The field of Financial Psychology has been picking up steam for quite soe time. At the forefront of advancing the practice is Dr. Bradley Klontz.
Dr. Klontz is the author of several books and the creator of the Klontz Money Script Inventory – Revised. The KMSI-R is used by financial coaches and counselors to help clients identify their often hidden beliefs about money. These beliefs are correlated with our ability to create wealth.
According the Dr. Klontz, Money Scripts are learned very early in life and often passed down to us from our parents and are grandparents. They can also be created by financial trauma. Imagine our grandparents who lived through the depression and how that has shaped their beliefs around money. The tricky thing about Money Scripts is that even ones detrimental to building wealth contain a nugget of truth.
There are 4 Money Scripts. Money Vigilance, Money Avoidance, Money Status, and Money Focus. Each money script is associated with varying levels of financial success. It is hard to believe that someone would have a “money avoidance” money script. Think about the different famous people who go from rags to riches, and back to rags again. A deep seeded belief that “money is bad” or “rich people are evil” can cause self-sabotage. And like all Money Scripts, there is a tiny nugget of truth in there. Some rich people are greedy. Sometimes money can be used for bad things or to exert an outsized amount of control.
The good news is that like most beliefs, Money Scripts can be rewritten. The first step is identifying your specific combination of Money Scripts. This can be accomplished by completing the KMSI-R.
Once identified, a trained coach can guide you through exercises to challenge limiting beliefs and develop a different, more productive attitude about money.
If you are interesting in understanding and transforming the beliefs you have about money, schedule a time for a free consultation. I would love to help you work through this!