I usually refrain from writing about negative things, but the negative people around, who just complain and complain about money are really intolerable. They have given up to the fact that they cannot do much about the financial mess that they have created, so they just keep avoiding a real pep talk or a person who wishes to help them. And, from their negative approach person who wants to learn about money, wants to take decisions and take control
of his financials, suffers a lot.

Negative People and Money

We call them “negative money people.” As a financial product advisor, we encounter a lot of individuals who have own money theories.

They sometimes take you to the past when they thought making money was easy (it never was, and it never will be). Sometimes they will narrate how globalisation paved the way to bribes and their theory on gold as the best investment as a father especially if you have a daughter. Sometimes their clock will be stuck on some present issue like “oh JNU episode, the government seems to go, withdraw all mutual funds”.

As an investor, you are also surrounded by these people at home, office, neighbourhood or social friends. These people will make you uncomfortable and try to influence your financial life. And the first step is to recognise them before helping them.

Let me elaborate what kind of negative money people we find around us.

      1. The Whiners – Oh poor me… What could I have done when bank rejected my loan application…

The whiners are the self-sorry people who will always wail their failures. They are not worried that people will think bad of them as they seek solace and sympathy. They want other to hand over handkerchief when they always whine about their failures.

The fallout: They want you to learn from their fear. Is this even logical? They make you gloomy even if you want just to enquire about their experiences. If you are not confident about your financial decisions, they may confuse you.

How to handle them: If you have identified a whiner, the best way is not to encourage them. Say a polite “thank you for sharing” and smile as you are unaffected. Take them to positive discussions and show them you are not interested in their repetitive grief stories.

      2. The Blamers – I didn’t do it… It’s the PM

The blamers are never at fault. It is the world who is against them. The mild versions of schizophrenics who think everyone is roaming around to stab them. They will put the blame for their failures on anyone but not themselves. They can blame economy, family, luck, timing anything, but will never find a fault in themselves.

The fallout: They will make you hate the deserved people, the rich people, the successful people and people from you can learn. They will make you weak so that you will learn to disown your decisions and shift responsibilities. Remember successful people own responsibility. They control.

How to handle them: These are the tough ones as the habit of blaming can be deep originating from their upbringing and family conditions. If you show them that it’s their fault, you may put the relationship in danger. The best way is to stay positive and calm.

       3. The Complainers – “Oh the petrol is so expensive, so I switched from car to bike.”

They will always have a reason for what they do, and the reason will be some negative thing. A complaint about everything. The world is indeed full of faults but is it their job to pinpoint it and bring it to the table when someone is talking about important things like money. They will complain about the way markets lose money and how ISIS is influencing dollar trade, but it does not mean that they will influence everyone with all this general negativity.

The fallout: They waste time as they demand a lot of attentions and talk time. They are simply people who chose to ignore the positive side and then it becomes the duty of others to bring them back from the negative world.

How to handle negative people:

Complainers need help, and they can be helped. They just feel pleasure in complaining, and they can be molded to become positive articulators. One need to talk to them about this and with little counseling they can amend their communication.

It’s a common saying that you are “average of 5 people, with whom you spend your time with,” so it is important to choose the company. But there are limitations. You can decide your friend but not relatives. Same way you cannot decide your neighbour but can decide what and what not to talk with them. So always try to identify people around you especially when you are dealing with money. In the end, I would like to say that money matters should be discussed only with positive minded people or professionals….. good luck…..!!!!

Share your views and comments below if you have also encountered a person like this. Also, tell us what do you think about this article. Bye till the next one.