My Money Attitude Kept Me Poor Until I Had This Epiphany

Photo by Kyson Dana on Unsplash

I’m a huge believer in the power that examining our personal money beliefs can have in changing not just our financial picture, but our entire life situations — so much so, that it’s really the foundation of the money coaching practice I am building. Here’s my story.

Several years ago, I had an epiphany about how my own deep-seated assumptions and issues with money were literally keeping me from getting ahead financially. One day it just kind of hit me: my annual income had more than doubled over the first ten years of my career and I was still living the same paycheck-to-paycheck lifestyle. It was mostly a feeling I had, which equated to the reality of my bank account — anytime I managed to save what seemed like a decent amount of cash, I subconsciously found a way to deplete it.

It was like a lightning bolt of understanding struck me. I wasn’t struggling to save more money because I didn’t make enough, it was more like I was almost uncomfortable with having savings. And as I dug deeper into my money “rules” and assumptions, I was embarrassed and ashamed to realize the real issue.

I resented people who were better off than me.

And because I had a subconscious distaste for those that I perceived to be better off, I took steps to avoid being that way, even though…