What is your relationship with money?
Money isn't just numbers. Our financial decisions are shaped by emotions, beliefs and experiences worth taking a closer look at.
In this article
Money tells a story about us, too
When we think about money, we usually think about numbers.
How much we earn.
How much we spend.
How much we owe.
How much is in the account.
But there is another side to our relationship with money that never shows up on a bank statement: what we feel and think about it.
Some people feel anxious every time they have to check their accounts. Others would rather not look at the balance at all. Some spend when they are stressed, while others feel guilty every time they buy something for themselves.
And then there are those who feel they never have enough, even when their income has objectively gone up.
So what does all of this have to do with our finances? More than we think.
How did we learn to relate to money?
This relationship did not begin the day we got our first paycheck. Long before that, we had already built ideas about money.
Maybe we grew up hearing that “money is hard to come by.” Or that saving was the right thing to do. Maybe talking about money was normal in your home, or maybe it was a subject nobody touched, or one that brought stress and frustration.
We may also have learned that having money means security, success, freedom or even status.
All of those experiences shape beliefs that we carry into adult life.
That is why two people with similar incomes can make completely different decisions about money.
Emotions count, too
We sometimes believe our financial decisions are entirely rational. But think about a few everyday situations:
- We buy something because we had a rough day.
- We say yes to a plan we can't really afford because we don't want to be left out.
- We spend more when unexpected money comes in.
- We put off reviewing our finances because doing it makes us anxious.
- We save for a while and then spend it all because we feel we “deserve it.”
This isn't necessarily about being irresponsible. Very often it is about emotions, habits and behaviors we have never learned to recognize.
So what does a conscious relationship with money look like?
It doesn't mean you stop spending. It doesn't mean saving every last peso or turning your life into a spreadsheet. It means starting to ask yourself:
Why do I make the money decisions I make?
These questions can matter more than any financial formula.
Because before we think about what to do with our money, we need to understand how we relate to it.
The first step is not earning more
We sometimes think our money problems would be solved by simply earning more. And yes, a higher income can open new possibilities. But if our habits, beliefs and decisions stay the same, we may just end up managing a bigger amount of money in the same way.
That is why building a more conscious relationship with your finances starts with observing. No guilt. No judgment.
Just asking yourself:
What is my story with money, and how is it shaping the decisions I make today?
Understanding that story may be one of the first steps toward relating to money differently.
At Circular Urban we believe investing also starts with knowing ourselves. Because before deciding where to put our money, we need to understand the place money holds in our lives.
Published by
María Camila Becerra Cabrales