How one mother learned to rewrite her money story – and is now helping others do the same
By Kathryn Brown
We can only meet our children as deeply as we’ve met ourselves.
I spent twenty years unravelling the beliefs I’d inherited – the quiet lessons about money, success and worth that shaped how I saw the world. I’d been taught that money was limited, that success had to be earned through exhaustion, and that worth was something you proved by doing more.
Somewhere along the way, I began wondering what life might have looked like if I hadn’t needed to unlearn all of that – if I’d grown up already believing that abundance, ease and possibility were my natural state.
As a mum of three, that thought hit differently. I could see how easily these old patterns get passed down – in our words, our energy and the choices we make every day. Our children absorb our beliefs long before they understand them, and I realised: we can only meet them as deeply as we’ve met ourselves.
That realisation became a turning point. I decided to get intentional – to raise my kids with the kind of mindset I wish I’d grown up with: one rooted in enoughness, joy and possibility. That intention became the foundation of my business, Beautifully Abundant and later inspired my eBook, Break the Cycle: Raising Kids with a Wealth Mindset – a resource for mothers who want to heal their own money stories while guiding their children to create new ones.
Available here → Break the Cycle: Raising Kids with a Wealth Mindset
Healing Your Own Limiting Beliefs
When I began doing this work, I realised I couldn’t teach my kids to believe in abundance if I was still holding onto fear myself. Healing starts with awareness – noticing the quiet thoughts that whisper, “I can’t“, “I shouldn’t“, “I’m not enough“.
For a long time, I believed I had to keep everyone else comfortable – that prioritising my dreams was selfish. That belief shaped the way I worked, spent, and even parented.
In the guide, I walk readers through identifying their own limiting beliefs and gently reframing them into something more supportive. It’s not about pretending everything is perfect; it’s about choosing new thoughts that reflect who we’re becoming.
Modelling Abundance at Home
One afternoon, my daughter asked if we could buy something. Without thinking, I replied, “We can’t afford that”. It was something I’d heard countless times growing up – and here it was, spilling out of my own mouth without a conscious thought.
She looked up at me and said, “But maybe I can save for it?”.
That stopped me in my tracks. She was right. It wasn’t really about whether we had the money or not; it was about what we valued, what our priorities were and whether this thing aligned with those values. She probably forgot about it five minutes later (she’s only seven), but for me, it was a moment of realisation. I could see, in real time, how my automatic responses were shaping her view of what’s possible.
From that day, I became more mindful of my language. I started swapping limiting phrases for ones that opened the door to possibility:
“That’s not what we’re choosing to spend on right now”.
“Let’s plan for it together”.
Now, money isn’t a taboo topic in our home. It’s a tool we can use intentionally and confidently. We talk about it with ease, curiosity and respect.
We’ve also built simple family practices that reinforce this mindset: gratitude lists at dinner, celebrating small wins and creating vision boards together each New Year. It’s become our way of dreaming without limits, recognising what we’ve already created and keeping that beautiful sense of abundance alive in our home.
