Our money mindset influences how we deal with finances and sometimes slows us down. But can we also become rich through positive thoughts? Financial expert Claudia Müller explains how this works – and how it doesn’t.
BRIGITTE: “Money spoils your character.” “You don’t talk about money.” We’ve all heard sentences like that before. To what extent do they influence our attitude towards money?
Claudia MÜller: We are talking about the money mindset, i.e. the psychological question of what beliefs we have about money. And how we can change and improve them. But it’s not about our conscious thoughts, but about the unconscious ones. In fact, more than 90 percent of our decisions are made unconsciously.
So if I have a good attitude towards money or think a lot of positive things about it, will I automatically become rich?
I’m afraid the power of thoughts alone is not enough. If in doubt, just sitting and meditating on money won’t fill your account. But it’s like that, that our thoughts influence our behavior. And of course that in turn affects our account balance.
Where do these unconscious thoughts and beliefs about money actually come from?
We often hear them in our parents’ home, in childhood, in books. In fairy tales, for example, the rich person is always the bad one, and the poor person is the one with the good character. And then she can get rich. But before that she must have been poor in order for her to be good. So “rich” and “good” obviously don’t work together. That shapes us. And when we internally believe that money spoils character, it’s as if we have to decide: Do I want to be rich or do I want to be nice? Or, another belief: If I have a lot of money, then that money is missing from someone else, so I have taken it away from someone. If I believe that, I’m in a really big quandary.
Do you also have such beliefs?
Personally, for example, I don’t believe that money spoils character at all. Among rich and poor people, there are just as many people with good character as those with bad character. But I have this very strong belief: Only those who work hard can become rich. I also know exactly where he comes from: when I look at my parents and their work ethic – no question about it.
And how do you get out of there?
It helps to think about it: Does it have to be this way? Can’t I be rich AND nice too? And it’s worth taking a closer look: How did I grow up? What are my unconscious behavior patterns? Using my sentence as an example, the next thoughts would be: Who says that only those who work hard can earn a lot of money? Why do I think this is true? Can’t it maybe be the other way around? So: I can make a lot of money while doing what I enjoy. I can make a lot of money while living the life I want to have. That’s a step in the right direction.
So I’m formulating a new, positive belief.
Correct. And then I have to anchor it as deeply in my subconscious as the old belief. This can take a long time. Because in my case, I internalized the other sentence for 36 years. And just because I think about it doesn’t take away what I’ve been rubbing in so beautifully for decades. It’s a long process, I need patience and, above all, repetition. I know people who have recorded their new belief system as a meditation on their cell phone. They hear it every day on the way to work. Or the famous piece of paper stuck in your wallet or on the bathroom mirror. It’s about hearing these new positive phrases or seeing them around you all the time. And at some point they move from the active thoughts into the subconscious thoughts and become the 90 percent that control our behavior.
This brings us close to a topic that is currently very trendy on social media: “manifesting”. This is the idea: you just have to say something to yourself often enough and then it will work. There are films on Tiktok about the lucky girl syndrome: happiness and success are supposed to come automatically if you firmly believe in it and manifest positive thoughts. Somehow I can’t imagine that. There has to be some action at the end.
I think it’s dangerous to say: I just think positively and then the world is already rosy. When in doubt, it is not rosy and certainly not for everyone. It’s about something else: To question automatisms, break through and then make a conscious decision. We may all be familiar with eating too much out of frustration or stress. We also have similar behavior when spending money.
Shopping out of frustration…
… or as a reward. According to the motto: After all, money is there to be spent. But if you are of the opinion that it is compensation for hard work, then you will always give it away and not do anything positive with it. But if I say: I have money here, now I want to do something useful with it. Then I might buy something or eat something. But it could also be that I save for my ETF savings plan. The important thing is: Then I determine my own behavior – and no longer my subconscious. That’s the crucial thing. I can’t get there through my thoughts alone. But by examining how my unconscious thoughts trigger my automatism, and then breaking this connection and consciously controlling my behavior.
And what would be the next steps after that?
First of all: collapse the cash register, create transparency. That means I look at how much do I actually own? This also includes looking at bank statements and keeping a household book. So I look through my expenses and see again how my beliefs are reflected in my behavior. Because just as our calendar ideally reflects what temporal priorities we assign in our lives, our bank statement should reflect, what financial priorities we give things. And when I see that I spend a relatively large amount on food or on shopping, on rent, on travel, then I can ask myself: Is it worth it to me? Does this reflect my priorities?
And you then change your spending behavior accordingly.
Yes, the next point would be to set up a budget. The budget book shows in retrospect what I spent my money on. Now I can check these priorities: How much do I want to spend on what share? An example is this 50:30:20 budget: 50 percent are expenses that are necessary, such as rent, insurance, food. 30 percent of disposable income is earmarked for things I enjoy, like eating out, watching Netflix, vacationing. And ideally, the remaining 20 percent is then saved or invested.
In cities with high rents, you won’t be able to get by with 50 percent for essential expenses.
But the budget is also valuable for this because it provides orientation and clarity. And the following applies to the money saved or invested: It should have at least the same priority as other expenses. If it’s not 20 percent of your disposable income at the beginning, but only five percent, that’s completely fine. Important is: Don’t just save at the end of the month, but right at the beginning. This motto is: Pay yourself first. The savings rate is treated like your own salary and goes to a separate account or an ETF savings plan via a standing order.
That’s also an unconscious belief: that only rich people can be on the stock market.
In reality, you can make a big difference even with small amounts of money. With some portfolio providers you can invest in a broadly diversified stock fund with just one euro per month. Of course, we cannot put our retirement provision on a stable footing with this. But it’s enough to get started and learn. And then slowly work your way up. This is how we manage to build up a small or large fortune over time without much effort.
Reformulate beliefs
Examples of negative money thoughts:
► Money spoils character.
► Money is not important to me.
► I just can’t handle money.
► Money doesn’t make you happy.
… and this is what positive sentences could sound like:
► Money is neutral – I have control over how I deal with it.
► I want to lead a financially carefree life.
► I have control over my spending.
► I can do a lot of good with money.
You can also listen to the long version of this conversation (wherever there are podcasts) – or on Youtube look at.
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