Money and Mental Health – Introducing Make Peace With Money.

“There isn’t a part of our lives that money doesn’t touch – it affects our relationships, the way we go about our every day activities, our abilities to make dreams reality, everything.”

Suze Orman

If I asked you to write down the top five things in your life that cause you stress and worry, I’m guessing that money would be on most of your lists; it may even be number one for some of you.

For me, money comes with a whole lot of baggage, I’ve never been very good at managing money, and it’s something I’ve battled with all my life from racking up debt to struggling to increase my earnings.  It’s probably ironic that I ended up marrying someone who works in accounting and finance!

There can be many reasons why some of us struggle with money more than others, and a lot of the time the blame is laid at the door of poor money management skills.  The truth is that there is a much darker, more sinister side to money, a side we rarely address, if at all, and that is the mental and emotional side of money.

At the start I mentioned money being one of the key sources of stress and worry, and that is because there is so much more to money than earnings, savings, debt, and paying the bills.  What if I asked you about your relationship with money?  What money beliefs do you have?  How are money blocks holding you back?  How are those bad money habits serving you?

My wife and I have been on a bit of a money rollercoaster over the past 14 years.  I’ve told you about my issues, but Kim, on the other hand had savings and was doing alright.  The rollercoaster started in 2010, we arrived back into Heathrow airport from our wedding in Johannesburg and Kim collapsed getting off the plane and was rushed off to hospital where she was diagnosed with two blog clots to the lungs.

It took Kim over a year to fully recover, and the impact meant that the savings went.

We were getting things back under control when in 2016 I had my breakdown and was unable to work.  Literally the shit hit the fan; we ended up defaulting on loans and credit cards, had to do some massive cost cutting, and literally have had to scrimp and save.  Thank goodness Kim was there to budget and manage things because otherwise I dread to think where we could have ended up.

The rollercoaster took its toll on both of us on the mental and emotional side.  I was wrapped with guilt and self-loathing for being a failure, basically my brain was telling me that the whole situation was my fault, and that took me to some very dark places.  Kim was left earning all the money, and that put a huge amount of pressure on her shoulders.

We did have some help and support along the way, and despite battles with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) I was able to get some benefits, but we’ve had to make some big decisions, the biggest being a recent move from down south up to the north of England, to County Durham to reduce our rental costs.

For the first time in years, we sort of feel as though we may be turning the corner financially, and the rollercoaster has had its benefits, the biggest one being a project called Make Peace With Money, which is the main reason for this blog.

Kim has been working on Make Peace With Money for many years; it combines her 25 years of finance and accounting experience with her qualifications in Reiki, Shiatsu, Swedish massage and business psychology.  Our recent lived experience has probably been the missing piece of the project, the piece that brings empathy and understanding, and makes it something that we feel is rather special.

Make Peace With Money is where Kim helps people to improve their relationship with money, which is how you think, feel, talk, and act around money (the mental and emotional side).  It does also include the practical side of money (budgeting, cost management, savings, etc….), but what makes it special is when you start diving into the world of money beliefs, money blocks, and money habits.

What many of us don’t realise is that our subconscious runs our lives, the subconscious is so big we don’t even know half of what is in there, but guess what, it’s where our beliefs, blocks and habits live, and if they are negative, then they can be causing some real damage; they can stop us moving forward, reduce our creativity, less open to taking risks, they can create an earnings ceiling, and they can be related to past money trauma.

“Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it. I do that every day. Asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness, it’s a sign of strength because it shows you have the courage to admit when you don’t know something, and that then allows you to learn something new.”

Barack Obama

Through her work, Kim helps people to uncover those limiting money beliefs, blocks, and habits, and then she sets you to work replacing them with a more positive money story, and that’s when the magic happens, and you start to view money through different eyes.

Last week Kim launched her Make Peace With Money online programme, so you can start to improve your relationship with money from the comfort of your own home.

Below is a video which guides you through the process of how you can start to Make Peace With Money.

To sign up for Kim’s talks and the Make Peace With Money Programme, you can visit our new Masters & Harris Academy, just click on the image below.

Just to let you know, Make Peace With Money is not a get rich quick scheme; while Kim hopes that it can improve your finances, it’s more about getting clarity on your current financial situation, putting controls in place for the future, and healing that relationship with money.

You don’t hae to be struggling financially either, you may be financially comfortable, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t those money gremlins causing problems.

If you have any questions about, Make Peace With Money you can get in touch through my contact page and I will pass your message on to Kim, or you can e-mail her directly at kim@matsconsulting.com

Thank you, thank you, thank you.