by Lynnette Price, MS Psychology
Money isn’t just a tool, it’s a teacher. The way we think about money determines how we save it, spend it and grow it. For women of color, money often comes with layered challenges: systemic barriers, cultural expectations, and generational cycles that weren’t designed to make wealth easy. But here’s the truth: your money story is not fixed. It can be rewritten. Shifting your mindset isn’t about overnight riches (stop believing those posts you see on Instagram). It’s about building confidence, taking risks and creating a foundation for wealth that lasts. Let’s break down the shifts that matter most.
From Playing It Safe to Taking Calculated Risks
Too often women of color are taught to play it safe because failure feels too costly. As children, most of us were taught to fear money and/or to spend it as soon as we get it. We aren’t taught to give direction, to build our own instead of constantly building for someone else, or to take risk to grow it. But playing it safe is actually the riskiest strategy of all. Wealth requires calculated risks; whether it’s starting with a small investment, experimenting with a side hustle, or negotiating for the salary you truly deserve. You don’t need to bet it all, but you do need to learn to bet on yourself.
From Scarcity to Abundance Mindset
Scarcity says hold every dollar because there will never be enough. While abundance says; “I can grow my money because I am capable of creating opportunities.” When money is only seen as something to protect, you miss out on the ways to multiply it. Scarcity locks you into survival mode, but abundance opens doors to strategy, investment and wealth creation.
Abundance doesn’t mean reckless spending. It means believing in your ability to expand beyond your starting point. Think of it like this: every dollar saved or invested is a seed. With time, intention and direction, those seeds can grow. Instead of holding onto every dollar for dear life, take little steps to shift your mindset around money. Cindy Kumar, CEO of Elevated Accounting, offers a great way to start small. Here are her tips below:
- Everyday you open your bank account, look at the last digit in cents and give it a direction. That direction could be emergency savings, vacation fund or an education fund.
- For example, if your account says $923.42, you save $2.
With this method, the lowest you’ll ever save is $1 and the highest is $9, but eventually it adds up. No spreadsheets or monthly calculations necessary, just smalls steps and intention helped her save $1400 in a year. This is proof that you can start where you are with what you have, shifting your mindset from “I can’t afford it” to “how can I afford it?”
From Negative Influences to Strategic Circles
Who you spend your time with also shapes your financial reality. If the voices around you are always rooted in fear such “money is hard to make,” “investing is too risky,” “people like us can’t have that,” or “I’m always broke, no matter how much money I make,” it becomes easy to internalize those beliefs. Instead, it’s best to surround yourself with people who are where you want to be, not where you’ve been. This doesn’t always means abandoning your community. It means intentionally adding mentors, peers, and networks that speak to growth. Because when it comes to wealth, who you know can be just as important as what you know.
People who have positive, wealth building perspectives when it comes to money even if they are exactly where they want to be yet, can inspire you to not only see money differently but take more steps to build a relationship with it that’s stable instead of uncertain.
From Cycles of Limitations to Cycles of Wealth
If you weren’t born into wealth, chances are you inherited a financial mindset that focus more on survival than growth. Don’t worry, it’s not your fault. It’s a cycle passed down through generations, but cycles can be broken. Breaking this cycle starts with part awareness and part courage. It requires rewiring how you see money, investing even when it feels uncomfortable, and studying wealth so you can build your own opportunities. Wealth building doesn’t come from waiting for the “right time.” It comes from deciding to change the story, starting today. While it won’t be easy to unlearn certain beliefs about money, practice makes it easier and wealth building, developing a tolerance for risks in order to see growth is a skill worth building.
From Silence to Open Money Conversations
One of the most powerful steps in shifting your mindset is to stop keeping money in the shadows. For too long, you might have been taught not to discuss details of money. It’s okay to say you can’t afford something or you’re broke, but you can’t discuss how much money you make, what you own or what you want to own. Historically, in the BIPOC community discussing those things have been known to be rude or taboo even. However, that silences creates isolation and prevent shared learning.
It’s important to normalize talking about money. Share strategies with trusted friends, ask mentors how they build their wealth, and pass along financial lessons to your family. When we talk about money openly, we move from secrecy to strategy and from shame to empowerment.
Mindset shifts aren’t quick fixes, but they are the foundation of lasting change. Every step you take, whether it’s embracing risks, surrounding yourself with the right people, or breaking generational cycles, builds confidence and expands possibility.. Remember, wealth isn’t about where you started. it’s about the shifts and steps you choose to make now. Your hope, wellness and wealth are connected and when you change your money mindset, start hoping for a better future and then taking actionable steps to make it happen, you rewire your beliefs and you start to develop a wealth mindset.
