Changing My Wealth Mindset

What is your wealth mindset?

For so many the first thing that pops in their head is money. And I was one of those people. Being wealthy used to mean

Wealth is so much more than the money you spend on stuff. The stuff that fills your house and the toys in your garage doesn’t mean you’re wealthy. I had this realization not that long ago when I was looking around my family room watching our little boy play. He was so happy and in that moment life was perfect. Those moments are so amazing and I wouldn’t trade them for anything.

I know that’s a cliche example of being wealthy, but it’s the truth. I also started thinking how wealth isn’t what the commercial standard of wealth is. Being wealthy is a personal thing – what’s important to you and you alone. Of course I started relating everything to our finances and family budgeting.

I think of our family’s financial goals as a path. We want to measure our wealth on how we’re doing reaching our goals. I talk so much about goals and financial journeys, but how do you know when you’ve made it? I guess when you actually reach your goals, but then those goals are replaced with bigger ones. That’s life. So now being wealthy is the good progress we’re making towards those goals.

Wealth is having the ability to bounce back from an emergency without sacrifice. Wealth is seeing my child play in a yard with our dogs chasing after him. It’s the ability to not have to worry about debt or not having enough in our bank account to do the things we want. Wealth is reaching our financial goals and then setting new ones.

We’re already wealthy even though we haven’t reached our bigger goals. We’re wealthy because we’ve made so much progress to get towards those goals. My wealth mindset has shifted to not be so concerned with the amount in our bank accounts and more focused on the bigger picture. It’s a great feeling!