Money can push a lot of buttons. As Mama CEOs, we need to get really focused on our money—and our mindset around it. Changing your money mindset can change everything.

For years I’ve been telling myself that I’m “not good” at money. So much so, that I outsourced talking about money for Mama Mastermind round after round until last spring. But I’ve done a lot of learning and practice and work on my own mindset. And I’m seeing the changes.

Let’s be clear: I recommend you talk to a CPA, financial planner, or tax preparer about your specific questions about what you can deduct, where to invest, and other specific questions about finances or taxes. I’m not that kind of a money expert, but I am good at money—and you can be too.

When it comes to money, #1 thing you need to do is know your numbers. How much is coming in and how much is going out? You don’t have to have a complicated system. Just start writing it down. (Once you are writing it down, you can find a system that works for you and even hire a bookkeeper, but first steps first.) Simply knowing your numbers changes a lot.

Tracking your money helps you notice trends. You’ll see that you often have a slow month, year after year. When you see that, you can figure out if you need to do something different to make more money then or if there’s a reason you let that month be a little slower.

And when you track money, you often start making more. When you see you are really close to meeting a monthly or quarterly goal, you push more to reach it.

So that’s one practical thing you should start doing today. Now let’s look at your money mindset.

4 Steps to Master Your Money Mindset

How we think about money, even subconsciously, affects our relationship to money. And it can really affect how much we make and how easily we make it.

Start with Ways You Are Good at Money

It’s really easy to focus on what we aren’t doing right. Maybe you’re thinking, “I have no idea how much money I’m making” or “I know I need a bookkeeper but . . .” or “I should start investing in my retirement, but I don’t know where to start.”  But we are all doing things well with our money.

Start with what you are doing and then decide what you will do next.

Check your money biases.

Even if you don’t think you have money biases, you probably do. Do you find yourself getting irritated with people because of their money? “Of course that person who cut me off is driving a brand new Landrover. So rude. They have money and think they know the own the world.” I thought I didn’t have money biases, until that day I got cut off and realized, “Huh, that’s my go to thought on money.”

Simply becoming aware of these biases can help you change your ideas.

And money biases often show up in our language. Use your words to show abundance in your life. Change “I can’t,” “We don’t have the money to,” “I wish I could” to “I choose to,” “I can,” “I’m going to.”

One of the ways to get past money biases is to create and statements. You can have a great career and be a great mom. You can have a lot of money and not be a rude driver. You can earn a lot of money and still be connected to your community.

Be specific about what you are working toward and why.

What do you want? Are you looking to make enough to take your family to Hawaii? Do you want to retire your husband? Do you want to be able to donate more to causes you believe in? What does your ideal life look like? How much will that life cost? Get specific with that number. Put that number out to the universe. Use your why to motivate you to do the work.

I believe in strategic manifesting. So I create a space for money to flow into my life. One way I do this is by creating a money “thermometer” to track money coming in toward a specific goal. So say I wanted to make $100,000 on a launch. Every time I made a sale, I’d mark it on my tracker which serves as both a container for my goal and a visual reminder that I am moving closer.

Reframe your money fears.

We all have money fears, but when we work with money from a place of fear or lack or wanting, we hold ourselves back. So let’s reframe those fears:

What is your fear? What proof do you have that that’s not true?

For example, maybe your fear is “I won’t be able to pay my bills.” What proof do you have that it isn’t true? Maybe you’ve always paid your bills in the past before when things are tight or you know you could put some things on a credit card or your parents keep trying to give you money.

Another way to tackle money fear is to create a new money mantra by taking the negative words out of your fear.

Example: I’m afraid I won’t have enough money to pay my bills.

Mantra: I have enough money to pay my bills.

Or maybe you keep saying, “I’ll never make enough money.” Change that to “I make enough money.”

There are a lot of practical money things we need to do, like pricing and managing our money, but changing our mindset can help us get out of our own way, see the abundance we already have, and make the decisions and take the actions that elevate our businesses.

Get your Money Mindset Jumpstart worksheet to start changing your mindset about money.