What is a money story? Great question. I didn’t even know I had one until I started my business.

A money story is basically your beliefs around money. For example, there’s never enough, it’s difficult to make money, you should always live within your means and never take chances with money, getting out of debt is difficult, life is a financial struggle, you have to work 100 hours a week to really be successful, rich people are evil – you get the idea.

Our money stories are actually set by the time we’re 8-years-old and for that reason, when we bring them into adulthood and our careers, they normally hinder us.

Most of the time, these beliefs are given to us by our family or community growing up.

So how do you know what your money story is?

One of the ways to get really clear on your own money story is by asking a series of questions like the following:

1. What did your father teach you about money?
2. What did your mother teach you about money?
3. What did your father tell you about money?
4. What did your mother tell you about money?
5. How does money make you feel?
6. What has been the theme in your life for the past few years in terms of your finances?
7. Where do you spend your money versus where do you want to spend your money?
8. Do you have any guilt around money?
9. Do you believe you deserve to spend money on yourself?
10. What three words would you use to describe money in your life?

One of the money stories I’ve had to let go of this year is that paying off debt is going to take me forever.

When I first moved to London back in 2010, I made myself wrong and guilty for my debt (even though I was only in debt because I chased my dreams which is something I’ll never regret!).

When my husband and I started doing money mindset work, one of the first steps we took was replacing the word “debt” with “investments” because I found just hearing the d-word made me feel really negative.

TIP: Is there a word in your life that’s evokes the same negative reaction? If so, you have the power to change it today!

In my mind, I also replaced the phrase “It’s going to take me forever to pay off all of my debt and student loans” with “I am a successful businesswoman and have chosen to take on debt to follow my dreams and build my business, and I’m paying it off now”.

See the difference?

The purpose of changing your money story is because your thoughts become things. Now that’s a loaded subject in itself, but in my own life and with my VIP coaching clients, I see that whatever you focus on is what you get. To put it simply, focus on your debt and the shame you feel because of it, and that’s what will persist in your life. Whereas if you focus on ways you can live in abundance, think about what you’re already grateful for, and become passionate about increasing your income in new and creative ways, then that’s what you’ll get.

And if you’re still finding this hard to grasp, just think about it in terms of the phrase “I’m tired”. If you moan about being tired all day at work, then that will be your reality. (Oprah gave that example when I saw her at an event back in the day. She said she was complaining about being tired on the set of The Butler until she realized that all that complaining was making her more tired!)

Be sure to ask yourself the questions above this week and take the time to think about how your own money story is no longer serving you in your life today.

And as always, send all questions and success stories my way!

Have an incredible week!