It's Not About The Money

Today, I'm sharing a practice that has supported me so much I can't even begin to tell you - one that allows for more flow, more ease, and some wiggle room for change. Traditional goal setting attaches your worthiness to a specific outcome, which means your whole body and nervous system code the entire process as a task you're measured against. If you fear failure, setting a goal activates fear instantly and your body goes into contraction. If you fear success - what happens if I actually achieve this? - you unconsciously self-sabotage. Instead, I'm sharing my four-step money visioning ritual that honours the season you're in, brings all parts of yourself along for the journey, and creates a future so exciting and inspiring that you'll want to follow it rather than feeling like you have to push yourself into rigid frameworks.

00:00 Introduction to Goal Setting Challenges

03:02 The Money Visioning Process

10:47 Creating an Expansive State for Visioning

16:38 Understanding Your Current Season

29:33 Welcoming All Parts of Yourself

39:03 Vividly Embodying Your Vision43:14 Conclusion and Invitation to Action

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Is there this part of you that genuinely wants more, but another part of you that's pushing money away? What I'm about to share in today's episode might actually come as a bit of a relief - your money struggles aren't necessarily about what you know or what you don't know, and they're not even really just about what you think or what you believe. I've been able to bottle it all down to seven somatic resets, seven states of being that live in your body, seven ways that your body has essentially learnt to relate to money. I know this because I've lived all seven of them, even with my qualifications as a financial adviser, even whilst sitting across from clients helping them plan and invest their money. I still felt that familiar sensation of stress, tightness in my chest, not believing I was worthy of having money, and that sense that no matter what I did, I couldn't keep hold of it. Today, I'm walking you through all seven of these states - from separation to wholeness, scarcity to sufficiency, independence to interdependence, transactional to relational, forcing to allowing, fear to love, and forever to seasons - what they actually feel like in your body, why they keep you in these patterns, and the very specific invitation that's going to support you in shifting your relationship with money for good.

00:00 Introduction to Somatic Financial Coaching

02:38 Understanding the Seven States of Being

03:03 State of Separation: Feeling Disconnected from Money

06:07 State of Scarcity: The Illusion of Lack

11:34 State of Independence: The Burden of Self-Reliance

16:57 State of Transaction: Moving to Relationship with Money

21:00 State of Forcing: Transitioning to Allowing

26:08 State of Fear: Embracing Love as a State of Being

31:42 State of Forever: Recognizing Natural Cycles

39:44 Conclusion: Embracing Change and Transformation

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How much more money would you need to earn to stop worrying about money? Is it £10,000 more, £20,000, £50,000? I've worked with many clients earning six figures, people who have millions in their bank account, who lie awake at night with the same money anxiety. The myth that more money will solve all of your money problems may be the myth that's keeping you broke - not because you're not earning enough, but because you're chasing a target that never stops moving.

Let me tell you about when I finally earned "enough" - I'd spent years convinced that the next pay rise would create certainty and financial stability. When I hit that number at 32, here's what happened: absolutely nothing. The financial anxiety was still there, the hypervigilance around checking my bank balance was still there, and that's when I realised it wasn't an income problem - I had a safety problem.

Today, I'm breaking down why this myth is so destructive, how lifestyle creep and attachment patterns scale with your income, and the four practical steps to build genuine safety with money at any income level, because true wealth isn't about your bank balance - it's about healing your relationship with yourself.

00:00 The Myth of Money Anxiety

03:12 Understanding Financial Anxiety

08:17 The Destructive Patterns of Money Myths

12:58 Attachment Styles and Money

18:14 The Concept of Abundance

22:01 Building a Healthy Relationship with Money

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How many times have you been told that your money problems are just a mindset issue? That if you're not wealthy yet, it's just because you've got money blocks or you're not aligned? Well, what if I told you that's actually emotional gaslighting designed to keep you blaming yourself instead of seeing the real problems?

Welcome to the second episode in my Money Myths series where I'm busting the myths and beliefs that keep you stuck.

Today, we're unpacking the myth that says you have to have a millionaire mindset to become wealthy. Now, I talk a lot about mindset - it is incredibly important - but it's not the only thing you need to become a millionaire. This belief glosses over systemic barriers like the gender pay gap, racial discrimination, caring responsibilities, and disability factors that affect your ability to build wealth. It completely bypasses money trauma and shames people for not being positive enough, creating toxic positivity that disconnects you from your actual lived experience.

Instead of vision boards and affirmations, I'm sharing why we need to feel safe and grounded with money first, plus four practical steps to build genuine financial resilience that acknowledge both your internal patterns and the external systems working against you.

00:00 Introduction to Money Myths

02:56 The Millionaire Mindset Myth

05:47 Systemic Barriers to Wealth

09:02 The Impact of Money Trauma

11:57 Financial Education and Access

14:47 Collective Responsibility and Change

18:11 Emotional Responses to Money

20:54 Practical Steps for Financial Safety

24:04 The Importance of Reality in Financial Conversations

27:12 Conclusion and Call to Action

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Check out other episodes focusing on Money Trauma:

https://catherinemorgan.com/podcastarchive/the-psychological-impact-of-money-trauma/

https://catherinemorgan.com/podcastarchive/financial-coaching-can-help-you-heal-money-trauma/

https://catherinemorgan.com/podcastarchive/10-steps-to-overcome-your-money-trauma/

Is getting better with money on your resolution list again this year? Maybe you've already downloaded a budgeting app, promised yourself you're going to track every penny, or sworn that this is the year you finally get it together. Well, here's what no one actually tells you - budgets don't work. If they actually did work, you wouldn't need to keep making the same resolution year after year.

Welcome to the first episode in my Money Myths series, where I'm busting the myths and beliefs that keep you stuck and stressed.

Today, we're tackling one of the most persistent money myths: "I just need a strict budget to stop overspending." Let me tell you as a recovered emotional overspender, this does not work. Budgets are built on willpower and they ignore the real reasons we overspend - they can actually trigger a response to restriction, create money shame when we don't stick to them, and treat the behaviour of spending rather than how you feel in that moment before you spend.

Instead, I'm sharing why a values-based approach works when traditional budgeting fails, plus practical tips for neurodivergent money management and permission to align your spending with what actually matters to you.

00:00 Introduction to Money Myths

02:48 The Budgeting Myth: Why Budgets Fail

06:04 Reframing Financial Language

08:51 Emotional Spending and Impulse Control

12:13 Values-Based Spending Plans

15:02 Tracking Money Emotions

17:51 The Power of Permission in Financial Decisions

Get my FREE book 'It's Not About The Money'

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Check out other episodes focusing on ADHD:

How my ADHD diagnosis shifted my identity

My ADHD Diagnosis & How to Manage Money When You Have ADHD

How to Manage Money in Business When You Have ADHD

The best way to plan your finances if you have adult ADHD

What does it really take to walk away from a six-figure consultant surgeon salary?

This week, I'm delighted to chat with Dr Bex Winterborn, who did exactly that after 25 years in the NHS. From experiencing PTSD after losing a colleague during surgery, to burnout during the pandemic, to that pivotal moment when she realised she was avoiding theatre lists - Bex shares her powerful journey of rediscovering purpose beyond the identity she'd held since she was seven years old.

We explore the courage it takes to remove the armour and mask we wear in high-pressure careers, why embodying your next chapter before you leap is essential, and how coaching and parts work helped Bex recognise she was multifaceted beyond just being a doctor.

If you're in a well-paid job but know there's something bigger calling you, this conversation about finding joy, setting boundaries, and understanding that it's absolutely okay to have different chapters in your life is going to really resonate with you.

00:00 The Journey of Transitioning from Surgeon to Coach

05:23 Rediscovering Identity and Purpose

10:17 Understanding Parts Work and Its Impact

15:13 Navigating Financial Concerns During Transition

19:20 Breaking Down Hierarchies in Healthcare

24:16 The Power of Language in Transformation

27:44 Embracing Change and Supporting Others

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Connect with Dr Winterborn

Take Becs' Heart Centered Free Compass Assessment

I lost one really deep friendship when I started changing my relationship with money - not because I became a different person or got arrogant, but because I stopped being who they needed me to be. What nobody talks about when breaking money cycles is that sometimes the people closest to you have the most invested in keeping you exactly where you are.

This is the conversation I've been avoiding since we started this series because it's messy, it's painful, and it doesn't have a tidy solution. But if you've been setting boundaries and healing your relationship with money, you've probably already felt it - that shift, that distance, that uncomfortable realisation that your growth is threatening to some people.

Today, I'm talking about the hidden cost of financial healing that nobody really warns you about, the five relationship patterns that can't survive your evolution with money, and the actual conversation scripts you need when relationships begin to shift.

00:00 The Cost of Financial Healing

02:47 Navigating Relationship Changes

06:11 Identifying Relationship Patterns

11:52 The Impact of Family Dynamics

17:55 Understanding Friendship Dynamics

24:01 Recognizing Growth and Grief

29:51 Effective Communication Strategies36:00 Embracing Change and New Relationships

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Download more resources at themoneypanel.co.uk/breakingmoneycycles

Check out Friendsaholic by Elizabeth Day

What would happen if you stopped holding all the responsibility with money? If you weren't the rescuer or the provider, the generous one - would people still value you and would you still matter?

That may sound like a rather odd question, but right now there are thousands of people searching terms like "Why do I always put others first with money?" and "How do I stop feeling guilty spending money on myself?" because so many of us are trapped in what I refer to as the caretaker money cycle, where your mind and your body have literally learnt that giving money away equals safety, love, and worthiness. And that programming is essentially bankrupting your future.

Whether you're a business owner who's paying everybody else's salary before your own, a mother funding your adult children's lives whilst living on scraps, a partner who ignores your own needs to keep the peace, or perhaps somebody supporting an aged parent at the expense of your own retirement - the scenario changes, but the pattern is the same.

Today, I'm going to show you why financial caretaker exhaustion isn't about being generous, and I'm going to give you an emotional toolkit exercise to help you break free from these cycles, along with some practical steps as well.

00:00 Breaking the Caretaker Money Cycle

14:09 Understanding Financial Responsibility and Identity

22:17 Practical Steps to Break Free

40:04 Emotional Financial Freedom

Get my FREE book 'It's Not About The Money'

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Download more resources at themoneypanel.co.uk/breakingmoneycycles

If money has been feeling rather heavy for you recently, or maybe you're waking up in the middle of the night worrying about money, I want you to first of all know that you are not alone and there is absolutely nothing wrong with you if you have debts.

This episode is specifically about debt and shame, and I'm going to be sharing what happened for me when I was in £35,000 of debt - a story I've rarely told publicly because of the deep shame I carried around it for years. The truth is, debt isn't just about the numbers on a statement; it's about the weight of secrecy, the fear of judgement, and the exhausting cycle of hiding your financial reality whilst trying to maintain a successful exterior.

Today, I'm pulling back the curtain on my own debt journey, why shame keeps us trapped in destructive patterns, and the exact steps that helped me break free - not just from the debt itself, but from the suffocating belief that owing money meant I was fundamentally broken.

00:00 Understanding Debt and Shame

10:24 The Emotional Side of Money

15:07 Practical Strategies for Debt Management

24:30 Combining Emotional Healing with Financial Strategies

- **StepChange:** 0800 138 1111

- **National Debtline:** 0808 808 4000

- **Citizens Advice:** 0800 144 8848

If you're dealing with ADHD, depression, or anxiety affecting your money behaviours - **get mental health support:**

- **Samaritans:** 116 123 (24/7)

- **ADHD UK:** adhduk.co.uk

- **Mind:** 0300 123 3393

Get my FREE book 'It's Not About The Money'

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Get my FREE "5 Hidden Money Beliefs" Framework for Coaches.

Take the '5 Hidden Money Beliefs + 3-Zone Self-Check'

Download more resources at themoneypanel.co.uk/breakingmoneycycles

Listen to previous podcast episode Master Female Financial Freedom in 1 Hour: Everything They Never Taught Women About Money

What if next month's revenue felt as reliable as your morning coffee? As a financial expert who's helped thousands of business founders to steady their income, I can honestly tell you this: you've already done the hard part - people want what you sell. Let's make the good months stick. Feast and famine cycles aren't personal failures, and it's not even your marketing. It's a pattern that your body and your business have learnt to repeat.

Today, I'm going to widen your capacity to receive money, to hold and to give, and pair it with some really simple, practical planning strategies so that consistency feels safe and not scary. I'll walk you through a monthly money date and a clear 90-day look ahead so you can spot those revenue cliffs early, plus a gentle body reset that you can use when money speeds up or slows down.

No hustle, no shaming, just a calming rhythm to steady, repeatable income.

00:00 Understanding Feast and Famine Cycles

02:47 Practical Planning for Financial Stability

05:54 Emotional Connections to Money

08:35 Recognizing Patterns in Cash Flow

11:15 Preparing for Revenue Cliffs

14:24 The Role of Body and Mind in Financial Cycles

17:04 Strategies for Managing Cash Flow

19:44 The Importance of Financial Stability Funds

22:30 Navigating Seasonal Fluctuations

25:28 Evolving Pricing Strategies

28:09 Implementing Monthly Money Dates

Get my FREE book 'It's Not About The Money'

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Get my FREE "5 Hidden Money Beliefs" Framework for Coaches.

Take the '5 Hidden Money Beliefs + 3-Zone Self-Check'

Download more resources at themoneypanel.co.uk/breakingmoneycycles

Listen to previous podcast episode What is a Money Date and Why You Should Have One