Before you ever earned a rand, you were already learning about money — from the arguments you overheard, the things your family couldn’t afford, or the silence around unpaid bills. These beliefs could quietly be steering the financial choices you make today.
Where your beliefs about money came from
Our core beliefs about money often form in childhood. The financial researcher Brad Klontz did the first study on these money beliefs. He called them “money scripts” and grouped them into four basic groups:
- Money Avoider: Believes “money is bad” or “I don’t deserve it.” Deep down, you associate wealth with guilt or greed — so you unconsciously push it away, even while wishing for more.
- Money Worshipper: Believes “more money equals more happiness.” You chase the next payday, the next raise, convinced satisfaction is just one payslip away — but it never quite arrives.
- Money Status-Seeker: Believes “what I own shows what I’m worth.” You spend to keep up appearances, even if it means going into debt.
- Money Vigilant: Believes in saving over spending. You build security, but rarely let yourself enjoy it.
These unconscious beliefs can drive our financial behaviour without us knowing. None of these is a character flaw. It is a learned pattern, which means it can also be unlearned. Let’s look at an example:
Anathi’s Story
Money belief: People respect you more when you look like you’re doing well
Anathi grew up in a small Eastern Cape town, one of the few in her family to move to Cape Town for work. Around her new colleagues, she felt the pressure to “look the part” — the right sneakers, the latest phone, the best braids. Whenever she got paid, most of it went on appearances.
Within a year, Anathi had three store accounts and a growing debt she couldn’t keep up with. She started avoiding calls from the stores, and skipped nights out to hide that she was broke — the very thing she’d been spending to avoid looking like.
It was a candid conversation with an older cousin — who admitted she’d been through the same thing — that shifted something. Anathi began realising that real respect from colleagues came from her work, not her wardrobe. She closed two of the accounts and started budgeting the rest.
Choosing a new money story
You cannot rewrite your childhood. But you can notice which inherited belief is driving your behaviour, and question whether it is still true.
Track your expenses for a month. Look at what you spend your money on, and why. Which purchases do you regret? Why? What are your financial fears…
You do not need to overhaul your whole life this week. Choose one new belief. A belief that becomes a habit. A habit repeated often enough becomes your new normal.
Once you have identified your money beliefs, you can choose to believe (and behave) differently. You can decide to use your money in ways that align with your goals. That is how new money stories begin.
Sources
Simply Psychology: Money Scripts: The Subconscious Beliefs That Drive Your Financial Behavior
Ebnet: Piggy banks to paychecks: How your early years can shape your financial future
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