Why “Fine” with Money is Costing You More Than You Think
Sep 17, 2025
A woman sat across from me not long ago and said the words I’ve heard so many times: “I’m fine with money.”
She had a decent income, the bills were paid, the fridge was full, and she even managed the odd holiday. To anyone looking in from the outside, she looked like she had it together.
But when I asked a few more questions, the cracks appeared. She had no savings. No plan for the future. Every month ended with the same question: “Where did it all go?” She carried a constant knot of worry in her stomach, not strong enough to call a crisis, but enough to steal her peace of mind.
That’s the trouble with “fine.” It looks steady on the surface, but underneath, it’s fragile.
So many people tell themselves they’re fine with money. And yet fine doesn’t mean financially well. Fine doesn’t mean secure. Fine doesn’t mean free. Fine is usually a mask.
Fine feels safe because it gives you permission not to look too closely. If you’re fine, there’s no urgency to change. No one’s knocking on your door asking for money. Life ticks along. But fine often means living month to month without a safety net. It means no real plan for the future, just hoping it will somehow work out. It means carrying a low-level stress you’ve become so used to, you don’t even notice it anymore
The problem is that fine doesn’t demand growth. It doesn’t push you to reflect. It keeps you in your comfort zone, and comfort zones are where dreams quietly go to die.
Many people believe earning more will solve the problem. But money doesn’t change your relationship with money. It magnifies it. If your patterns are built on avoidance, scarcity, overspending or lack of awareness, then more income simply fuels those same patterns. That’s why people can double their salary and still live paycheck to paycheck. Entrepreneurs can bring in their best month ever and end up with nothing left at the end of it. Families can earn six figures and yet feel constantly behind. If the patterns don’t change, the results don’t change.
What really keeps people stuck are the invisible beliefs sitting under the surface. Things like, “I’m bad with money.” “I don’t deserve wealth.” “Money isn’t important to me.” “I’ll never get ahead.” “If I earn more, I’ll lose it anyway. "It’s selfish to want more than enough." "I’ll start saving once my income is more consistent." "I don’t want to out-earn my partner." These beliefs steer your behaviour without you even realising it. And the thing about beliefs is that they become self-fulfilling prophecies. If you think you’re bad with money, you’ll unconsciously make decisions that prove yourself right.
For others, it isn’t the belief itself but the pattern of avoidance that holds them back. Ignoring the bank balance until payday. Never opening the credit card statement. Putting off financial conversations because they feel uncomfortable. On the outside, it doesn’t always look like chaos. Bills are paid, the lights stay on. But inside, there’s a constant, nagging sense that you’re not fully in control. Avoidance costs more than awareness ever will—in missed opportunities, in financial stress you can’t shake, and in the future you never build.
At the heart of it all is self-image. Every choice you make with money is tied to how you see yourself. If you see yourself as chaotic, reckless, undeserving or incapable, your habits will line up to prove it true. If you see yourself as someone who is intentional and capable, your actions naturally shift to support that identity. That’s why people can earn more and still lose it all: their self-image hasn’t shifted. Deep down, they’re still the person who can’t hold onto money. Change the self-image, and you change the story.
The real cost of being “fine” isn’t what it does to you today. It’s what it steals from you tomorrow. Fine robs you of opportunities. Fine keeps you living with stress you don’t have to carry. Fine convinces you to settle for less than the freedom, security and possibility you’re capable of.
Financial wellbeing is something else entirely. It’s clarity, confidence and control. It’s knowing where your money goes. It’s building security for the future. It’s making decisions you’re proud of. Fine is settling. Well is thriving.
So if you’ve been telling yourself you’re fine with money, here’s my gentle challenge: stop settling for fine. Fine isn’t freedom. Fine isn’t growth. Fine isn’t financial wellbeing. Fine is the holding pattern that keeps you from creating the life you really want. And when you decide that fine is no longer enough, that’s when everything begins to change.
Before you click away, take a moment and ask yourself this: Where in my financial life am I settling for fine, when I know I could have so much more?