Financial Therapy: Minding Your Money

Hey everyone--welcome to your Financial Therapy for the week!

A lot of times on the show we talk about how negative emotions and biases can affect our financial lives. Today we're looking at emotions from another angle, and discussing how they can actually have a positive affect on our finances, especially when we leverage them to know what our priorities are, set appropriate boundaries, and become more mindful about what they are trying to tell us.

The goal here is to give us all ways to be more secure and confident in our financial decision-making, and to have a greater sense of well-being overall.

Call or text to submit your feedback and questions for the show: 1-844-4FINPOD (1-844-434-6763)

#budgetsareboundaries #financialtherapy #personalfinance

Hey everyone, I'm Lena Banks – a Certified Financial Planning professional and small business coach based in Austin, TX. Welcome to your Financial Therapy for the week!

This episode is all about 4 questions to ask ourselves about our financial future--each of which can help us become more mindful about how to get there. As always, the goal for the show is to give us all ways to be more secure and confident in our financial decision-making, and to have a greater sense of well-being overall.

Call or text to submit your feedback and questions for the show: 1-844-4FINPOD (1-844-434-6763)

#budgetsareboundaries #financialtherapy #personalfinance

Hey everyone, I'm Lena Banks – a Certified Financial Planning professional and small business coach based in Austin, TX. Welcome back to Financial Therapy!

This week's episode is about the Financial Independence, Retire Early (FIRE) movement--and what it takes to make it happen. A recent article in The Cut-- "She Retired at 35. The Only Problem? It's Lonely."--discusses what it looks like when you actually achieve the goal of retiring early...and it may not be as fulfilling as we tend to imagine.

So today we're back with guest Sapna Patel Duchesne to consider why retiring early is so appealing, and what we're really looking for when we talk about "financial independence".

As always, the goal in Financial Therapy is to share perspectives and inspire mindfulness that can help us be more secure and confident in our financial decision-making, and have a greater sense of well-being overall.

Call or text to submit your feedback and questions for the show: 1-844-4FINPOD (1-844-434-6763)

#budgetsareboundaries #financialtherapy #personalfinance

Hey everyone, I'm Lena Banks – a Certified Financial Planning professional and small business coach based in Austin, TX. Welcome to Financial Therapy! We're back with one of my favorite show formats: origin stories.

Today we'll ask our guest: What's your financial origin story? Were you taught financial literacy? Or did your caregivers rarely discuss money growing up? More often than not, we get our money mindsets passed down to us from our parents, or whoever was most responsible for making the financial decisions.

Whether you were scraping by, or had an abundance of wealth (or whether either is the case right now), those early influences affect how you now view money, how you choose to earn and spend it, and ultimately, your financial health and wellness.

Call or text to submit your feedback and questions for the show: 1-844-4FINPOD (1-844-434-6763)

#budgetsareboundaries #financialtherapy #personalfinance

Hey everyone, I'm Lena Banks – a Certified Financial Planning professional and small business coach based in Austin, TX. Welcome to Financial Therapy!

Today's episode is about something we all--in theory--aspire to do: retiring early. But what are the steps it takes to get there? As always, our goal here is to give us all ways to be more secure and confident in our financial decision-making, and to have a greater sense of well-being overall.

Call or text to submit your feedback and questions for the show: 1-844-4FINPOD (1-844-434-6763)

#budgetsareboundaries #financialtherapy #personalfinance

Hey everyone--welcome back to your Financial Therapy for the week!

Have you ever wondered how sound your financial decision-making is? Do you ever catch yourself behaving or spending overconfidently?

Data from an August 2025 Logica Future of Money Study indicate that 54% of Americans' outlook on their personal finances was optimistic, even as 50% believed the national economy was worse than a year prior. Why the disconnect?

Today we're replaying another popular episode in the Four Horsemen series: a deep dive about addressing feelings of financial pride...which can actually undercut your overall financial wellness and well-being.

We'll talk about three questions to ask to spot-check your feelings of pride around money. The goal here in Financial Therapy is to give us all ways to be more secure and confident in our financial decision-making, and to have a greater sense of well-being overall.

Originally aired: December 9, 2025

Call or text to submit your feedback and questions for the show: 1-844-4FINPOD (1-844-434-6763)

#budgetsareboundaries #financialtherapy #personalfinance

Hey everyone, I'm Lena Banks – a Certified Financial Planning professional and small business coach based in Austin, TX. Welcome back to Financial Therapy! Today we're replaying another popular episode in the Four Horsemen series: a deep dive about confronting financial guilt and shame.

We'll talk about three questions to ask to spot-check your feelings of guilt and shame around money--on the road to being more secure and confident in our financial decision-making, and to having a greater sense of well-being overall.

Call or text to submit your feedback and questions for the show: 1-844-4FINPOD (1-844-434-6763)

Originally aired: December 2, 2025

#budgetsareboundaries #financialtherapy #personalfinance

Welcome back to Financial Therapy, everyone! Today we're replaying a popular episode, that also happens to be the next in the Four Horsemen series: a deep dive about financial fear and denial.

For 49% of us, just looking at our bank accounts can trigger negative feelings. Fear can be defined as an unpleasant, often strong emotion caused by anticipation or awareness of danger; it goes hand in hand with denial--a defense mechanism where someone avoids a difficult truth by denying its existence. Have you ever wondered why you avoid or sidestep even looking at your finances? Do you want to make, spend, or give away your money with more confidence? How can you distinguish between 'real' financial concerns, and what's really just anxiety at work in your financial life?

In this episode, we'll talk about three questions to ask to spot-check your feelings of fear and denial around money. The goal here in Financial Therapy is to give us all ways to be more secure and confident in our financial decision-making, and to have a greater sense of well-being overall.

Call or text to submit your feedback and questions for the show: 1-844-4FINPOD (1-844-434-6763)

Originally aired: November 25, 2025

#personalfinance #budgetsareboundaries #financialtherapy

Hey everyone, I'm Lena Banks – a Certified Financial Planning professional and small business coach based in Austin, TX. Welcome to Financial Therapy!

Today we're replaying a deep dive episode about financial obligation. Obligation is the condition of being morally or legally bound to do something; it can also be a debt of gratitude for a service or favor. Have you ever wondered why you feel so financially obligated to make, spend, or give away your money? Is it really your values at play, or are you captive to others' needs? How can you distinguish between obligations you need to follow through on vs. those you need to set boundaries to address?

Today we'll talk about three questions to ask yourself to check your feelings of obligation. The goal here in Financial Therapy is to give us all ways to be more secure and confident in our financial decision-making, and to have a greater sense of well-being overall.

Call or text to submit your feedback and questions for the show: 1-844-4FINPOD (1-844-434-6763)

Originally aired: November 18, 2025

#budgetsareboundaries #financialtherapy #personalfinance

Hey everyone, I'm Lena Banks – a Certified Financial Planning professional, small business coach, and investor. Welcome back to your Financial Therapy for the week!

Today we're asking a deep question: Who are you in your financial life? If you're struggling financially, or just can't seem to find your financial groove, it may be because you haven't come to terms with doing one of two things (or both) when it comes to your finances. We'll talk about those today--as always, with the goal of becoming more secure and confident in our financial decision-making, and having a greater sense of well-being overall.

Call or text to submit your feedback and questions for the show: 1-844-4FINPOD (1-844-434-6763)

#budgetsareboundaries #financialtherapy #personalfinance