4 Steps to Creating a New Money Story 

Many of us have wished at some point in life that we could rewrite history. While we can’t change what happened in the past, we can certainly change how we interpret our history. This can be achieved by changing the story we tell, and by making better choices in the future. In no other area of life will this bring more important results than in your financial future. Sometimes we get trapped thinking that things have always been this way and that things cannot possibly change.

Most of us would welcome a chance to rewrite our history, especially when it comes to our financial affairs! We could all use a new – and better – money story, one that is different from our history of poor financial choices, or not having enough money: a new story of achieving our money goals and reaching new levels of financial success.  Of course, as the saying goes: “If you do what you have always done, you will get what you have always gotten”. (Tony Robbins). A new story requires thinking differently and making different choices by changing your money actions.

One of the worst financial choices the vast majority of South Africans make is not to save some money, no matter how little, every month. For the 95% of South Africans who cannot afford to retire because they did not save, the sad story is that half of them will become financially dependent on family members. We know that this is not the kind of story you want to tell about your life! In order to change this and other sad money stories that are quite common in South Africa, for example, spending what we don’t have or getting into a cycle of loan shark lending, it is important to become aware of the money mistakes that you may have made or learning from the money mistakes that others have made. The words of Warren Buffet are true, “It’s good to learn from your mistakes, it is better to learn from other people’s mistakes”. Your future self will thank you if you are able to change your choices and improve your money destiny!

Here are our Four steps to rewriting your money story:

  1. Identify your money story – Identify the money stories you tell yourself and the mistakes you make because of it. For example, if one of the money stories you tell yourself is that “I’ll never have enough money left over to save”, you may not even try to save.
  2. Become Aware and decide to learn how to manage money better– The more you know about money, the easier it becomes to rewrite your money history. Fortunately, help is at hand, and your financial coach can help you identify what money mistakes you may be making.
  3. Rewrite your money story – Many of our money stories that we learnt in childhood may not even be true. If your parents made a financial mistake, you could learn from this, to avoid history repeating itself. For example, the truth is that saving is a habit and that everyone can learn how to save.
  4. Commit to a small change. Start by committing to just one change: pick one financial behavior to improve until it becomes part of your new money story. For example, if you eat out once a week, reduce this to once a month and enjoy adding the money you save to your growing savings.

Join us in our National Savings Month Challenge by letting us know, what one item in your budget are you willing to change? Share your best money saving tip with us, your story may inspire others to save. “You can never make the same mistake twice: the second time you make it, it is not a mistake, it is a choice” Simply click here to meet with your financial coach

Yours in financial health

Written by LifeAssist