In writing last week about hidden “junk fees,” I ended with a recommendation. Before choosing a phone plan, booking a hotel stay, buying an airline ticket, or making many other types of financial commitments, ask, “What other fees or charges are there I need to know...
The term money scripts, describing the unconscious beliefs that underlie our financial decisions and behavior, has been used by financial planners and therapists for over 15 years. Since the term (coined by Brad Klontz, Ted Klontz, and I) was first published in my...
Tyler and Kirsten’s family was growing. They had one child, another was on the way, and they agreed that they might eventually want a third. Their two-bedroom house would not suit their needs much longer; it was time to look for something bigger. Before they contacted...
“What is true about money?” A flippant answer to this question might be something like, “That I ought to have more of it.” Going a little deeper, however, we can come up with a list of characteristics, truisms if you will, to describe what money is and is not. Some of...
Last week we explored one type of money belief, an unconscious vow of poverty that can lead to self-sabotage and harmful behaviors around money. But what about those, like members of some religious orders, who consciously make vows of poverty? Does that also lead to...
