Change is inevitable. You change your style, you change your hair, you even change your political views. The fact of the matter is that it’s nearly impossible not to change your mind at some point — and that goes for your money mindset, too. I’ve been writing about money for nearly four years now. It’s not that dramatic of a timeline, but it has been long enough for me to change my point of view regarding how I spend and save. More importantly, even, it’s been long enough for me to change my point of view regarding the way others spend and save.

We’re all judgemental sometimes

It’s true. I used to write blog posts about how ridiculous people were for not making their own lunch at home and about how laziness is always the downfall of your financial situation. *facepalm* I’m currently the brightest shade of red you can imagine.

What I didn’t know way back in 2015 was that not everyone has the life I have. In fact, no one has the life that I live. Because no one else is me. And no one else is you. But you probably already know that.

Not everyone can earn the same income as I have. Not everyone is as satisfied with their days unless they buy their meals rather than make them. Not everyone is lazy. Some people are just choosing to prioritize their ideas of essential purchases in a way that I would never find justifiable.

But is that my business? No. My business is to make sure that I’m doing all that I need to do for my own money — and if along the way I manage to spark an idea or pass on some knowledge to someone else looking to do all that they can do for their financial situation, even better.

You’re never going to feel the same way about money as you did five years ago

It’s not even possible to. Because likely, five years from now, you’re going to be miles ahead of where you are today. If not with your finances, with your plans. If you’re currently a student, you may be graduated and employed. If you’re employed, you may have moved to a new company and a new income. Twice, even.

I used to think that I was doing the right thing calling people out for what *I* considered to be their detrimental financial decisions. That’s not fair. Although our money might look the same, we use it for different purposes. Although we might use the same bank or credit card, we don’t have the same transactions.

If you’re looking for financial advice and you keep hearing that everything you love to spend your money on is wrong, you might be deterred and assume that you’ll never be good at finance. That’s just not true.

You can find a way to make your favourite parts of spending fit into your lifestyle no matter how much you earn, how much you spend or how much debt you have. We’ve come a long way as far as talking about money and reducing it down from being the last taboo. However, what we need to do is stop assuming that finance is “my way or the highway,” when in reality it could be “your way and the back alley.” LOOOOL Hi, I’m bad at analogies.

I’m sorry if I’ve ever made you doubt your financial decisions

You probably already do that enough already. You probably already look over your budget every month and worry about the fact that you didn’t make that one small change that you read about online. Even though, that one small change wasn’t realistic for you to make.

I’ve changed my mind about how I control my own financial life. I’ve changed my money mindset to be more lenient and less aggressive. I’m not interested in being hypocritical of your finances.

Money mistakes are a natural part of life and a change in your money mindset is bound to happen. So, this month when you look for new material to read to get your financial situation in gear, I want to be able to offer you an honest perspective into multiple ways you can choose to control your money.

If you have a financial question that you’ve been holding on to for fear of judgement or a harsh reality check that you’re not ready for, email me at hello@mixedupmoney.com. I’ll address your concerns on the blog, anonymously — and I promise not to lecture you in the process.

What is the biggest change you’ve noticed about your money mindset? Let me know in the comments!