit your life.
For now, let’s focus on #3. Chances are, if you’re reading this, you’ve already taken care of numbers 1 and 2 (hoping and wanting to make a change) on your own – so congrats!
Now here’s an example of how this played out in my life.
Just a few years ago, I was drowning in medical debt and side-hustling like nobody’s business to try and make ends meet.
I guess you could call me a typical millennial.
Now I have a comfortable financial safety net, money to travel when and where I want, own my own home and have zero medical debt (I paid it off!)
As a Financial Counselor with Self, I now get to turn my hard-earned battles with money into information to help you learn from my mistakes.
How did I do it? I started with changing my mindset.
Before, I thought I was destined to…
Then one day I decided that wasn’t the life I wanted, so I was going to figure something else out.
I started by hoping it was possible because I’d seen others do it, then wanting it to be possible for me, then finally believing it was possible to the point where I could take a chance to make it so.
I then started acting on that belief and finding the resources, information and people who could help me achieve my financial goals and live the financial life I wanted.
I don’t say this to brag, but to share my life as proof about how shifting your attitude towards money, then taking the steps to follow through and change money habits, can completely change your financial life.
While it sounds deceptively simple, changing your decades-long, deeply-ingrained attitudes and beliefs about money takes practice. Sometimes you really do have to “fake it ‘til you make it.”
That’s where wealth affirmations come into play.
Here are 17 money affirmations you can use to shift your mindset and set your thoughts towards improving your financial health.
Changing or breaking old habits takes daily practice. While it’d be nice to believe the myth that 21 days of practice will change anything (as described in this Forbes article), the truth is it takes consistent practice and commitment over time to change.
That may mean it takes longer than 21 days.
So if you’re truly committed to changing your money mindset, pick a few of your favorites from this list and try to practice them daily.
Find another good money affirmation you want to share with us? Tweet us @SelfCreditApp and tell us about it!
In case you want to put them on a Pinterest board, or print them off and keep them handy somewhere, here are those affirmations in visual form:
Is getting your credit in shape a main money-goal this year? Learn how Self could help you build credit while building a savings habit here.
Lauren Bringle is an Accredited Financial Counselor® with Self Financial – a financial technology company with a mission to help people build credit and savings. See Lauren on Linkedin and Twitter.