Experts working in the intersection of financial planning and mental health say that you can reduce your stress and anxiety around money and reach your financial goals sooner with these powerful financial affirmations.
Affirmations can do more than just boost your mood. Developing a practice of speaking meaningful, encouraging statements can also improve your financial well-being, thereby “helping you cultivate a more positive money relationship,” says Megan Ford, PhD, a member of the Financial Therapy Association’s board of directors, whom DailyOM spoke with for this story.
Whether you’re trying to pay off debt, save for the future, or simply feel more in control of your finances, affirmations both challenge negative beliefs (like “I’ll never have enough money for…”) and engender a more balanced, optimistic outlook. “They are a form of cognitive restructuring, or shifting the way we think about things,” Traci S. Williams, PsyD, a clinical psychologist and financial therapist, tells DailyOM.
Indeed, science has shown that affirmations can activate portions of the brain responsible for positive valuation and our sense of self. Ford, who is also a financial therapist at financial wellness app Stackin, tells us that speaking affirmations “actually helps our brains release neurochemicals that facilitate well-being.”
Dr. Williams explains, “If you have a hard time managing or even thinking about your finances, financial affirmations will likely help reduce your discomfort and fuel you to tackle your money goals.”
How to Practice Financial Affirmations
“Affirmations work when used regularly and continuously,” Williams tells us. “They aren’t a one-time-use panacea for your financial woes — shifting our views is an ongoing process.”
While some evidence suggests that writing down your affirmations and reciting them aloud in the mirror may increase their effectiveness, there are no set rules that work for everyone, she says.
If you decide to write them down, Ford suggests jotting the affirmations on sticky notes and sticking them to your bathroom mirror. “Repeating them aloud can also help to enhance the experience and help you feel more empowered. Try closing your eyes and placing a hand on your heart. Take some deep breaths as you repeat your affirmations in your head or out loud.”
Interested in learning more? Check out The Japanese Art of Happy Money
Creating Your Own Affirmations
The most effective affirmations should resonate with your core values and goals, says Ford. “Repeating something that you don’t feel connected to or invested in probably isn’t going to serve you as it doesn’t align with what you find to be helpful, worthwhile, or true,” she tells us.
Another helpful bit of advice is to “use positive statements, even if they are aspirational, set in the present and future tenses,” says Williams. She also recommends keeping aspirations brief, best said within one or two breaths. While effective financial affirmations don’t necessarily need to be action-oriented, it might be helpful to “get specific about what matters to you now and in the future, instead of using vague, broad statements,” according to Williams.
8 Financial Affirmations to Inspire You
1. “I am working for my financial freedom.”
Why It’s Helpful: “If you’re working toward financial freedom [such as having a cushion, funds for further schooling, or the money to do the things you want] or paying down debt, affirmations that acknowledge this work and discipline might be very meaningful because this brings into clearer focus the effort and grit that it often takes to stay the course,” says Ford.
2. “I can gain control of my debts.”
Why It’s Helpful: This kind of affirmation will encourage you to take actionable steps, says Williams. Those steps include knowing your credit card and loan balances, picking a debt-payoff strategy (either paying off the card with the smallest balance first or prioritizing paying off the one with the highest interest rate), and tracking your progress.
3. “I can tackle money head-on.”
Why It’s Helpful: For people with financial anxiety, money avoidance is a common theme, says Ford. Remind yourself that you are capable of giving your budget your attention. This will help you complete routine tasks like logging into your bank account or opening and reviewing credit card bills.
4. “I am not my financial mistakes.”
Why It’s Helpful: “If we maintain a fixed mindset versus one where we see mistakes as a chance for learning and growth, shame can take hold,” according to Ford. That money shame can leave us feeling stuck and unmotivated to change.
5. “I am grateful for what I have.”
Why It’s Helpful: “Research in the realm of positive psychology has found gratitude to be strongly and consistently linked to increased levels of perceived happiness,” says Ford. This gratitude can help reduce anxiety and negative thinking about your finances. Appreciating the life you do have can go a long way to boosting your mood and prevents feelings of negativity from taking over.
6. “I release the fear of not having enough.”
Why It’s Helpful: This is about changing a scarcity mindset — the belief that “there is never enough of something (money, success, material possessions, etc.),” explains Ford. “If we believe there will never be enough, we fall into patterns of overworking, underspending or overspending, and underconsuming or overconsuming.”
Though working toward financial goals is by no means a bad thing, it’s also important to recognize that “more money” isn’t always the ultimate objective.
7. “I can enjoy spending my money.”
Why It’s Helpful: There’s nothing wrong with being frugal, but you shouldn’t feel shame or guilt about enjoying small luxuries, like eating out with a friend, taking a fun fitness class, or picking up pretty flowers for your kitchen table.
Again, as Ford explains, this is about overcoming a scarcity mindset, giving yourself permission to spend money — within your budget — and invest in yourself.
8. “Our family will enjoy an annual vacation.”
Why It’s Helpful: As Williams reminds us, getting specific about what matters to you in the future can help you stay focused on achieving your financial savings goals. She suggests supporting this affirmation with actionable steps, like creating a vacation savings fund and researching destinations and activities.
