Money

Feel Your Way To Making More Money

“The only way you will ever permanently take control of your financial life is to dig deep and fix the root problem. - Suze Orman

 What is it about the word “money” that makes us want to run, hide, or otherwise disappear from view?  We know that there is plenty, that life is abundant and offers endless gifts, and yet we still have a hard time believing in our hearts that there is enough. 

Money guru, Suze Orman, asks these questions about our money: “Why aren’t we better at managing this important resource? Why do we spend more than we should on credit cards? Why don’t we save more money for retirement? Why do we hate to look too closely at our finances?” And her answer to these questions is…money is not the problem! The real reason you struggle with money has to do with how you feel about money.

Understand Your Relationship With Money

During her Hay House World Summit interview, Suze shared the real root of our money troubles:

“Money is so simple.  There’s nothing complicated about money.  What’s complicated is your relationship that you have with your money, and what makes it complicated is you care more about the things money can buy than you do about money itself.”  She suggests getting in touch with your deepest and oldest feelings about money as the best way to discover where your relationship with money really begins.  “It’s not because we aren’t capable adults. It has to do with a money message that was passed down to us many years ago by parents who received the same message from their parents and so on. Buried deep in the past for each of us is a money memory that set the tone for our future relationship with money. The money memory shaped our ideas about the meaning and significance of wealth and scarcity.”

 “I am not interested in money but in the things of which money is the symbol.”  -Henry Ford

Be Your Own Money Savior

Recalling your earliest money memory and understanding your present money frustration offers tremendous insight into why money is a problem in your life.  “Swoop in and save yourself,” says Kate Northrup, author of Money: A Love Story.  We’re past fairy tales and childhood fables of damsels in distress, right?  Right!  We aren’t looking to be rescued, right? Right! The head in the sand thing isn’t working either, right?  Right!  We can make all of our dreams come true, including making more money, by showing up and doing the work.  Shake the sand out of your ears and see what stirs up in your stomach with Kate’s 3 step process to get to the root of your financial woes:

1. Write down your earliest childhood memory about money
2. Write down your TOP money frustration
3. Determine if there is a connection between your memory and frustration

Once you complete this exercise, simply write positive affirmations to replace frustrating financial thoughts and painful money memories.  After using your new money affirmations for one week, write down things you will do to save money.  Maybe skip that Starbuck’s coffee one day per week?  Or make a habit of throwing spare change in a jar?  Start small and watch the pennies turn into dollars.  For those bigger dollar spends, try this exercise:

The next time you set out to make a big purchase, ask yourself 3 questions :
1.Do I have the money, in cash, to buy this?
2.What does buying this mean to me? How would it make me feel to own this?
3.What would happen if I decide not to buy it now?  How does that make me feel?

Sit with the honesty of the answers. Then, challenge yourself by agreeing to wait 2 weeks before buying the desired item.  And despite the lovely sales lady warning you that the charming silver necklace with the diamond heart pendant is one of a kind, rest assured…if you go back in 2 weeks, she’ll manage to find you the same one!  

If you are still truly stumped and struggle with tapping into your memories about money, take this test from Kate Northrup to see how well you and your money get along. 

Go Within To Earn More Money

No matter what, take some time to get in touch with your feelings about money.  Oftentimes, the real insight comes when our thoughts about money point to a bigger truth: How we feel about ourselves. 

When there is a feeling of lack or of not having enough, whether from money, love, faith, etc., this feeling is really a call to go within. What’s really going on with you on the inside?  Stay in tune and listen for the answers, and remember, you are the creator of your life!  Remember, there is enough of everything for everyone, including money. 

For help clearing out the cobwebs of old money memories and rewriting your own definition of money,  Listen to Suze Orman's Financial Freedom audio download now. 

 _{Excerpts taken from Suze Orman’s Tips for Your Money Life, by Suze Orman and Money, A Love Story, by Kate Northrup}