Quick Recap: In our mid-year check-in post, we introduced three practical exercises to help you evaluate your financial progress. Now let’s dive deeper into the first exercise focused on understanding if your money beliefs are helping or holding you back. This exercise builds on the BELIEVE pillar and uses your existing Money Journal to uncover some pretty eye-opening insights.

Ever caught yourself thinking “I’m just not good with money” or “I’ll never be able to afford that”? We’ve all been there! These thoughts aren’t just random complaints, they’re actually clues to your deeper money mindset, and they might be secretly sabotaging your financial progress.

The way we think about money has a huge influence on how we handle it. Some beliefs push us forward, while others hold us back without us even realizing it. The good news? Once you spot these patterns, you can start changing them.

This exercise will help you review your Money Journal to uncover the beliefs driving your financial decisions and figure out whether they’re helping you reach your goals or creating roadblocks. Let’s transform those limiting beliefs into ones that actually fuel your progress!

What Your Money Journal Reveals About Your Mindset 📓

If you’ve been keeping up with your Money Journal, you’ve actually been collecting some pretty valuable data not just about what you spend, but about how you think and feel about money. Those entries contain patterns that can reveal what’s really going on with your money mindset.

Mining Your Money Journal for Insights

Let’s dig into what you’ve already recorded:

1. Grab your materials

• Your Money Journal with at least a month of entries
• Highlighters in three colors (or colored digital highlights if you’re keeping it on your phone or laptop)
• A blank page for recording discoveries

2. Color-code your entries

• Use one color for positive money thoughts/feelings
• Another color for negative or limiting thoughts
• A third color for neither positive nor negative thoughts but rather recurring patterns you notice across multiple entries (like “I tend to shop on Sundays” or “I usually make purchases after getting paid”)

3. Look for these revealing phrases

Words that signal limiting beliefs:

• “I can’t afford…”
• “I’ll never be able to…”
• “I’m bad with…”
• “I don’t deserve…”

Words that signal empowering beliefs:

• “I’m learning to…”
• “I’m getting better at…”
• “This aligns with my values…”
• “I’m preparing to…”

4. Record what you discover

Create a three-column list called “My Money Insights”:

• “Limiting Beliefs” in one column (from your negative highlights)
• “Empowering Beliefs” in another column (from your positive highlights)
• “Recurring Patterns” in a third column (from your pattern highlights)

As you review your journal, add your discoveries to the appropriate column. Even if you’ve only been journaling for a month, trust me, meaningful insights will emerge!

What If You Haven’t Kept a Money Journal?

No worries at all! You can still benefit from this exercise:

1. Grab a blank paper or create a new page on your device and write down: 

• All the money messages you remember hearing growing up
• The thoughts that typically pop into your head when making financial decisions
• How you feel when checking your accounts or paying bills
• What you believe about your ability to manage money

2. Then use the same color-coding approach for negative thoughts, positive thoughts and recurring patterns

3. Create the same three-column “My Money Journal Insights” list to organize what you find and look for insights

The goal is simply to start recognizing the thoughts behind your financial behaviors, even if you haven’t been tracking them regularly.

Connect Your Daily Spending Log with Your Emotional Responses 💭

Next up is understanding how your thoughts connect to your actions. Let’s look at your Daily Spending Log entries alongside your emotional responses.

Spending-Emotion Patterns

Review a week’s worth of Daily Spending Log entries and look for these connections:

1. Spending triggers

• Do you tend to spend more when you’re stressed? Tired? Happy? Bored?
• Are certain situations total danger zones for your wallet?

2. Emotional aftermath

• How do you feel after different types of purchases?
• Which purchases still feel awesome days later?
• Which ones leave you with a case of buyer’s remorse?

3. Decision justifications

• What do you tell yourself when making spending decisions?
• Do you notice phrases like “I deserve this” or “It’s only this once”?

For your next three purchases, track the whole path in your Money Journal: how you felt before, during, and after buying something. This creates a pause between thought and action, and that’s where mindful choices happen!

And don’t worry if you haven’t been keeping a Daily Spending Log. You can start now!

Five Daily Prompts to Add to Your Money Journal 🌟

Ready to go deeper? Add these prompts to your existing Money Journal routine in the Money Reflections section. Here’s how to do it:

1. Create a special subsection in your Money Reflections called “Mindset Exploration”
2. Set aside 5 minutes each day for the next five days
3. Write the prompt at the top of that day’s entry
4. Respond honestly without overthinking – there are no wrong answers!

Try these five daily prompts, one per day:

Day 1: Origins of Money Beliefs
Prompt: “What’s the earliest money memory that shaped how I think about finances today?”

Day 2: Money and Worth
Prompt: “Do I tie my self-worth to my financial situation? In what ways?”

Day 3: Financial Fears
Prompt: “What’s my biggest money fear? Where did this fear come from?”

Day 4: Money and Freedom
Prompt: “What does financial freedom mean to me personally? How would it change my daily life?”

Day 5: Wealth Perceptions
Prompt: “How do I feel about wealthy people? What do these feelings reveal about my beliefs?”

After completing these prompts, look back at everything you’ve written. You’ll likely see some pretty clear themes about your relationship with money.

Document Your Discoveries and Set Mindset Goals 📚🌱

Now that you’ve analyzed your money thoughts and completed the daily prompts, it’s time to document what you’ve learned and create specific goals for improvement. Let’s use both your Questions & Learning section and your Goals & Dreams section to turn insights into action.

Step 1: Document Your Mindset Insights

Create a new entry in your Questions & Learning section titled “Money Mindset Insights” with these subsections:

1. My Money Story 

• Sum up the key moments and messages that shaped your financial thinking

2. Limiting Beliefs I’m Challenging 

• List the unhelpful beliefs you’ve identified
• For each one, write a more balanced perspective

3. Knowledge Gaps 

• Note areas where you lack information that could help shift your mindset
• List resources to fill those gaps

Example Entry:

Money Mindset Insights – June 15, 2025

My Money Story: Growing up, money was never discussed openly in my family. Bills were paid in private, and questions about finances were discouraged. This created a feeling that money was something mysterious and somewhat shameful.

Limiting Beliefs I’m Challenging:

• “I’m not good with numbers so I can’t be good with money.” Better perspective: I don’t need to be a math genius to manage money well. Simple systems and tools can help me succeed.
• “Wanting more money is greedy.” Better perspective: Wanting financial security allows me to take care of myself and be more generous with others.

Knowledge Gaps:

• I don’t really understand how different investment vehicles work
• I’m not clear on tax optimization strategies

Step 2: Set Mindset-Focused Goals

Next, head to your Goals & Dreams section to create 2-3 specific mindset improvement goals based on what you discovered:

1. Belief Transformation Goal 

• Choose one limiting belief you want to change
• Create a specific plan to challenge and replace it
• Set a timeline for practicing the new belief

2. Money Confidence Goal 

• Identify one aspect of money management that makes you anxious
• Plan concrete steps to build confidence in this area
• Include milestones to celebrate along the way

3. Financial Education Goal 

• Choose one knowledge gap to fill
• Pick resources to help you learn (articles, courses, books)
• Set a schedule that works for your life

Step 3: Track Your Progress

The final step is keeping tabs on your mindset changes over time. Your Progress Tracking section is perfect for this.

Set up a weekly mindset check-in to track:

1. Belief Statements 

• Rate how strongly you believe your limiting statements (1-10)
• Rate how strongly you believe your new empowering statements (1-10)
• Watch these numbers change over time

2. Emotional Responses 

• Note your feelings during financial activities
• Track how these feelings shift over weeks and months

3. Behavioral Changes 

• Document new financial behaviors that emerge
• Connect these to mindset shifts

4. Knowledge Growth 

• Record new concepts you’ve learned
• Note how these impact your confidence

By documenting your insights, setting specific goals, and tracking your progress, you create a complete system for transforming your money mindset over time.

Common Mindset Transformations to Aim For 🔄

As you work through this exercise, keep these powerful mindset shifts in mind:

Instead of thinking…	Work toward thinking…
“I’m not good with money”	“I’m learning and improving my money skills every day”
“I’ll never have enough”	“I’m taking steps to build abundance”
“Money is the root of all evil”	“Money is a tool that can be used for good”
“I don’t deserve wealth”	“I deserve financial well-being”

Remember that mindset shifts happen gradually. Be patient with yourself, this isn’t an overnight transformation!

Celebrating Mindset Victories and Next Steps 🎉

Don’t forget to celebrate your progress! Mindset shifts might seem subtle, but they’re actually the foundation for lasting financial change. Here are some mindset victories worth celebrating:

• Catching yourself in a limiting belief and challenging it
• Feeling less anxiety during financial activities
• Actually asking questions instead of avoiding money topics
• Making decisions based on your values rather than fear

To get started, just choose one or two elements from this exercise to focus on this week:

1. Review your Money Journal for patterns
2. Try a daily prompt that resonates with you
3. Identify one limiting belief to transform
4. Set up your first mindset check-in

Your money mindset shapes every financial decision you make. By taking time to understand it, you’re addressing the root cause of many financial challenges rather than just treating symptoms. This exploration is a key part of the BELIEVE pillar of your financial journey.

Tonight before you go to sleep, do this: choose one limiting money belief you identified today. Write its replacement on a sticky note and place it where you’ll see it first thing tomorrow morning. Small reminders can lead to big mental shifts, your future self  will thank you for it.

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