Dear Money Adventurer,
Did you know that research shows that 85% of our money decisions are made based on emotions?
In 2002, psychologist Daniel Kahneman, Ph.D., won a Nobel Prize for his team’s groundbreaking work proving, contrary to popular belief, that people are more likely to make financial decisions based on personal perceptions and experiences than on logical reasoning.
More than 4 out of 5 of the decisions we make around money depend on how we perceive the choice or situation — and how that makes us feel.
The data backs it – money is an emotional subject.
So yes, it does drive me crazy when I see a review of my book that says, “The Art of Money is too touchy-feely.”
Talking about money and emotions?! OH NO.
Okay, I know I’m being a bit feisty, but please, hear me out.
I’m a Financial Therapist, who originally trained as a Somatic Therapist. (Emphasis on the ther-a-pist.) That means talking about all the challenging emotions that come up around money, like shame, fear, anger, grief, anxiety, joy, hope and excitement (and even the trauma responses: fight, flight, and freeze) is an integral part of my work.
I teach somatic tools so you can learn to work with these big emotions instead of running away or hiding your head in the sand.
And if you know that 85% of our money decisions are based on our emotions, then it is essential to learn how to work with our emotions.
Now, your emotional responses are never going to completely go away, but you can learn to catch them sooner — before they overwhelm you. You can learn how to review your past money experiences and decisions and make different choices in the future by learning how to work with your emotions in the moment better, so you aren’t hyperventilating on the way to the dealership the next time you go to buy a car, or when it comes time to pay your student loan bill, or if a global pandemic shifts your financial landscape.
And, when you do find yourself having big emotions in any of these money situations, you’ll have tools on how to work with them in the heat of the moment, learn how to take breaks (take a walk, give yourself 24 hours) and review the money decisions after the fact so you can be more prepared next time.
Most of all, you will have room to breathe.
So YES, a big part of my work includes integrating our emotions, bodies, and intuition.
After exploring our money emotions, we work with practical tools and financial strategies to move forward. In reality, 2/3 of the Art of Money methodology, is about the practical side of money. ⅓ is about money healing which includes a big piece on how to work with your money emotions.
It’s so important to me to not write off working with your money emotions as being too touchy feely, because it simply means you’re naming what’s already there and learning how to work and go deeper with it.
So from your Financial Therapist, here’s to exploring your money emotions.
With much love,
