The Money Trap You’re Overlooking: Why Money Isn’t Math
Have you heard someone say, “I hate math”?
What does that mean? Perhaps, “I feel bad when I do math, so math is bad.”
I’ve heard a similar sentiment about money.
“I hate dealing with money.”
“I’m not a numbers person.”
“Thankfully, my partner handles our finances. It’s not my thing.”
Or maybe you’re one of those people who celebrates spreadsheets and numbers.
Or maybe you have sworn them off for life.
Either way, don’t equate money with numbers.
Even if you don’t go out of your way to practice arithmetic, you live in a universe full of numbers doing their math thing, and you reap the benefits every day.
And even if you’re not a math person, no need to assume you’re not a money person. Money affects your everyday life like the air you breathe. A key to growing strong with money is realizing money isn’t just math.
The Money Trap You’re Overlooking
Avoid the trap! Don’t assume that money problems are math problems. It’s not all about formulas and jargon. You might feel tempted to try to succeed with money (or to brush it off) like it’s a subject in school.
But money does NOT equal math. There’s no exam, and the semester never ends.
The numbers are there, for sure, and they are important. But crunching the numbers requires very little mathematical prowess.
Money is a dynamic, unavoidable, powerful reality that permeates your everyday life.
Those who are strongest with money have learned the truth: money-strength is more mindset than math.
More Mindset than Math
The biggest obstacle to money-strength isn’t math—it’s mindset.
The real challenge is noticing and improving your mindset. Don’t overlook the role of beliefs and emotions in your journey with money.
Signs you’re at risk:
You don’t look at your accounts because you “don’t want to deal with another username and password.”
You downplay your net worth “on paper” because “it doesn’t feel real.”
You tell yourself the next raise is the one that’s finally going to give you room to breathe.
Growing strong with money means taking care of your money AND your mindset.
Ramit Sethi, author of Money For Couples
This is why Ramit Sethi says, “The way you feel about money is highly uncorrelated with the amount in the bank” and Jade Warshaw wrote Money’s Not a Math Problem.
Jade Warshaw, author of Money’s Not a Math Problem
The Roots of Your Relationship with Money
Money decisions are rarely about logic alone. They’re emotional. These choices aren’t all about numbers; they’re about beliefs.
And most of those beliefs were shaped long before you opened your first bank account. Childhood lessons, family conversations (or silence) about money, and early experiences all form the “roots” of how we view and handle money today.
All those sayings you hear, repeat, or silently tell yourself– I call those “money mantras.”
You can’t change your past experiences. So what can you do now?
How to Reframe Your Money Mindset
If mindset drives behavior, how do you change it?
Here are 3 straightforward actions you can take in 5 minutes:
Identify your money mantras. What did you hear about money growing up? Was it “Money doesn’t grow on trees”? “We can’t afford that”? These mantras linger.
👉 I help you explore your money mindset in your Groundwork session.
Practice empathy with yourself. Instead of shame, try showing yourself the kindness you would show anyone else. Imagine telling your younger self, “I understand why you adopted that money mantra.”
Replace money mantras that no longer serve you. You can’t choose what you heard growing up or how others impacted you. But now you get to decide which money mantras to embrace and which to set aside.
Perhaps you want to swap “I’m bad with money” for “I never stop learning about personal finance.”
Instead of, ““I earn too much to have to monitor my spending,” maybe you prefer, “The clearer I am, the better I feel.”
The Bottom Line
Money isn’t all about math– don’t fall for that false assumption.
In just minutes, you can start to break free from that trap. What money mantras did you hear in the past? What are the money mantras you hear yourself saying and believing now? What money mantras do you choose to embrace moving forward?
You can build the competence and confidence you deserve. And now you know a key realization of those who are strong with money: money-strength is more mindset than math.
