What if I told you that your relationship with money was decided before you could even spell “budget"? This morning, I hosted a powerful training session. The women of Stanbic Bank Uganda's Ignite mentorship program gathered virtually for a session called "Money & Your Mindset" and something extraordinary happened. One woman messaged, "I would pay VERY GOOD money for this." Another said, "This is the first time I've understood why I do what I do with money.” From the first few minutes, you could feel the energy shift. Heads nodding. Eyes widening. Truths landing. They didn't just learn about money, honestly - they met themselves, truthfully, and maybe for the first time in this way. I FELT IT TOO! What we explored wasn’t how to budget or save (though that’s important). It was something deeper: the invisible beliefs and emotional habits that shape how we relate to money. And ultimately, how we lead our lives.
💭 What is a Money Mindset?
Your money mindset is the collection of beliefs, stories, and emotional reactions you carry about money - often unconsciously. It's shaped by how you grew up, what you saw, what you lacked, and what you were told.
It influences:
How you spend or save
Whether you ask for a raise - or stay silent
If you see money as a tool, a scarce commodity, a mystery, or a status symbol
And whether you’re building wealth—or just surviving. But here's what made this session different: we didn't just talk about money behaviors, we explored their emotional roots.
🔍 The 4 Psychological Money Mindsets We Explored
We used a powerful self-assessment tool that helped the women identify which psychological money mindset they've been operating from:
1. The Survivor: You have three months of expenses saved but still lose sleep wondering if it's enough. Focused on safety and "just getting by," you tend to hoard money or fear taking risks.
2. The Avoider: You've been meaning to check your investment account for six months. Overwhelmed by finances, you procrastinate or ignore money decisions entirely.
3. The Spender: That online shopping cart becomes your therapy session. You seek joy or relief through spending, often impulsively or emotionally.
4. The Overgiver: You're the one who always picks up the dinner tab, even when money's tight. You prioritize others financially, sometimes to your own detriment, and struggle with boundaries.
Each of these mindsets develops for a reason. Each can be healed, shifted, and evolved.
We then mapped these emotional mindsets against behavioral money patterns like:
In-Debt: Always behind, borrowing to make it work.
Break-Even: Meeting needs, but never truly moving forward.
Comfortable: Saving responsibly, but playing small with growth.
Rich: Leveraging resources, building assets, and focusing on impact.
It was eye-opening for participants to see how these dimensions interact - and how you can be operating from a "Comfortable" behavioral mindset but still feel like an "Avoider" emotionally.
Quick Self-Assessment: Which Mindset Drives You?
Take a moment to reflect:
When you receive unexpected money, what's your first instinct? Save it all, spend it immediately, give some away, or postpone deciding what to do with it?
What story do you tell yourself when you can't afford something you want? "I'll never have enough" / "Money isn't that important" / "I deserve this anyway" / "Others need it more than me"
How do you feel when someone asks about your financial goals? Anxious, overwhelmed, excited, or guilty?
Your answers reveal which mindset is running the show.
Why I Created This Training
This session came from a deeply personal place, not just research, but lived experience across decades of leading businesses, building teams, and navigating financial decisions in a fast-evolving digital Africa.
Over the past year, I’ve been deeply influenced by some truly life-shifting frameworks:
Positive Intelligence (PQ) by Shirzad Chamine taught me about the Sage Powers we all carry - Empathize, Explore, Innovate, Navigate, and Activate. These tools help us shift out of fear and into clarity, action, and grace.
Necessary Endings by Dr. Henry Cloud reminded me that sometimes growth isn’t about more, sometimes it’s about letting go. Pruning what no longer serves.
The Nature of Personal Reality by Jane Roberts helped me understand how our beliefs literally shape our experience and how changing them can change everything.
A Shift in Mindset Transforms Lives
I shared a case study of a woman I trained - who realized her "Overgiver" pattern stemmed from childhood scarcity - the fear that saying no would mean losing love. Within two weeks of our session, she'd had her first salary negotiation in five years.
Another, a classic "Avoider," discovered that her money overwhelm wasn't about numbers - it was about perfectionism. She'd been waiting for the "perfect" financial plan instead of starting with simple steps.
What Happened in That Virtual Room
There was laughter. There were silent aha moments. There were women typing in the chat:
“This explains my whole adult life.”
“Now I understand why I keep sabotaging myself.”
“I feel seen. And I feel ready.”
Your Next Steps
If you've ever felt stuck in the same financial loops, if you've made great money but still feel uneasy or unworthy, if you've been waiting for permission to grow and dream bigger, then start here:
This week, track not just what you spend, but what you feel when you spend it. Notice the emotions. The stories. The automatic thoughts. Ask yourself: What would I do with money if I wasn't afraid? Write it down. Don't edit. Just explore. Remember: Financial literacy isn't just about numbers - it's about narratives. And when we shift the story, we shift the results.
Want to know your complete money mindset profile? Or bring this transformational session to your team? Get in touch via https://seanicekacungira.com/connect/
Let's help your people grow through what they go through.
Seanice Lojede is the founder of BLU Flamingo Africa, a pan-African tech-enabled integrated marketing communications company headquartered in South Africa, with branches in Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, and Rwanda. With a master’s degree in digital marketing and as an alumna of the prestigious Stanford Seed program, Seanice is a tech-savvy marketing leader whose data-driven strategies and cutting-edge marketing technologies have helped global companies crack the Sub-Saharan African market. Her recent accolade as the South African Woman of Stature Entrepreneur of the Year 2024 is a testament to her multifaceted talents and her unwavering drive to succeed.
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