Does the mere thought of your personal finances make you uncomfortable? Stressed out?  For many, the answer is ‘yes’. Money pressure is real-I don’t make light of how difficult it can be to simply exist in the work from a financial perspective.  Rent/mortgage, food, utilities, transportation, school, children, older parents… the list goes on.  However, sometimes one can feel so overwhelmed, anxious, depressed, etc. about their finances that they make poor choices.  A common “poor choice” is to do nothing.  For example, Chuck sees a commercial on television about social security, which gets him thinking about retirement, which gets him so stressed out that he just pushes the thought away until he feels better.  Chuck does this every time the subject arises and ultimately, he fails to put any planning together, which is, technically speaking, a choice.  This kind of stress can be related to a lack of understanding about how to plan in this way, or maybe it’s because of a deep-seated fear that you won’t be able to save enough, or perhaps it’s something else altogether. 

Common problems

• Scared about retirement but refuse to deal with it

• Wondering if/how you are going to pay for your kids’ college

• Bad credit because you forget to pay your bills on time

• No emergency savings fund

• What else?

Money trauma- is that a thing?

Yes. I have seen a lot of mental health folks claim that the term ‘trauma’ is being over-used, and applied to things that are merely unpleasant but not actually traumatic.  Agreed.  However, this does not mean that money-related trauma does not exist.  For example, someone who grew up without having access to shelter, food, safety due to poverty might have in fact experienced ‘capital t’ Trauma; however, such an experience does not automatically make it traumatic.  There are likely a variety of factors that make the difference and can be related to environmental factors, prior experiences, cultural impacts, and individual characteristics.  Regardless of whether someone has experienced clinically diagnosable trauma or simply has had bad experiences, they may benefit from untangling their experiences to gain a better understanding.

Scarcity vs. abundance mindset

Have you heard about this? The idea is that that viewing the world from a scarcity mindset attracts scarcity, and adopting an abundance mindset does the opposite.  I recognize that this may sound a little light in the science department or too much like wishful thinking.  However, I do believe that there is something about this shift in attitude that makes us more likely to operate from a base of strength rather than from fear.  For example, Tina has always struggled with money, never having saved enough and struggled with paying monthly expenses, and has adopted a fearful and cynical attitude about money.  Therefore, Tina simply stopped trying to plan or save at all.  If Tina could find a way to become more open to the possibility that she can make changes to meet her savings and other financial goals, hopefully she may be more willing to try, therefore actually making this outcome more likely. 

It’s not magical thinking—rather, adopting an abundance mindset represents a change in attitude that increases the likelihood of better decisions, which in turn improves the outlook for achieving one’s stated financial goals.  

Questions?

 Check out my website, request an appointment, or call/email to ask for a free 15-minute consultation.

email: Rachel@rachelcsykes.com
phone: 617.804.6471