Money Mindset

TAMRA CLARK CHAMPION: Hello, and welcome to U.S. Bank's Financial Wellness Series for our workplace partners. My name is Tamra Clark Champion, and today, I'm going to be talking to you about understanding your financial mindset. 
First, I'd like to share a little bit about myself. I'm very fortunate to be a goals coach with U.S. Bank. I also have 25 years of experience in the financial services industry, and much of it focused on serving employees and customers in the capacity of organizational change management and communications. 
After I graduated with my professional coach certification from iPEC in 2021, I then went on to earn my accredited coach certification from the International Coaching Federation. And last year, I also earned my health coaching certification through the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. 
The thing that I love most about my role as a coach is having the honor and privilege of serving individuals from all walks of life, regardless of their income level, their age, or their experience. And today, we're going to explore how different experiences and emotions tied to money can form what we call your money mindset. 
And with audiences, I usually like to start with a poll question, so let's do a little bit of reflection. When you think about money, what emotions do you experience? Is it comfort? It's normal to feel any of these emotions according to the situation or as we move through financial decision making. 
Or do you feel stress, or maybe even confusion? Or do you feel excitement? And it would be no surprise if everybody watching this video had a different answer to this question because each of us can associate different feelings with the topic of money. 
But two common attitudes toward money are one of optimism and abundance or one of scarcity and pessimism. And unfortunately, many people initially operate based on the pessimism and scarcity view, which can become a source of stress. 
And if you're one of the many who operates on that, it's very important that you don't allow it to influence your mindset. If you want to know what makes one person successful with money and another one give up, it's very simple. It's money mindset. 
So what you believe about money, yourself, and the world shapes how your life will unfold. And every single day, you have the power to make decisions that will move you forward financially or set you back. It's really up to you. 
Money is a really tricky topic, and everyone needs it to survive. It's a tool. But if you don't have enough of it, it can cause major stress. The lack of money or the presence of too much debt can cause a person to start to develop a negative and destructive thought process when it comes to finances. 
And once this way of thinking is instilled in a person's mind, it can affect their finances in ways the person may not even be aware of. So if you constantly live in a state of fear when it comes to money, you might sabotage your chance of making more or getting out of debt. 
And avoiding thinking about your finances completely can cause you to dig yourself into a deeper financial pit, which is why shifting that mindset is so important. Because we all want to be in control of our finances, right? We want to be in a good place with money. 
But the million dollar question is, how do we do that? And the answer lies in your habits or behaviors. The rest is about your attitude and your learned behaviors around money which comprise that money mindset. And that's what we're going to talk about today. 
I love this quote by Keisha Blair. "One of the major blocks to financial freedom is our money mindset." 
Now your money mindset is your unique set of beliefs and your attitude about money. It drives the decisions that you make about saving, spending, and handling money. It also shapes the way you feel about your debt, your attitude maybe towards people who make more or less money than you, how easily you are able to give, and your ability to invest with confidence and more. 
And your money mindset is influenced by many different factors, including the psychology of money itself. Obviously, the experiences that you've personally had around money will play a big role, and things like if you had a part time job in high school or if you've been at the receiving end of generosity or even how openly your parents talked about money growing up. 
So I really want you to think about that last one for a moment. What were the experiences that you had around money? What did your parents do with their money or not do with their money when you were growing up? 
Now, let's spend a moment reflecting on these questions just a little bit deeper because the way that you saw your parents talk about money or not talk about it when you were growing up definitely influenced your attitude about money from an early age. 
And thinking about how money was handled in the household you grew up in will help you understand the foundation for your beliefs about money. If you're married, this can also help you get to the root of money discussions that you and your spouse might have. 
Your spouse's experiences were probably totally different than yours, which means that you're each looking at the topic of money from two different perspectives. So if you think about your life up until now and you ask yourself these questions, I want you to just take a moment as you're watching the video-- you can pause it, even-- to jot your thoughts down on paper so you can reflect on them later. 
And then think about what changes you might need to make in terms of your money mindset, your behaviors, or your habits. So the first question is, what did I hear and see about money growing up? The second question is what is one thing my parents did with their money that I want to replicate? 
What did you see that you thought, oh, I do that same thing in my life, or I'd like to do more of that in my life? And then the last question is, what is one thing that my parents did with their money that I want to do differently? 
And again, there's a connection between what you saw or experienced and how you feel about money now. So again, take a moment-- you can pause the video, even-- to reflect on each of these questions and think about what changes you might like to make. 
Now often the stigma associated with fear of failure can really hold us back when we're working towards goals in our life. And as a goals coach myself, I am here to help people be overcome obstacles and create action plans to form new habits or start creating new behaviors so that they can work towards their goals. 
And one way that I do that and achieve that is by helping clients to reframe experiences or situations because research shows that how we perceive a situation impacts how our bodies and minds respond. If you consider an undesirable result a failure, you may then feel overwhelmed, disconnected from others, or even embarrassed. 
And suppose you could find new ways to overcome a challenge and learn from the situation. In that case, you would be more likely to view that event as an opportunity to perform better in the future as you've learned more and as you develop your knowledge and hone your skills. 
So we have some examples here for you on screen. In the first one, maybe you felt it has been difficult to save in the past, and you tell yourself, I'm not a good saver. You could really reframe that experience as saying something like saving is a strategy that is new to me, and it's never too late to start. 
In this second example, which is many of my clients who have debt, they say things like, I'm not good with credit cards, or I don't trust myself with credit cards because maybe they racked up some credit card debt in the past. 
But I also want to acknowledge with them that many of us are not taught in high school or college how to use credit cards as a tool. So instead I say, how about telling yourself something like I'm approaching credit card usage in a new way, as a tool to build my credit. 
And then in this third example, many of my clients say things like, I don't manage my money well, or I don't make good decisions with my money. But the truth is-- and you can use this to reframe that experience for yourself-- your past mistakes are guiding you in being more thoughtful around your spending. 
And if you view the process of achieving goals as an experiment or a process where you know you're going to come across challenges and make mistakes and perhaps even fail at times, you start to build that confidence to test new approaches and ideas and be open to make a new set of decisions without the pressure of feeling like you must achieve immediate success. 
Being resilient and adaptable is a key when you problem solve through situations, so you can also try to reframe your thinking when it comes to the poor decisions that you made in the past. And if you do have debt, remember those dinners out with friends. Remember the amazing trips that you took or that incredible education that you paid for in order to invest in yourself. 
Your debt brought you joy. It created memories. You don't want to romanticize it, but you should remember that it served a purpose. It was there when you needed it, and now you can work to pay it down and create an even better life moving forward. As we all know, avoiding an issue won't make it go away. So instead, we have to put our fears aside and face the problems head on. 
Now, I'd also like to share some tips that you can use when you're going through a situation, whether it's financial or not, where you might be experiencing some feelings of failure. And if you're working towards a goal right now, this will help you shift your mindset to view that process as an experiment. 
So there's three steps that you can use with an experimental mindset and mental fortitude to change your situation for the better, and the first one is to create an action plan with key milestones. And as goals coaches, that is something that we focus on with our clients. 
So decide on the steps that it will take to reach your goals, and put those actions into practice without believing there's only one way to achieve your goals. This is a mini-experiment. Now once you have some data to work with, whether it's feedback, analytics, or other outcomes, follow the review, refine, and repeat process. 
You review your progress, exploring what has worked well and not so well, and dig a little deeper to understand why. Then you refine your future approach based on what you've learned. Now, this could mean making a small change on how you approach your goal or the steps you take or a complete redirection. You can repeat this process again and again. 
The second one here is to turn your losses into lessons. No one wants to fail, make mistakes, or get things wrong. We all want to reach the end goal quickly and efficiently. But the truth is when we're embarking on new ventures or adventures, we won't always know the best course of action until we start taking steps forward. 
So the next time you make a mistake or completely fail at something, ask yourself, what is the lesson here? And remind yourself that when you look back from a place of success and achievement, it often becomes clear how all the lessons that you learned throughout your journey contributed to your success. 
And the third tip here is to reframe that failure to factor in your future. Your brain naturally responds to what it believes to be a threat with a fight, flight, or freeze response, and this includes a response to experiencing failure. And it's really an entirely natural and automatic physiological response. 
But rather than letting it be a debilitating step in your goal achievement, if you recognize that you're in this state of fight, flight, or freeze, you can reframe that experience so it doesn't hinder your future progress. 
And now I also want to share six steps with you to create this positive money mindset. The first one is to forgive your past financial mistakes because no one is perfect and chances are you have made bad financial decisions over the years-- not just one, but probably multiple. 
Perhaps you paid too much for rent because you fell in love with a beautiful house, or you went on too many shopping sprees, and now your credit cards are maxed out. Whatever decisions that you've made in the past are in the past. 
And yes, you may still be suffering the consequences of those mistakes, but you don't have to continually beat yourself up over it. Money is tricky, and not everyone is taught how to manage it properly. A lot of us learn through trial and error, so the two most important things to focus on are learning from your mistakes and forgiving yourself. 
The second step is to understand those thoughts and emotions surrounding money. Like I talked about with reflection in the very beginning, you may think that you understand what your thought patterns are when it comes to money, but taking a deeper look may provide some interesting insight. 
So try this exercise. For a single day, after each purchase or financial decision that you make, take a moment and write down your thoughts and emotions on paper. Think about this. What's running through your head when you make the purchase? 
How are you feeling in that moment, and be honest and thorough. And then at the end of the day, go over everything with an open mind and evaluate how your spending habits are maybe affecting your mental health, your thoughts, and your emotions. 
The third step is to realize that comparing yourself to others is a losing game. This is really a dangerous thing that many of us do in life, and the same is true in finances because comparisons are hardly ever accurate. The lens is skewed. 
Those social media stories show a story in the way the other person wants you to perceive it. For example, you might see an influencer or even an acquaintance posting about a luxurious vacation, including a big spending spree. 
But that small snapshot in time is not reflective of their whole financial situation. They may be inundated with credit card debt or behind on car payments. Focus on what you are doing and enjoy the things that you can afford. 
The fourth step is to work on forming good habits. Take on your finances head-on. Build the habit of scheduling time each week to go over your bills, your budget, and your spending habits. I spend 15 to 20 minutes every Friday doing this. I have it scheduled on my calendar, and it's a priority for me, so it never feels overwhelming. 
And then highlight the areas that you need to work on, and be sure to congratulate yourself for any improvements. Set realistic goals, and reward yourself in small ways when you reach them. Your finances didn't get out of hand overnight, and your success won't appear that way, either, so it's important that you set milestones towards your goals and celebrate along the way. 
The fifth step is to create a balanced budget. Now, the word budget tends to make people nervous. They think of a budget as confining and restricting, but it doesn't have to be that way. A loose budget can help you stay within spending parameters and understand your boundaries while still allowing yourself freedom to treat yourself from time to time. 
And a good rule of thumb is to put half of your monthly income towards bills and necessities, and then put 20% of your income towards paying off debt or building your savings. That leaves you with 30% to use as you please. So if you find that you're unable to follow this pattern, maybe it's time to look at your monthly bills and see which ones you could lower or cut out altogether. 
And then the sixth step, and I think this is the most important one, is to express gratitude. Be thankful for what you have. It may not be as much as you want, but it's what you have right now, and it's worth celebrating. So learn to focus on what you have with a grateful heart. 
Money shouldn't control you or your thoughts, but instead you should work to control your thoughts around money and, in turn, begin to get a better grip on your financial spending. And if you can apply what you've learned today, this will allow you to be more aware of your emotions, your money mindset, and then as you work on them, you begin to see a positive change in your life and with your money habits. 
So I would encourage you to find some quiet time in the next day or so and go back through your reflection notes taken earlier today. Reframe these into positive statements to help you get on track to creating a positive money mindset for yourself. And if you need help, reach out. Our goals coaching services are free, and we're here to help. 
So our one-on-one goals coaching sessions are free to you and your family members aged 18 or older as an extension of the financial wellness partnership that we have with your employer. And you can work with a coach to realize what your goals are, help to clarify those, create a personalized plan, and build a support system around you to achieve those goals. 
We start by exploring what your goals are and why they're important to you. And from there, we help you to create a timeline and an action plan to get you from where you are right now to where you want to be. 
Also, as goals coaches, we don't sell products or services, so you won't get a sales pitch from us. We are here to provide support and accountability, and we can help make connections to subject matter experts across U.S. Bank for financial products or services, if you request it. 
Now, the QR code that you see on screen will take you to our Explore My Goals page, where you can sign up for a one hour goals discovery session or start with a 15 minute intro call to meet a coach and see if they feel like the right fit. You can also ask questions about the program during that 15 minute intro. 
Or you can visit us at usbank.com/coaching. You can probably also find us on your employer's intranet site by searching U.S. Bank. I would like to thank you so much for joining me here today and listening to what I had to say about money mindset, and I hope that you found something that was helpful to you and that will allow you to continue to move forward in your financial wellness journey. Thank you so much for joining me.