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Underearning and Oversaving: The Mindset Behind these Financial Habits
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Underearning and Oversaving: The Mindset Behind these Financial Habits

Money Mindset, solopreneurs

Underearning and Oversaving: The Mindset Behind these Financial Habits

Are you saving too much money? Is your financial life bracketed by scarcity and insufficient funds? Do you identify as an oversaver or underearner? Then I invite you to take this post as an opportunity to explore your emotions and mindset which may be underlying these financial habits.

This post is inspired by Barbara Stanny’s excellent book, Secrets of Six Figure Women: Surprising Strategies to up Your Earnings and Change Your Life. Explore the ideas below and see if they’re helpful for you to explore your own financial behaviors.

Check In

Barbara interviews six-figure earners and contrasts them with women she dubs underearners. One of the contrasts that is ever present between the two is a difference in mindset. In her workshops with underearners, she uses a great exercise that I would encourage you to explore for yourself. She asks them to complete this sentence: People with money are _______________. If this as well as the title of this book bring up negative emotions, you will need to change this story before you are able to change your relationship with your earning potential.

I don’t believe that we all need to strive for a six figure income, or even that money is a measure of our success. But as business owners, if we are not able to support ourselves through our work, we will find it impossible to continue sharing the gifts that we have to offer.

Similarly, oversavers are hemmed in by their fear of scarcity. Looking at both of these financial behaviors, I am reminded of Lynn Twist’s ideas in her book, The Soul of Money. The author also remarks on how, when we let go of scarcity and stop going after things we don’t really want or need, this “frees up oceans of energy to make a difference with what you have. When you make a difference with what you have, it expands.”

Make the Shift

I believe that we need to shift to an abundance mindset. What do you think of when you think of the word abundance? I feel that this word includes many things: being grateful for what we have now, for what the future holds for us, for the gifts and talents we are able to share, the connections that we have to other people and the money that our society uses as a measure of exchange.

Including money in our desire for abundance makes it possible for us to increase our earnings and feel deserving of them. An abundance mindset also helps us to navigate the fear of scarcity that often guides oversaving.

My Mindset

I have been exploring my own money mindset recently. While I thought I had a positive relationship with money, I still found that I had some blocks as well. Because our society seems to measure a person’s value by their salary, it is easy to base your self-worth on your income. In our household, my husband earns the money that we base our lifestyle on. When I truly began exploring my mindset, I found that I was seeing my earnings as “insignificant” in comparison to his. When I began to separate the value that I deliver to my clients from my worthiness as an individual, my outlook on my potential impact also changed.

The Deciding Factor

The path to making this mindset shift towards abundance includes gratitude, affirmations about your worth, and a decision to make a change. Many of the six-figure women interviewed by Barbara started out with negative feelings around money, but they recognized that fact, made a decision to change and then put their new attitudes into practice. The fact that you are reading this blog about money already shows your willingness to change. That is a great start!

By Angela Keller|2023-06-16T17:26:31-07:00June 16th, 2023|Categories: Money Mindset, solopreneurs|Tags: barbara huson, barbara stanny, feminism, internal work, know your worth, money mindset, money work, my story, oversaving, six figure women, underearning, women and business|0 Comments

How Can Women Achieve Financial Empowerment?

Are we afraid of our own power? One of the things I absolutely love about Barbara Huson’s book, Secrets of Six Figure Women, is that it asks us to face this question. In a society where we are often trained to take lower pay and funneled into “helping” professions, our earning potentials are often restricted, and we participate in the repression of our own power unknowingly. Some would argue the drive to help and caretake is natural for us. Barbara pulls a quote from Fortune of Oct 2000 which reads, “Women feel powerful when they are making a difference and expanding their own capabilities.” Naturally, we gravitate towards improving the world, but we can do this while also pursuing personal power and security.

Every time you leave the beaten path and aim for exceptional, every time you silence your fear and speak with your own voice, every time you stop acting small and start taking up space, you are owning your power and emancipating others to follow in your footsteps.

Financial Security Is Power

Power does not require money, and is not exclusive to it. However, if you have the financial freedom to leave a job, leave a spouse, take time off, give money away, and allocate financial resources as you please, that can only add to your personal agency. Money gives you choices. Those choices can allow you to step into every part of your power.

When we claim our power in this way, we raise the stakes in our lives, and stop playing the small game. Barbara writes,“It’s not what we have but what we do with what we have that gives us or denies us financial security.” Whatever we choose to do, we can do more easily and powerfully with financial security.

Serious fear underlies female passivity around money. My post on wealth-building may have stirred up some of this fear for you – and it’s exactly why so many of us stall on our way to building our assets. This fear is understandable. We receive many negative messages about powerful or wealthy women. They are often the villains in animated films, and there are no positive words for powerful women. The ones that come to my mind are “bitch” and “ball breaker.” This desperately needs to change, and it starts with us as we choose to turn against it.

Claiming your power and building financial security may be uncomfortable or cause conflict. It means rocking the boat, saying no, and not always being liked or welcomed. I believe that, in the long term, these things are a small price to pay in pursuit of your own freedom and power.

Claim Power For Yourself and Others

Claiming our power is an act of self love. When we honor and value ourselves and have the bravery and financial security to live our desires – that is real self love. This love ripples outwards, and makes a positive difference in the lives of those around us. By striving for what we really deserve, we can inspire and pave the way for a new generation of people ready to do the same. When we have the resources to donate to causes we agree with, we can heal the planet and help others achieve their dreams. When we claim our power, we can also extend that power to others.

I hope that this post inspires you to reach for your dreams – you truly deserve to have the financial security you need and the agency you want. If you’re interested in working with an accountability partner to help you get there, you know where to find me! Don’t hesitate to reach out and schedule a free 30 minute Financial Self Care Consultation.

Angela

This post was originally posted in 2019 as part of a series of post drawing on the foundational concepts of Barbrara Huson‘s wonderful book, Secrets of Six Figure Women. You can read the other articles in the series on mindset, action, and wealth building at the links.

By Angela Keller|2021-03-08T11:57:10-08:00March 8th, 2021|Categories: Money Mindset|Tags: barbara huson, feminism, financial security, money and power, secrets of six figure women, women, women and money|0 Comments

To Increase Your Earnings, Take Action

So, you’ve shifted your mindset: you see the potential for abundance and your life and you’re ready for the cash to roll in. But now what? It’s time to take action. By getting the wheels in motion, you get closer to earning what you deserve. This is the second in a series of posts on the seven strategies used by high earning women Barbara Stanny interviewed in her book Secrets of Six Figure Women. You can check out the first post on shifting to an abundance mindset here! According to Barbara’s insights, here are a couple action steps you’ll want to take.

Step One: Get Clear

The first step is to get clear on where your finances are right now. You need to know what you have in the bank, how much you are spending monthly, and what and whom you owe. If you are currently ignoring this information, you cannot move forward until you face these numbers. In her book, Barbara gives many examples of women who have changed their patterns with their finances. Many had to stop overspending in various areas, some had to pay off credit card debt or stop using credit cards altogether. But they all had to first examine their current behaviors and then think about where they wanted to end up and make the decision to make change. If you’d like a guide for this step, check out my post Three Steps to Financial Clarity.

Step Two: Make a Change

Making changes may include trying new strategies with your spending and saving. It may mean not using credit cards at all, or seeking out someone to partner with to make change, like a money buddy or accountability partner. One of the women interviewed actually set up a system of saving one third of her income, setting aside one third for taxes and living off of one third. This may not be a feasible option for every income level, but setting up and automating some percentage of saving is a great place to begin. You can read my article about automation for more resources. The author points out that when you do make a change, “each step builds to the next, increasing confidence, competence and resources.” With that in mind, the best thing to do is pick an idea, try it, and see if it does some good for your financial situation.

Three Keys

Once you’re on your way to making changes, it’s good to know the keys to managing your money. Barbara points out three key steps to successful money management: spend less than you earn, pay yourself first, and then put your money to work. This last step is often the trickiest. Many people are tripped up by fear when it comes to investing and building wealth. That’s why we’ll going in depth about it next week, when we’ll talk about wealth building. I haven’t talked a whole lot about this here, beyond a few ideas about retirement prep, so I’m excited to get more into it!

If you think you’d be able to take more action with the guidance of an accountability partner, I’m always here to help. Take a look at my services, book a call, and let’s have a chat!

☮

Angela

By Angela Keller|2019-05-15T19:10:44-07:00May 15th, 2019|Categories: Financial Clarity, Personal Savings, Personal Spending|Tags: barbara huson, barbara stanny, book review, financial clarity, make changes, money management, secrets of six figure women, spending plan, step by step, taking action, three keys, wealth building|0 Comments