Personal Profit: Tips for Changing Your Money Mindset
Published April 20, 2023
By Carolyn Hart
Our attitudes and beliefs about money often have a huge impact on how we manage our finances and make decisions, but it's not always easy to change this mindset, especially if it's been ingrained within us for a long time. If you want to spend less, save more and increase your income, you’ll need to rewire some of your inefficient habits and orientate yourself towards a more fiscal-focused state of living. Here are some tips from Neighborhood Credit Union to help you get started.
Biases
It’s common to develop biases that can impact your financial decisions. For example, we may prioritize immediate gratification over long-term goals, overreact to new information, overestimate our own financial abilities, or be overly fearful of financial losses. By recognizing and addressing these miscalculations, we can make more rational and informed decisions that benefit us in the long term.
Saving
Investing money is one thing; accumulating the funds to invest is another. If you want to save, it’s important to get into the habit of smart saving. This means creating budgets (and sticking to them), cutting out expenses (such as subscription services/takeaways), switching to lower-cost providers, and automating your savings using apps or automatic transfers.
Explore Neighborhood Credit Union savings accounts here!
Career
Our financial health is inextricably linked to our professional life. If you want to develop a healthier bottom line, it’s important to consider what you can adjust to improve your income.
- Transitioning: If you don’t feel like you’re being adequately compensated by your current role, it may be worth looking into others. Online tools can help you to showcase your background in a professional manner. For instance, if you have your resume saved as a single PDF, but a particular application wants the materials separated (like having the references submitted separately, for instance), you can use a free tool to split your PDF; click here for more info.
- Entrepreneurship: If you have a strong idea for a business and the expertise to go it alone, you may want to consider entrepreneurship. It’s easier than ever to form an LLC thanks to formation services, which cut down on lawyer fees and can help you to navigate regional regulations. With an LLC, you could benefit from reduced personal liability, tax advantages, and lower amounts of paperwork.
- Reskilling: You may feel there are still some skills that you need to improve before you’re ready to pursue a new professional vocation. If this is the case, consider earning a degree online. Education degrees, for example, help you to learn about instructional practice and learner development, along with classes in particular subjects (if you want to be a teacher). Better still, it’s possible to complete your studies remotely to fit around your current routine.
With a small change in mentality, it’s possible to completely transform your financial health and unlock new lifestyles and luxuries. Take some time to assess your own shortcomings and see what you could adjust for a better bottom line.
Neighborhood Credit Union is the first credit union in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us!
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Carolyn Hart has been a financial planner for nearly four decades. She has dedicated her career to helping her clients achieve financial health by assisting them in setting budgets, saving for the future, and pursuing investment opportunities. Her site, CarolynKnowsMoney, is her passion project to reach readers near and far to find financial stability. When she’s not working, you’ll probably find her in the kitchen baking up a storm.
Who We Are
As an active part of the community for 93 years, Neighborhood Credit Union is a not-for-profit financial organization serving the state of Texas with branch locations in Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, and Tarrant counties. With assets topping $1 billion, Neighborhood Credit Union has a continuously growing membership of over 60,000. For more information, call (214) 748-9393 or visit our homepage.