As I shared in my book Cash Uncomplicated, I had tons of misconceptions about money. There were a lot of things I said about money that I shouldn’t have, and I believe those things greatly contributed to my lack of success in personal finance.
How We Think and Speak Matters
The way we think and speak about money (and anything else in life) matters. Our thoughts become our words and actions. As Earl Nightingale wrote years ago, we become what we think about.
If you think positively about life and money, you are more likely to have success. Conversely, you are more likely to be unsuccessful if you have negative thoughts about money.
These are five things nobody should say about money.
Number 1: This Will Only Benefit Those Who Are Able to Invest in the Stock Market
This is a disempowering statement that unnecessarily puts you at a disadvantage. Investing in the stock market isn’t just an opportunity for the rich. Anyone can invest in the market, it’s just that the amount you invest will be different.
I acknowledge that not everyone can afford to invest thousands every month, but everyone can invest at least a small amount. And those small amounts turn into big numbers.
For example, a 20 year-old who invests just a couple hundred every month will have over a million dollars around retirement age.
Not life changing money you say? Maybe not, but having zero invested is guaranteed to be life changing money because financial independence will be nowhere in sight.
The barrier to entry is also much lower than in the past. It used to be that you’d have to hire a stockbroker to invest in the market. Now anyone can invest with a variety of institutions.
Number 2: I Can’t Afford It
This is another disempowering statement. To quote Robert Kiyosaki, don’t say you can’t afford it, ask how you can afford it. This simple mindset shift opens the doors to new possibilities while simply saying you can’t afford it slams the door shut.
In most circumstances there are creative solutions to challenges and problems. Use language that sparks creativity like, “How can I afford it?” or “How can I make this happen?” versus slamming the door shut with “I can’t afford it.”
Number 3: Investing Isn’t For People Like Me
You are no better and no worse than anyone else on this planet. So when people say things like investing isn’t for people like me, they are immediately placing themselves beneath another person.
This is a complete fallacy and nobody should do that to themselves.
In the years before I learned about investing and eventually wrote my book, I made this exact statement. I thought that because I wasn’t making much money at the time and living paycheck to paycheck that investing wasn’t for someone like me.
Dead wrong and I lost out on years of compounding because of that mindset. Investing is for everyone, with the understanding that people will invest varying dollar amounts.
Number 4: I’ll Never Be Able to Afford a House
This is another statement I used to make and I was wrong there too. If buying a house is something you want to do, you can make it happen.
Can anyone make it happen overnight or go straight to the nicest neighborhood in your city? Of course not. It’s going to take work, planning, and thought, but it’s a possibility for everyone.
Find out what your advantage is and make a strategy around that. A married couple has an advantage because they have, or have the ability, to have two incomes. A young single person has an advantage because they can work extra and get multiple roommates without a big sacrifice to their life.
A middle aged single person has an advantage because they can rent out their house short-term rental on Airbnb or VRBO while traveling for work or pleasure. You get the point, almost everyone can find some type of advantage.
Number 5: How Will I Cover an Emergency Without Using a Credit Card?
This is a statement most likely caused by a lack of financial literacy. A credit card is not for emergencies, that’s what an emergency fund is for.
Anyone relying on a credit card for an emergency is putting themselves in a perilous financial position because that money spent on the emergency is now going to incur 20 percent plus interest rates, probably closer to 25 percent. That means that you not only have to pay back the credit card company for the emergency, but also pay them incredibly high interest rates on top of it.
While just having an emergency fund solves that problem because you have the cash in the bank to pull from.
Conclusion: What We Say Matters
What we say matters because it directly influences our mindset. And our mindset controls our actions and behaviors. Actions and behaviors lead us to positive or negative consequences in life.
Those consequences are our modern day reality of day to day life. In other words, our life is the result of past, present, and future actions.
Saying the “right things” are likely to lead us to the right actions. Our statements are the gateway to a better life.
