I can still remember the first couple of conversations with my husband about our spending habits, my credit card bill, and our collective student loan debt. They were awful, emphasis intended. I cried, shut down, got defensive, lashed out, and pretty much did the emotional equivalent of “Eff you, stop talking to me.” To me, it felt scary; I wasn’t exactly proud of my money habits at the time, and I knew there was a lot I didn’t understand or know how to handle. Since I knew my spouse was financially responsible, I worried he would judge me—but really I was just judging myself, and I felt overwhelmed in terms of what changes I needed to make.
Money is emotional, whether you like it or not. Spender or saver with a mind-set of scarcity or abundance, you’re probably holding onto some narratives that impact how you make financial decisions, how you handle money as a whole, and what your approach to money might be in the future. This whole challenge will help you dive into some of that, not because I’m a financial coach (I’m most definitely not) but because I’ve been there; I’ve asked myself these exact questions, and I can at least provide you with a starting point.