How can I create an abundant mindset without overspending?

Recently I received this juicy question from Cat:

‘We hear a lot about the psychology of abundance and scarcity. But how do you establish an abundant mindset without overspending?  Although the scarcity mindset of “I can’t afford that,” is fear-based, it does stop you spending what you don’t have. 

Is there a risk that with the mindset of “I can afford it. Money flows to me. I am abundant,” a person might get themselves into debt?’

Great question!  And one I’ve done a lot of thinking about over the past few years as a money mindset mentor, so here are my three steps to create an abundant mindset without having to overspend.

1. Appreciate all the ways you’re abundant right now

Creating an abundant mindset is a question of focus.  Whether you earn £10k or £10million a year, we can all slip into a place of ‘there’s not enough’.  (Believe me, even the wealthiest people can still have a scarcity mindset).

When you focus on scarcity, you end up in resistance (i.e. fear, panic, frustration, dissatisfaction) and your point of attraction lowers.

Your aim is to move from resistance into alignment (joy, satisfaction, gratitude, hopefulness) and a sure-fire way to do this is through appreciation.

Rather than focusing on any ways you feel you don’t have enough right now, choose to turn your attention to the many ways in which you already are abundant.

As a personal example, at the moment I’m working with the affirmation, ‘I always make more than enough money to support myself in the most deliciously abundant ways’.  To make sure this affirmation is working for me, I’m constantly choosing to notice the ways I feel deliciously abundant – things like having lunch in my favourite cafe, getting a monthly massage, meeting a friend for coffee, having time to go for my daily walk, booking my upcoming ski-ing holiday.

As you can see, most of these don’t actually cost much money, but they all make me feel abundant.

Don’t forget to appreciate the things you might be taking for granted.  Each month I pay £750 straight into the joint account I share with Mr H to pay for our mortgage, bills and food.  I recently realised that I hadn’t been appreciating this money.  I just lumped it together as ‘household bills’.

So I’ve now started to consciously give thanks for the things this money allows me to experience – my beautiful home, candle-lit baths, fresh water, friendly neighbours, the food that I enjoy, a wonderful therapy room to see my clients, a space for entertaining friends and family,,,, I could go on and on! And as I do, my sense of abundance grows.

Start now: Take some time and write down all the ways you feel abundant right now.  Don’t hold back – write down everything you can think of, be specific and notice how you start to feel more expansive as you do.

2) Power up your language

As a hypnotherapist, I’m super-aware of how the words you use can affect all areas of your life.

Whenever you use the words, ‘I can’t afford it’, you’re sending a message to yourself and out into the Universe that you’re not in control.  You’re undermining your personal power.

Now, I’m not going to ask you to start saying. ‘I can afford it’ about everything when you feel you can’t.  When you use affirmations that don’t feel true for you, you slip back into a place of resistance, making them completely counter-effective.

What I encourage you to do instead is to use statements such as, ‘I’m choosing not to buy that right now’ or ‘This is not a priority for me at the moment’.  Both of these put you back in a position of power.

If there’s something you really want to buy and you truly feel you can’t afford it, then using a question can feel more expansive, for example, ‘I wonder how I could afford that?’ or ‘What are the ways I could create the money to buy ……?’  Whenever you ask a question, your subconscious mind will go looking for an answer and ideas will begin to flow to you.

‘I can’t afford it’ immediately closes you down.  ‘I wonder how I could afford it?’ opens you up.

Start now: Over the next week, ban yourself from saying ‘I can’t afford it’.  Choose to use more empowering statements or questions and notice how you feel different.

3) Be mindful of your feelings towards debt

In her question, Cat asked whether trying to create an abundant mindset could lead to overspending and getting into debt.  I think there’s generally a lot of misunderstanding about what an ‘abundant mindset’ really is.

Some abundance coaches might encourage you to ‘Just trust that the money will show up’ or say that if you hold onto money, it shows you have a scarcity mindset.

I don’t agree with that.

If you’re spending money and getting into debt to prove you’ve got an abundant mindset, telling yourself that you ‘trust there’s always enough’ when deep-down you’re feeling petrified, then I’m afraid you’re heading for down-town resistance and your chances of attracting more into your life are pretty much zilch.

I know this might sound harsh, but believe me, I’ve been there my friend and it’s NOT the way to go.

Although we use the words, ‘abundant mindset’, true abundance is all about how you FEEL.

And the truth is, many of us feel pretty mixed-up about debt. On one hand, we’re told it’s bad and on the other, we’re offered credit left, right and centre and made to feel it’s obligatory to get a huge mortgage in order to feel like a proper ‘grown-up’

Debt is not inherently bad and it’s not inherently good.  Debt just IS.

When you remove the emotion around debt, you’re free to make empowered decisions.

Now, I’m certainly not saying that it’s a great idea to get into debt so you can buy whatever you want.

BUT if something feels like a priority for you, if you feel that you’ll get a return on your investment (and that can be financially, emotionally, spiritually, energetically…) AND you know you can manage the repayments, then paying for it on credit may be an option for you.

When you’re making a choice about whether to borrow money to pay for something, notice how you feel about it.  Whatever you’re telling yourself consciously, your emotions will always let you know whether you’re closer to resistance or alignment.

Start now: Take some time to journal on your current feelings and beliefs around debt.  Do you see ‘debt’ as inherently bad?  What have your personal experiences been around debt? Have they left you feeling disempowered?  Empty all of your thoughts and feelings down onto the page.  Once you’ve done that, you’ll feel clearer moving forwards and able to make more empowered choices.

So, that’s my answer to Cat’s question- it is possible to create an abundant mindset without overspending.  You just need to make a few shifts along the way.

Your next step.  Ready to discover even more ways to create the abundant life you TRULY desire (and deserve!)? Click here to join my free 7-day Money Mastery Kickstarter Challenge and get going right away.