Change Your Money Story and Start Building Generational Wealth Today
Everybody has financial fears. The reality is that financial stress and anxiety are experienced by most Americans. A study published earlier this year found that 73% of Americans rank their finances as the most significant source of stress in their lives.
Money anxieties negatively impact our financial situations, perpetuate the wealth gap, and keep us from building generational wealth. When we're overwhelmed by fear, we quickly write off the pursuit of generational wealth as a privilege for the upper class. And we put off learning about our finances, even though we have so much information at our fingertips.
Some days, there's really not enough money in the bank, time in the day, and fuel in the tank to carve out a brighter future. How can we set aside the time to learn about money — let alone make savvy financial moves — when staying on top of day-to-day finances is a job in its own right?
Financial struggles are real — and financial fears feel real. Our fears often paint a darker picture of our economic realities than our circumstances call for. They're paralyzing, preventing us from taking the steps that will help us improve our financial situations. And they're self-perpetuating, often complicating our problems. Have you noticed that it's easier to keep accumulating debt when you're already overwhelmed by your loans? And you tend to spend your money today when a better tomorrow feels out of reach?
The good news? Financial stress and anxiety will pass when you take small, empowering steps to overcome your fears, no matter how stuck and overwhelmed you feel today.
Overcome Your Financial Fears In 5 Simple Steps
Learn how to face and overcome your financial fears with the following recommendations:
1. Name Your Fears: And Discover Their Origins
The financial anxieties and fears we experience — and the stories we tell ourselves about what we deserve in the world — stem from our very first interactions with money. If you grew up as the child of a single parent struggling to make ends meet, you're going to have a very different story than the person whose parents gave them $5K to invest as a teenager so they could learn about compound interest and the stock market.
Take time to explore your relationship with money with the help of a partner, supportive community, or therapist — and uncover the roots of your beliefs and behaviors. By naming your fears — and discovering their origins — fear loses its debilitating grasp.
2. Break the Money Taboo: Let's Talk About Money Without Shame
The origins of the money taboo date back centuries to the British upper class, but its stronghold persists across the United States today. The only people who benefit from not talking about money are the wealthy few ruling the system. The rest of us are left feeling alone and isolated — often unsure and anxious about the topic of money — or even paralyzed by the fear of not knowing what to do to improve our financial situations.
The solution? We must break the money taboo — and engage in transparent, shame-free conversations about money. The simple act of talking about our finances is empowering. By starting conversations about money within a safe and supportive community, we gain access to the tools and resources that will make us financially savvy — and liberate us from our fears.
Let's break the money taboo — and build wealth together: Download Our App.
Creating a supportive, shame-free community where you can talk freely about money is life-changing: It will give you access to empowering insights, beliefs, and stories that can alter the course of your life and help you build generational wealth.
Read More: How to Build Generational Wealth
3. Knowledge is the Antidote to Fear
Learning about money can reduce your stress and give you invaluable insight into your financial situation. It's no surprise that a recent study about economic anxiety and stress found that financially literate adults experience less money stress than those who lack financial knowledge.
Get started with the following books: Broke Millennial, Get Good with Money: 10 Simple Steps to Becoming Financially Whole, and The Little Book of Common Sense Investing.
Watch Money Matters by Impart Media, our original docuseries about financial transformation created to share empowering stories about money. Money Matters follows real-life families as they embark on a journey to achieve their financial goals — and access the keys to unlock their financial freedom.
And listen to our favorite podcasts: Redefining Wealth, Clever Girl Finance, Her Dinero Matters, Investing Insights, The Investor's Podcast Network, Brown Ambition, and so many more!
4. These Times Require Mindfulness
Feeling stressed and anxious about money has been a side-effect of our capitalist economy since its origins — but the struggle has been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, which uncovered and compounded deep-seated inequalities.
Even the wealthiest among us were sent into a tailspin when the stock market tanked back in March 2020 (followed by an impressive recovery, rising inflation, and now another plunge). Financial anxieties skyrocketed when a record number of workers became unemployed overnight and parents no longer had access to safe and consistent childcare — not to mention entire industries that relied on in-person experiences or travel all but dissolved in a matter of months. And millions of young college graduates with overwhelming student loans have been trying to make it in the pandemic world — often without prior job experience.
The fear and uncertainty of pandemic life continue with each passing month — and there's no clear end in sight. These times require mindfulness and new tools to manage our fears. We must learn how to live with our fears — and how to move through them.
You can begin by paying attention to the physical signs of fear. When you experience fear, your body has biochemical responses that stop you from thinking clearly — and you may feel frozen or paralyzed. Mindfulness, meditation, deep breathing, and simple exercises like walking or jogging can help you move through your fear and create inner calm.
Quick mindfulness tip: Anytime you feel fear, you can diminish its hold on you by paying attention to your breath and returning to the present moment. Focus on whatever is right in front of you. And do one thing at a time. Pay attention to your breath as you witness thoughts flowing through your mind. Practice returning to the moment when you get caught up in an idea and begin to time-travel. Notice how fear loses its power when you are living in the present.
5. Tame Your Fears With a Simple Budget — and Expand Your Horizons With Financial Resolutions
Once you've moved through your fears — and you're in a calm and clear state — take control of your finances by making a budget and setting your financial resolutions. Budgeting is a simple way to face your financial reality, reclaim your power, and overcome your fears. And financial resolutions help you dream big — and develop a healthy money mindset.
Learn How to Make a Budget: How to Balance Your Household Budget
Find Inspiration for Your Money Goals: 11 Financial Resolutions We Love
Freedom From Financial Fears: A New Path Forward
When you take steps to overcome your financial fears, you'll find a new sense of confidence and freedom that becomes evident in everything you do — and you'll create more space for all you desire. By moving through your fears and taking control of your finances, you can start building wealth and creating a legacy for future generations.
Don't forget to celebrate your wins! Come up with a rewards system for your small victories. Your commitment to breaking free of your financial fears is worth celebrating. We're all looking for more uplifting stories about life after money anxieties and fears — we'd love to learn from you.
What are your tips for overcoming your financial fears? Download the Hive App and join in the conversation.