Wondering about money? Stay curious.

The good news is, adulting will not fossilise your brain. You’ll be relieved to know that even as your mind matures, it stays far more supple than we used to think. Turns out we never stop learning.

Wait, what? Can old dogs learn new tricks? It seems they can, and the trick is to give it a go, ask unfiltered questions, and stay as curious as a child.

Kids will just straight out ask, “Why is the moon out in the day?” or “Can you bring back grandma?” Parents may dread questions like these, but when asking about money, it really doesn’t pay to hold back.

Throwing away the filters is particularly handy when it comes to complex financial stuff, where it’s easy to find ourselves awkwardly out of our depth. The truth is that for everyone, there’s always something new to take in.

Our mindset matters

We all tend towards one of two mindsets in life: “fixed” or “growth”. Either we hold that we’re already as smart and talented as we’re ever going to be (the fixed mindset), or we believe we can continually learn and grow our abilities (the growth mindset).

Which is it?

Some of us unintentionally end up seeing our abilities, traits and intelligence as fixed, and this can affect our success. Fixed mindsets tend to avoid challenges when they come up, give up easily in the face of obstacles, and see any effort required as just not being worth it.

But with a growth mindset, we can all reach higher. Looking to learn, we can embrace the challenges that arise and not give in to setbacks.

Mauri mahi, mauri ora. That is, “Do the mahi, get the treats” (through work, we prosper). Since our efforts can lead to success, those with growth mindsets put in the extra time needed to master something.

Your IQ isn’t fixed – your financial IQ isn’t either

Like our intelligence, our money skills are not set in stone. They’re able to grow as we continually learn and our financial education expands. When you know you’re able to keep learning, you can find solutions to lift your financial situation.

We can all learn how to make great money choices – we just need the right tools, information and support from each other. We all can learn the skills and the right lessons to navigate through a lifetime of choices, as well as have the confidence to ask the right questions.

Who knows? The one thing you learn today could help set you up for the years ahead.

These crazy times have made money matters seem even more complex and confusing, so you’re not alone in having questions. It’s good to stay curious – it’s how we learned stuff as kids, remember? We can find the answers together as we move forward – this adulting thing isn’t so hard after all.