Carl Richards is a Financial Planner in Utah and is also known as Sketch Guy, a regular contributor in Business Day. His February 2015 article Rethinking Money, Not as Good or Bad but as a Tool in Business Day really caught my eye. The reason? He changed his way of thinking about money. And he’s hit the mark.
Money is tied to emotional baggage – status, guilt, dreams, worry, you name it. We develop attitudes and emotions toward it throughout our lives, and we’re all different. This emotional baggage affects our behaviors and decisions, and sometimes even rules our lives. As Carl Richards suggests, money should be a tool, not coveted as a possession. Changing our mindset can help.
How to Change Your Attitude Toward Money
Carl Richards has been a Financial Planner working with people for years; and has written a book about money. Even with his experience and knowledge, his perspective is just changing now. It’s only natural that a lot of us haven’t reached that same mindset yet. Here’s one way to tackle it:
1. Start with what’s important to YOU and your family. What are your personal dreams? What are your personal values? Do you wish to give to charities? Do you want to pay for your children’s college education?
2. Assess Your Current Status: What are you earning & spending, what assets do you have? Do you have short term needs and longer term needs?
3. Begin prioritizing where the money goes based on your dreams. They won’t all be realized in one day and that’s OK! Just getting started is the trick.
Related Article: How to Manage Your Money Buckets & Behaviors
Look for an Advisor with this Approach
Not all advisors work this way. Jaimie Blackman of BH Wealth Management uses his MoneyCapsules ® tool to walk his clients through this process. He believes that your dreams and values are most important, and pushing product is a far second.
It’s nice to see advisors are slowly coming around to what really matters to clients and not their own wallets.
Information shown is for illustrative purposes only and is not intended as investment, legal or tax planning advice. Please consult a financial adviser, attorney or tax specialist for advice specific to your financial situation. Behavioral Cents, LLC and any third parties listed, linked to or otherwise appearing in this message are separate and unaffiliated and are not responsible for each other’s products, services or policies.
BehavioralCents.com is a web site for women to help them understand and change their own money behaviors. Our mission is to better prepare women for financial independence by helping them save more in everyday habits. Thoughts always welcome: carrierattle@behavioralcents.com.
Carrie Rattle is a Principal at BehavioralCents.com, a website for women focused on mind and money behaviors. She has worked in the financial services industry for 20+ years and hopes to inspire women to better prepare themselves for financial independence.