From “Money Mindset” to Momentum: what you actually need to shift to build wealth.
We love to talk about “money mindset” these days. And for good reason.
Your beliefs about money shape how you interact with it. What you spend. What you save. What you invest…or don’t.
But here’s the honest truth most people won’t say: money mindset is just the beginning.
Awareness of your money story and your relationship with money is a fantastic helpful start but at some point you have to build financial knowledge and that takes more than a strong money mindset…that takes a growth mindset.
Money mindset content often asks the question “How was money discussed in your household growing up? Was their abundance? Lack? Stress? Overspending”.
What does Money Mindset actually mean?
Your money mindset refers to your deeply held beliefs and emotional patterns around money, often formed in childhood and shaped by culture, trauma, and lived experience. It influences how you earn, spend, save, and invest.
According to the Financial Therapy Association, money beliefs are “scripts” often internalized before age 10. Left unexamined, these scripts drive unconscious financial behaviors well into adulthood.
A study published in the Journal of Financial Therapy found that negative money scripts like “money is bad” or “I’ll never have enough”, are directly associated with lower net worth, higher credit card debt, and increased financial stress.
The good news? Like any belief system, it can evolve when paired with intentional reflection and education.
Here are three research-informed ways to begin improving your money mindset:
Track your emotional triggers around money.
Notice when financial stress or avoidance shows up: opening bills, talking about money with a partner, making a big purchase. Certified financial therapists often begin with awareness not of the numbers, but the feelings. What do you feel, and when? Awareness of those patterns can lead to more conscious choices.Practice money journaling.
Reflective practices like journaling have been shown to reduce shame and increase financial clarity. Try prompts like:“What’s the first memory I have of money?”
“What did my parents teach me about wealth, directly or indirectly?”
“What do I believe rich people are like?”
Reframe your financial self-talk.
Cognitive behavioral research shows that how we talk to ourselves impacts our behavior. Try shifting thoughts like “I’m bad with money” to “I’m learning how to manage money in a way that supports my future.”
Understanding your money mindset is foundational. But awareness alone won’t build wealth.
Once you uncover your patterns, the next step is pairing that insight with consistent, informed action. That’s where growth mindset and actually financial growth begins.
Growth Mindset > Money Mindset
Carol Dweck’s research on growth mindset, the idea that your abilities and intelligence can be developed through effort, changed how we teach, how we parent, and how we lead.
But it also applies to money.
Because most of us weren’t born understanding index funds or 401(k)s. We weren’t raised to negotiate salaries or build passive income streams. That’s not a personality flaw. That’s a lack of exposure.
What is a problem? Believe that investing is for someone else. Someone with more time, more money, or a finance degree.
Believing that you don’t have enough time to learn is another fixed mindset characteristic that holds us back.
We make time for the things that matter. If you decide your freedom and security matter to you and you build a strong enough why, you’ll find 15 minutes a day to learn.
A growth mindset says,“I don’t know everything… yet. But I can learn.” That shift alone? It’s life-changing.
What happens when you pair money mindset with growth mindset?
You start to build new patterns and beliefs that actually result in outcomes. And by outcomes I plainly mean more money, less debt, more flexibility, and less anxiety.
Once you believe you can learn about money, the next question becomes: what am I going to do with what I learn?
And this is where Morgan Housel’s The Psychology of Money comes in. One of the most powerful ideas in that book is this:
“Doing well with money has little to do with how smart you are and a lot to do with how you behave.”
Behavior > knowledge.
Consistency > brilliance.
Mindset is the seed. But your systems, habits, and actions are what make it grow.
The problem with stopping at mindset work.
Too many smart women get stuck in the personal development cycle of “I’m working on my money mindset” or “I’m focusing on saving" or “spending less”…but never actually commit to building wealth.
They feel better, but they’re not building anything. No negotiation strategies to make more money. No investing accounts. No real plan.
And if you're making decent money but not growing it? Inflation is growing for you, but in the wrong direction.
Inflation is a silent wealth killer and you are losing money every day when it’s sitting in cash. Save all you want but it won’t get you to retirement.
Growth mindset is where we build.
A growth mindset doesn’t mean day trading, starting 8 side hustles, or obsessing over market trends. It means you’ve decided to stop winging it.
You:
Learn a little bit at a time. Enough to feel confident, not overwhelmed.
Start to set up systems that grow your money on autopilot.
You automate investments, learn what your money invested in, and understand how risk vs. reward works and what you are comfortably with.
Understand that volatility in your income, the stock market, spending, and opportunities, isn’t a reason to panic it’s part of the plan.
You stop hoping you’ll “figure it out someday” and start choosing to act now.
And just like that, you go from anxious to confident. From reactive to proactive. From consumer to wealth builder.
Want Help Making That Shift?
If this feels like the wake-up call you’ve been needing, I’d love to guide you through it.
Join me for my free beginner investing workshop, where I’ll teach you exactly how to:
Understand how the stock market works (in plain English)
Learn how to get started and what you can actual start investing in, even if you feel like you’re “late” to the game
Avoid hidden fees and taxes by learning how to optimize accounts you already have (think 401K’s and IRA’s)
👉 Click here to save your seat. It’s completely free, and I promise you’ll walk away feeling powerful, clear, and ready to grow.
Changing your money story isn’t about being perfect. It’s about being willing to grow.
101 money mindset work is valuable but don’t stop there. You’re capable of so much more than just “feeling better” about money.
You’re capable of growing it. Let’s begin.
