6 ways to improve your relationship with money

When you think about
money and your dreams

and you're looking at you're
looking at your account,

you're like, "My bank
account does not align

"with my dreams."

(upbeat music)

Financial health for a
typical American household

can be stressful.

We know that 46% of all
Americans would struggle

coming up with $400 in
the event of an emergency.

And 60% of all Americans
will face that emergency

within 12 months or less.

When you ask the question,
"What does money mean to you?",

most people will say things
like, "I feel anxious."

And so the insecurities come.

The shame comes.

I think we have a fraught
relationship with money

because it comes with judgment.

When you're not able to
pay your bills on time,

you can personalize that.

I don't want anyone to
think that I'm not smart.

I don't want any to know that
I am very insecure with money.

I don't want anyone to know
that I am super stressed out.

So now let's change the narrative.

You can't do it alone.

And that's when your squad has to come in.

It's taboo.

We typically don't talk about our stresses

when it comes to money.

We need to come together
as a group of friends,

no judgment, no shame.

Celebrate the fact that
we've made a decision,

that we want to have a better
relationship with money.

That is worth applauding or
snapping your fingers about.

Once you've done that, then you get real.

Nothing should be off-limits.

Where does this relationship come from?

Why am I spending all this money on things

that don't align with my goals?

What are your fears?

What are your hopes?

What are your dreams?

But then we start to take action.

What can we do this week?

Or what can we do this month?

Money is not the end all be all.

It's the mechanism to accomplish
whatever your goals are.

It does not define you.

It's just a mechanism to
accomplish what matters

to you most.

Ask yourself one fundamental question,

what are you saving for?

If you're saving for a car,

if you're saving to pay down your debt,

if you're saving for that rainy day fund,

it will include short-term goals

and it will include long-term goals.

Visualize what your really
trying to accomplish.

A vision board is visual representation

of what you're saving for.

So if we break it down,

go get a poster board.

Get your markers, get your glitter.

Take magazine pictures, cut it all out.

Have that picture of that great trip.

Have the picture of you
paying down your student debt.

The vision board sounds like,

"Oh, how can that really help?"

The point is your goals need
to align with your behaviors,

and the vision board is
really a representation

of where you wanna go and
then how you live your life,

and in the meantime, are the
steps to really get there.

It's not about what you make,
it's about what you keep.

It's about understanding
do I have the ability

with what I'm making to
take care of my basic needs?

And if not, what adjustments
do I need to make?

And then we start to break it down

and talk about the tools.

We start to say,

"Do we have our savings
account, auto-save?"

Set it and forget, or
everyday, put a dollar a day.

Whatever that rhythm is for you,

the goal is the rhythm, not the amount.

You can start slow.

You can start small, but
you have to start now.

And then let me give you a trick,

we all have impulses.

Many times, because the
phone is always with us,

we start shopping.

Go out to any site, shop
up, put it in your cart.

Just don't hit buy.

Wait 24 hours, go back, and ask yourself,

"Do I really need it?

"What about these items map to my goal?"

And if it's nothing, hit delete

and you got your fix.

It's also important to
know that your self-worth

is not determined by your net worth.

This is something that
we can do better about.

You celebrate your wins.

And when you make that
misstep, no judgment, no shame.

Just get back at it.