Be inspired to explore your relationship with money.
The more you know about yourself, the better your relationships will be — including with money.
I grew up in an upper middle class lifestyle: Both of my parents drove luxury cars. We lived in a beautiful home, went on lavish vacations, and belonged to a prestigious country club. I assumed my family was financially secure until the day I learned that my father was forced to sell a car he won in a golf tournament because it was the only way he could pay our taxes that year. Discovering my parents were living beyond their means, with no savings and in debt, caused me to take a 180-degree approach to money. As an adult, I could never save enough and lived in constant fear that I was one step away from financial devastation. Money paralyzed me. I let it control nearly every aspect of my life, until one day I stopped to examine why.
Our behaviors with money — whether it be spending, saving, investing, or avoiding — are largely shaped by our upbringings and childhood experiences. And given that for many of us the topic of money is taboo, we’ve been left to interpret these experiences and navigate their emotional impact alone, creating a money story that typically gives money far too much power.
To rewrite our script, we need to take the time to explore our relationship with money, unpacking “the why” behind some of the perceptions we have and decisions we’ve made. We need to move away from money being an uncomfortable topic and start having meaningful conversations — not just with others, but most importantly with ourselves. We need to stop allowing money to control us and start to see it as simply a tool we can use to turn the vision we have for our lives into action.
In this issue, we celebrate two people who are harnessing their experiences and expertise to help others understand the emotional side of money. From a woman breaking the money taboo, to a behavioral scientist using psychology to unpack money stories — this issue is proof that exploring your relationship with money can be the first step to taking charge of your wealth. Enjoy!
Steph WagnerNational Director of Women & Wealth
