Writing an money autobiography is one of the first steps in getting out of debt and becoming more conscious of your beliefs about money. The amount of money you have or don’t have in your life currently is a reflection of your beliefs about money that were formed in the past. How your family talked about money and how they taught you about money is carried into your own life whether you are conscious of it or not.
Begin with your early childhood even if you don’t remember much.
1) What is your first memory of money?
2) Who handled the money in your family?
3) What did your parents do to earn money?
4) What do you remember about how your family made large purchases?
5) What is your earliest happiest moment around money?
6) What is your earliest unhappy memory around money?
7) How did your family communicate about money?
8) Was money ever discussed in your family?
9) Did you ever steal from your parents or siblings or other family members as a child?
10) How much money did your family have compared to your childhood friends?
11) Did you get an allowance?
12) How did your parents respond when you asked for something?
13) When did you begin saving money?
14) Did your parents trust you to go to the store to buy something?
15) At what age did you start working?
16) Did you have to start working or did you want to start working?
17) Did anyone help you decide on a career based on how much money you wanted to make?
18) What messages did you get from your parents about career, earning money and spending money?
19)Did you save and plan for college?
20) What is your view on money and dating? Who should pay for dates?
21) When did you get your first credit card? What were your feelings about it? When did you start using a credit card?
22) What kinds of things do you buy on your credit card? Do you ever by groceries or necessities? Do you make big purchases like cars, appliance or other expensive things with your credit card?
23) How do you feel about using Credit cards?
24) Do you know what interest rate you are paying and how much you owe?
25) Do you have any money secrets that you have never told anyone about?
26) Do you talk to your friends and family about money – how much you have or don’t have, how much you make or how much they have and make?
27) How much money would you like to be making? What feelings does that bring up for you?
28) What do you feel when you see someone driving a Mercedes or Bentley or living in a big mansion? What do you think about people who have a lot of money?
29) How do you feel about spending money on yourself?
30) How do you feel about your living space and how it represents you?
31) Do you know how much money you have right now? Do you know how much you owe right now?
While there are plenty more questions to ask yourself about money, I’ll stop there and let you start answering these questions. You can answer them specifically or use them to write a story about money and your life. When you can uncover some of the feelings that you have about money, you can then begin to change the feelings. Becoming aware is the key to changing anything. Once you write your money autobiography you can then begin tracking your income and expenses to get a better idea of where your money is going and start thinking more about what it is that you want to do with your money.