Money Psychology Summary

[Juan Cruz Giusto]

Money problems are not economic problems, there are first and foremost psychological problems (there are many ways that you can have problems with money). More cash will not solve the problem; the problem is in the mind. Money is very emotional.

Your relationship with money is primarily shaped by your family’s relationship with money when you were growing up and you adopted most of your beliefs towards money in your childhood, largely unconsciously.

External obstacles tend to be illusions and there are not the real problems. If you get the inner game right, you will get the outer stuff handled. Money is an entire domain of life and requires lots of work and know.

Psychological aspects that create problems with money:

-          Fears

-          Emotional Spending: people spending their money irrationally

-          Emotional Saving: you are hyper vigilant

-          Limiting beliefs (ask where these beliefs came from): Notice how these beliefs are going to stop you from making money. Most of your beliefs are not true!

o   The economy is not good enough

o   Corporations are stealing all the money

o   I cannot make money in my field

o   Competition is too fierce

o   I cannot start a business because I don’t have enough capital

o   Money is hard to make

o   Money is evil

o   Business is anti-spiritual

-          Playing the victim: You make excuses because you are scared

-          Procrastination

-          Materialism: Thinking that money will lead to fulfillment and it will solve all your problems

-          Improperly earning money

-          Improperly prioritizing money: People often put money way too high in their value list

-          Improperly investing money

-          Lack of long term strategy

-          Lack of discipline and habits

-          Lack of knowledge and education

-          Avoiding and ignoring money

What does heathy money psychology look like: You are fully aware of the trap of materialism and you understand that it doesn’t work at all; you will never be fulfilled by having money and none of your other problems in life will be solved by having money. You also identified the emotional triggers and hot bottoms you have with respect to money. Also, you are not ideological about money and you don’t hold money as good or as evil, you dropped many of your beliefs about money and you hold it as neutral. Also, you are aware of the money traps that were constructed by society (shopping, credit cards, mortgages, pyramid schemes, bad investments) and you are not tempted to get into these traps. You have an abundance mindset; you hold it as a win-win situation. You take a 100% responsibility for your money situation. You are also using and investing money strategically, mostly in yourself and you are taking a long term view. Lastly, you took the time to position yourself in life so money is a byproduct of your deepest passion.

Instead of going crazy to make money, first turn inwards and start to observe your money habits and where is your income coming from, which are your motivations? Apply awareness to your problems and beliefs. After that, decide you are going to master this domain of your life. Then, you need to do the research about money. THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS LIFE PURPOSE! If you take care of the foundations, the other part is going to resolve alone; avoid the trap of just going for cash, that is never going to work. You will need to be creative if you want to implement your life purpose, there is no easy solution!

 HEALTHY MONEY SITUATION = PROPER PSYCHOLOGY + LIFE PURPOSE