6 Limiting Beliefs About Money That Are Holding You Back

For the month of May, we have been covering the Top 13 Money Habits and Mindset challenges we see with our clients, that are holding them back from achieving financial independence. In this article, we break down 6 limiting beliefs about money that are not being covered in our weekly email or podcast. If you wish to learn more about the other 7, subscribe to our weekly Financial Tip Friday email here and listen to our Money Myths podcast here.

When evaluating your limiting beliefs about money or anything else in your life, we recommend the 3 step approach Jim Kwik outlines in his book, Limitless. This 3 step framework is as follows:

1. Identify your limiting belief.

2. Get to the truth behind your belief.

3. Replace it with a new unlimited belief.

#1 I’m just not good with money

This belief assumes you cannot learn new things. How much time and resources have you spent trying to learn about money? As long as you are breathing and your brain is functioning, you can learn new things. Don’t give up without even trying.

Replace this belief with, I am constantly learning about how to get better at managing my money.

#2 The rich get richer and the poor get poorer

This belief gives you an excuse to not even try. It is the classic “the world’s against me”, “I’m not responsible for the outcomes in my life”, “why even try” mentality. When you don’t take responsibility for your current financial situation, you give away the power to improve it. When you realize you are the common denominator in everything that has happened to your personal finances, you will realize, if you change, then the outcome can change.

Replace this belief with, My financial outcome is entirely up to me.

#3 You have to work too hard to get wealthy

This belief lacks the understanding of what wealth and money are. There are people all over the world that work extremely hard but are not wealthy. You probably know several of them. Wealth in terms of finances is the accumulation of or abundance of money and assets. For the majority of people, wealth is obtained over a long period of time by consistently making wise financial decisions. Money is a store of value. To get money, you need to add value to other people’s lives. How are you adding value to other people’s lives?

Replace this belief with, To obtain wealth I will add value to other people’s lives and consistently make wise financial decisions.

#4 My family has never been rich

This belief like #2 gives you an excuse to not even try. The truth is, 79% of the 18.6 million Americans that are millionaires did not inherit their money. That means 14.7 million Americans figured out how to achieve what most people would call “rich” despite their family circumstances.

Replace this belief with, The financial struggles of my family stop with me.

#5 It’s selfish to want a lot of money

As mentioned in #3, money is a store of value. Money is amoral. It is neither moral nor immoral. People give you money in exchange for the perceived value you provide them in goods and services. If you want more money, add value to other people’s lives.

Replace this belief with, The money I earn represents the value I created for other people.

#6 Only people who are famous or inherited wealth can become Millionaires

As mentioned in #4, 79% of the millionaires in American did not inherit their money. The top 3 professions of the nearly 19 millionaires in America are engineer, accountant, and teacher. Yes, you read that right. The media loves to talk about how underpaid teachers are, yet they are in the top 3. Why? What do people in these professions have in common? They are disciplined and good at following a plan.

Replace this belief with, Anyone can become a millionaire by making wise financial decisions and following a plan.

What are some of your limiting beliefs about money? Use the 3 step framework to identify them, get to the real truth behind them, and replace them with a new belief.