Money as a Relationship: Cultivating Your Financial Mindset

 

"Figuring out my money really helped me lead a more peaceful life, a more creative life, a more free life. And freedom–that's my catnip."

Moola, money, dinero. In this episode, Amy & Bernadette ask each other about some of the most important lessons they’ve learned over the past decade about this highly charged topic, money. You may be surprised to hear about Bernadette’s first-ever bounced check, the importance of knowing what you value, how you can easily spend your way out of your ideal lifestyle, and even how to gamify your shopping experiences.

LISTEN

"Your relationship with money will mirror your relationship with yourself."

IN THIS EPISODE

1. Self-awareness drives financial health: Understanding yourself—your values, triggers, and history—can be the most valuable money lesson.
2. Money as relationship: A breakthrough in viewing money as a relationship rather than an adversary allows for applying relationship skills to financial management.
3. Mindful purchasing strategy: The practice of pausing before purchases to ask questions like "Do I need it?", "Do I need it right now?", and "Can I wait for it?" leads to more intentional spending.
4. Work-value connection: Converting purchase prices into "hours worked" helps create perspective on whether items are worth the exchange of time and energy.
5. Gamification of shopping: A clothing shopping "game" where one decides what they'd pay for an item before looking at the price tag helps avoid both impulse purchases and scarcity mindset.
6. Food scarcity patterns: Psychological need to have a fully stocked refrigerator, illustrating how past experiences shape money habits.
7. Freedom through budgeting: Contrary to feeling restrictive, budgeting can actually create more freedom and allow more control over how you spend your days.
8. Overcoming money trauma: Sharing early financial mistakes (including writing checks without understanding banking as a teenager) and how they've grown from these experiences.
9. Daily intention setting: A therapist-recommended daily reminder that "my job is to have fun" helps approach money with lightness rather than stress.
10. Relationship banking metaphor: Viewing relationships like bank accounts—making deposits of positive interactions to build reserves before making "withdrawals," especially with difficult people.

RESOURCES

• Kate Northrup
• gh2 Minneapolis, MN