How’s Your Relationship with Money?

Posted On 29 August 2024

That may sound like a strange question. Maybe you’ve heard it before. Do you know what a healthy relationship with money looks like? If you would like to learn how to have or improve your relationship with money, this post is for you!

Money Is Energy

Another word for money is currency. The word currency comes from the Latin word ”currere” which means to flow. We use the word current to describe how air, water, and electricity move ac or flow. It is when any of these move that they have power.

Money is useful when we use it. Having a reserve of cash is future power – it doesn’t have power just sitting there. So, if money only has power when we use it, how are you using it?

What is a Relationship?

The dictionary defines a relationship as “the way in which two or more concepts, objects, or people are connected, or the state of being connected.” To apply that concept of a relationship with money is to look at the way we connect or interact with money.

Over time our relationships can and do change. Sometimes they grow stronger, other relationships can grow weaker with a lack of connection or hurtful interactions. Since we live in a world that is constantly changing, nothing remains the same – even our relationships.

Would You Treat a Friend the Same Way You Treat Money?

I was first introduced to this idea while reading Jen Sincero’s book You Are a Badass. She asked her readers to imagine if we treated a friend the same way we treat money. I had never thought about that before!

We deal with money regularly, but how do we act towards money? Some intelligent people do crazy things with money. Other people act one way when they have money and another way when they don’t have money. Some people will even do things they do not agree with in order to get money. Yet, there are also people who behave the same no matter if they currently have money or not.

Being Needy In Relationships

Most people want more money. They assume that more money will fix all of their financial problems. Some people, though, are afraid that if they use the money they currently have, they will run out of money. This creates feelings of fear and scarcity.

The fear that this creates causes them to hold onto money very tightly. A scarcity mindset prevents people from being generous and helping others. This attitude can actually keep money away from us. Remember – money is beneficial when it is used, not horded.

When a person is needy while they are looking for dates, they have a negative energy that other people can pick up on. A person who is needy is sending out the message that they have lack in their life. Subconsciously, if others are not interested in a person, they assume that others must know something about that person. As a result, they keep their distance. Along the same line, if a person needs money, it is assumed that they must not be good with money. If that’s the case, I shouldn’t trust them with my money.

Having a Split Personality

Another crazy issue with money is when people say they want money, then when they get more money, they have a desire to either hide it or spend it so they are not seen with it.

This behavior may baffle us. We know what we should do with money, but for some reason we just can’t do it. It’s like we are secretly working against ourselves! A common reason for this comes from the money scripts we have.

What Are Your Money Scripts?

Money scripts are rules that we have about how we think and act regarding money. These can be taught to us as we grow up and go through life. How many of you have heard, “Money doesn’t grow on trees!” or “We shouldn’t ever talk about money.” or “Money is dirty.”?

Other money scripts are crafted by us. Some of them were created by the 10-year-old version of us. A child may have heard their parents argue about money, then the parents ended up getting divorced. The child could view that money was the cause of the divorce – not the couple’s inability to work with each other. You can read more about this in the book Mind Over Money.

Money Is a Magnifier

Some people worry about getting rich, because they fear that money will make them a bad person. Money is simply a tool. It is also a magnifier. On its own it does nothing. If you put $1,000,000 in a locked room and watched it with security cameras, it would take a LONG time for it to do anything!

Money is a tool that allows us to do things. A person who is generous and caring becomes more so with more money. At the same time, money can make a miserable person even more miserable. We are our biggest project.

A Healthy Relationship

So, what is a healthy relationship with money? It involves appreciating and respecting money. When we are secure with money, we don’t have to “show it off” or spend it to feel good. Having money in the bank or our pocket becomes like having a full tank of gas in the car, or a fully charged cell phone.

Going back to the friend analogy, is money treated like your best friend? When we have a great relationship with money, we are excited to have it in our lives. We like doing things with our best friend, yet we can still allow our friend to have other friends.

Best friends that have a healthy relationship respect each other. They don’t want to waste the other person’s time. They also have a balance between being close and allowing time apart.

What Can You Do for Money?

I’m not talking about working for money! How can you help your money find it’s way into other good hands? Since money is energy and it flows, we need to remember to send it out into the world so that it can help other people.

When we send money out, we are exchanging that money for something. Money that is spent or invested wisely comes back to us multiplied many times over! A good relationship has both give and take. The same holds true with money. Upgrading our world view that there are limited resources and scarcity, to a view that we live in an abundant universe can transform our lives. Give, and it shall be given unto you. This is an important part in becoming unstoppable! You can change your life when you change your relationship with money.