Does an abundance mindset sound appealing to you when it comes to thinking about your finances? Or are you of a somewhat more cynical bent and that’s all a little too close to wishful thinking for your liking? Whether you’re either of these or somewhere in between, having this abundance approach to your personal finances can bring about real improvements, and there’s no wishing upon a star involved in it. It can be one of the most important practical tools that you bring to getting your finances in order.
Money and Emotions
If you are like many, you want to spend and save mindfully but feel some combination of these things when you think about your personal finances: overwhelmed, anxious, worried, depressed, ashamed, or stressed. There’s a strong message in our society that if you aren’t always on top of your finances, you’re doing something wrong and it’s your own fault. In fact, it’s entirely possible that you’re not as on top of things as you should be because you have too many financial obligations and too little money, you were never taught good money management skills, you’re swamped with taking care of children and other important tasks, or you had an emergency, such as a serious illness or job loss.
On the other hand, you might have made unwise or irresponsible choices, but that’s no reason to keep beating yourself up. You can acknowledge that you made mistakes and that the situation you’re in is partly or fully your fault without telling yourself that you deserve to live in financial purgatory for the rest of your life. With an abundant mindset, you don’t expect the universe to gift you with millions of dollars, but you are generous to yourself, and you tell yourself that there’s a way to get your house in order.
Leave No Stone Unturned
Another element of shifting to an abundant mindset is that you don’t give up. Solutions may not present themselves immediately, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t exist. A person over 65 who is looking for a source of more money might not realize that they might be able to sell their life insurance policy to a third party for a cash payment that is, on average, four times higher than what they would get for surrendering the policy or between 10% and 35% of the death benefit.
A number of different factors affect the cash value of your policy, so you can do some research to find out more. An option for some who have been diagnosed with a terminal illness is a viatical settlement. When you’re unsure of your options in any financial situation, do your research, talk to friends, family, and professionals if necessary, and make sure you’ve exhausted all possibilities if you’re struggling to find a good solution.
Be Open to Investing
One extreme end of wanting to keep your money as close as possible would be someone who wanted to keep it all with them, in cash. There are old stories of people in the 20th century hiding their cash in mattresses; the irony of this approach is that what you own will lose value because of inflation. This can also be the case if you keep your money in a regular checking or savings account, and you should check to make sure the interest rate at least keeps up with inflation if you’re parking a lot of cash there for a long time. You do need to have three, six, or even more months of emergency expenses readily available in a checking, savings, money market, or similar account.
However, to ensure that your money is really working for you, you need to consider investments. This can be tough for some for many reasons, including a fear of loss and a lack of understanding about how investing works. Nearly everyone has heard stories of someone losing their fortune catastrophically in the stock market, bad real estate deals or similar disasters. However, there are a couple of common mistakes that lead to this. One is making too many risky investments and the other is making too many of the same kinds of investments. If you invest wisely across many different vehicles, chances are that you will see steady returns over the long term.