Your Money Mentality

Every namibian has desperately wanted to become rich at some point in their lives.
Now becoming rich is very different to remaining rich.

The difference between the two is one’s attitude towards money.

One’s money mentality refers to one’s beliefs, attitudes and behaviours towards money and the factors that lead one to accessing money and keeping it.

There are many ways to get money.

The most valued and respected way is to earn it.

In a country like Namibia, it is mostly the only way.

The earning culture has become the norm, but why can we not become rich from earnings?

The answer lies in the way we perceive money, how we manage it after earning it, and how we make decisions with regards to it.

Our money mentality runs deep within us.

A combination of factors such as upbringing, culture, education and especially past personal financial experiences determine this mentality.

Nowadays we use terms like ‘experience response’, referring to a way of responding to a certain past experience once remembered.

Some people have experienced a severe lack of money, where most basics were scarce.

Other people have experienced the opposite of that, where everything has been available all the time.

Some were forced to start earning money at an early age.

These factors lead to one’s ‘experience response’.

This could lead to behaviors such as excessive greed or excessive frugality.

Those with an abundance mindset would see money as a tool for opportunities to develop themselves, leading to more sound and beneficial financial decisions.

Understanding one’s money mentality is crucial and remains important for personal financial well-being.

It is the beginning of one’s journey to a financially well-balanced lifestyle.

This would then influence one’s ability to save, invest, and make sound financial choices.

Developing a well-balanced lifestyle involves cultivating financial habits, routines, and cultures that are financially fulfilling and which lead to financial security.

Being aware of the financial perception created by one’s daily financial habits and routines is important.

Taking control of one’s spending habits and controlling one’s wants and needs also deserve attention.

Be honest and identify your bad financial habits, and commit to unlearning those habits with religious conviction.

Nothing is done in a day, so take time and practise sound financial habits, as practice leads to routines and cultivates financial well-being.

Like everything else in our lives, we learn, unlearn and relearn these financial habits and routines to accomplish desired goals.

A good money mentality is the only way to earn, become rich, and stay rich.

Keep your money mentality in check as it shapes your financial habits and overall well-being.

• Chuma Siboleka is a trade investment and financial education economist.