Personal finance is not just about counting dollars and cents. A large part of personal finance has to do with psychology (how you THINK about your money) or what I like to call your money mindset.
A healthy money mindset allows you to do the things that you know are good for you more easily (i.e. spending less than you earn and saving/investing the difference).
An unhealthy money mindset can cause you to do things with your money that are not good for you (i.e. buying things you can’t afford on credit or purchasing a vacation when you are drowning in debt).
Even the best of us must work to maintain a healthy money mindset because temptation is always just around the corner! Advertisements, friends, family, co-workers…they can all challenge your values at times and throw your mindset off track.
Sometimes your temporary lapse of judgement is caused by an emotional response to fear or grief. We all have different triggers.
When you feel yourself getting weak there are a number of things that you can do to get back on track. One of the things that I like to do to reset my money mindset is watch motivational videos. Below are some of my favorite TED Talks to watch when I need a “reset”.
All It Takes Is 10 Mindful Minutes
Mindfulness expert Andy Puddicombe describes the transformative power of doing absolutely nothing for 10 whole minutes each day. In his talk, he teaches us that it only takes 10 minutes a day of being mindful and living in the present moment to refresh your mind.
Want To Be Happy? Be Grateful.
David Steindl-Rast, a monk and interfaith scholar teaches the one thing that all humans have in common is the fact that we want to be happy. In his talk, he proposes that happiness is born from gratitude. He reminds us to slow down, be present and most important, be grateful.
How College Loans Exploit Students For Profit
Professor Sajay Samuel, laments on the good ole’ days when going to college did not equal graduating with debt. He talks about the problem with treating college like any other consumer product and offers a brilliant solution: linking tuition costs to a degree’s expected earnings, so that students can make informed decisions about their future, restore their love of learning and contribute to the world in a meaningful way.
Less Stuff More Happiness
Writer and designer Graham Hill asks: Can having less stuff, in less room, lead to more happiness? He makes the case for taking up less space, and lays out three rules for editing your life.
The Battle Between Your Present And Future Self
You know the saying, “hindsight is 20/20”? Well what if you had a way to see perfectly into your future? Daniel Goldstein begins his talk by discussing how every day we make decisions that have good or bad consequences for our future selves. He teaches how imagining ourselves over time can help us to make better choices for the future us.
How To Buy Happiness
Michael Norton shares his research results on how money can indeed buy happiness — when you spend it on others. In his interesting talk, he enlightens us about the many benefits of giving.
What are some of your favorite TED talks?