Welcome back to this three part series on MONEY. If you haven’t already listened to Episode 1, go do it.  We get really real, and really practical. Down to talking about budgets, debt, and prioritizing spending with real life examples AND a downloadable  money tracking spreadsheet.

I firmly believe that normalizing money is the key to overcoming your triggers, shame, and guilt around money.

And if you’re about to say you ain’t got no problems with money then 1) let me congratulate you and 2) let’s stop lying.

WE ALL HAVE MONEY ISSUES. Whether we realize it or not. It took me a LOT of years to recognize the debilitating fear I had around money, the stories I was telling myself about it, and the beliefs I took on without even realizing it.

So let's talk about MY triggers, shame and guilt around money shall we? I mentioned this a little in Episode 1 and promised we’d get back to it. In my family we were raised to save - always spend cash, never have debt, God forbid you lease a car, work hard and make your own money.

Let’s be clear -  these things are not BAD. They can be good, sound, financial advice, BUT they can create money roadblock hurdles and form the basis for triggers that you may face later in life - that is, unless you’re a wise listener who knows that you’re ready to start making changes to your money stories and getting rid of that shame and guilt.

https://www.chicstripes.com/podcast/triggers-shame-and-guilt

#TheMoneyDiaries - a three part series about your money

I am endlessly fascinated by the inner workings of people’s lives: how they decorate their homes, what they drive, where they get their clothes, how they eat, and, obviously, how they deal with their money.

For some reason, we very much treat money and financial conversations like they are a big fucking secret and no one should talk about it.

In a way, I see this like alcohol consumption in the US vs. abroad. In the US, we forbid people from drinking until 21. There’s a huge taboo on it and so it’s no wonder that kids binge drink when they get to college (if not before), use alcohol to cope, and create other unhealthy relationships. Abroad, the approach to alcohol is just like any other drink - it’s around, it’s not taboo, and there are lower rates of dangerous alcohol use than in the US.

Talking about money - and getting super practical with it - is the number one way to reduce your anxiety around money and start making more of it - whether you are working on this from a personal and/or business side.

In this three part series on money, I’ll start there: getting practical, real life, and tangible.

I’ll answer a few questions on my thoughts on budgets, prioritizing expenses, and tackling debt. I’ll let you in on how I set up my own accounts, give you a downloadable, personal money tracking spreadsheet, and share real life examples of how I deal with my money.

DISCLAIMER TO END ALL DISCLAIMERS! This isn’t financial advice. I’m in no way qualified to give it, but I do have stories and experiences that may be helpful to you.

Let’s start with budgets - everyone’s FAVORITE topic. I was raised to SAVE money, to always spend cash, and never have debt (this will come into play in Episode 2: Triggers, Shame, and Guilt). My mom used the “envelope system” which basically means any time you get cash or money, you portion out what you want to go where. As kids we had a system: 10% savings, 10% charity (in our case then: church tithe), and 10% to something else (car).

https://www.chicstripes.com/podcast/getting-practical-with-your-money