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01 June 2010
What Taking A Stroll Down Mo'ney Memory Lane Can Teach You
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"The past is never dead, it is not even past." |
Childhood events shape how we relate to mo’ney as adults, and I always ask my financial therapy and mo’ney coaching clients about their first memory of mo’ney. These seemingly innocent experiences are a virtual goldmine of information, often creating a template for future beliefs, feelings, and behaviors regarding mo’ney. The memories I hear range in texture from traumatic to more benign. I'll share a few examples from my work with clients [all names have been changed to protect privacy] to illustrate the link between childhood experiences and present day behaviors with mo’ney.
One of my clients, Andrea, recently shared an early memory involving the painful way she received allowance from her father, who was quite rigid and parsimonious. On Saturday mornings he'd come home from a visit to the bank and give Andrea her the allowance. It's how he did it that is so meaningful. He would take each crisp, new dollar bill --crumple it a bit to ensure that none where sticking together -- and hand each one individually over to her. She would be flooded with shame as she stood there, watching and waiting for her weekly allowance to be literally doled out to her. When Andrea first came to work with me, she had a very hard time asking for and receiving mo’ney. As Andrea shared and released all the underlying feelings regarding these "pay days," and came to understand the messages she was holding onto about receiving mo’ney-messages that where not serving her--she was able to cleanse this toxic shame from her relationship with mo’ney and actually asked for and received a significant raise at her job.
Another coaching client, Brenda, experienced a very different type of interaction with mo’ney and her father. When Brenda was very young, her father worked as a janitor at a nightclub. He would arrive home early in the morning and give her the loose change and other trinkets he found on the floor of the club, remnants of the evening's revelry. They would spend cherished time together counting the mo’ney. Brenda remembers vividly the feel of the coins and the smell of the paper currency, and when they completed counting all of it the mo’ney would be dropped into a coffee can. These are fond memories for Brenda and to this day she keeps her loose change in a coffee can and has a strong preference for using cash versus credit cards or checks.
Contrast this with my client, Linda, who actually hates to carry cash on her. One of her earliest memories is of being sent to the grocery store down the block with a few dollar bills to buy some milk. She arrived at the store to discover that some of the mo’ney had dropped out of her hand along the way. She was in a complete panic, didn't have enough mo’ney to purchase the milk, and was yelled at for being "irresponsible" by her mom upon her return home. So to this day, Linda struggles with trusting herself to carry cash in her wallet and has a preference for credit/debit card purchases. She is working on this trust issue with her finances, now realizing how this belief system also dictates her very conservative investment style. Not trusting herself is costing her the more abundant returns on her portfolio she could benefit from were she able to embrace a more diversified mix of financial products.
It's not unusual for childhood mo’ney experiences to include an element of loss, especially when you consider the absent-mindedness characteristic of childhood. Some other common feelings and themes that emerge include deprivation, envy, stealing, feeling independent or dependent, worry, ignorance, guilt, feeling controlled or manipulated, or injustice.
Viewed from the other side, one of my clients shared with me a story about telling her young son, exhausted by his relentless requests for an ice cream cone, that she didn't have any mo’ney to buy one. Her son, not deterred by this response, countered with "Just go to the wall and get some more." It took my client a moment to realize that he was referring to witnessing her withdrawing cash from the ATM! So here, out of the mouth of babes, is another example of how belief systems about mo’ney are formed from an early age.
I'd love to hear about your mo’ney memories! Please share them on the Financially Smitten blog.
No surprises here...grab your mo’ney journal or a pad and pen and start reminiscing. Let your mind wander and see what arises when you think about mo’ney during your childhood, trying not to censor any thoughts that enter your mind. You may find that one particular memory feels the most significant. Use this one to mine for your insight gold. Try to recall the specifics of the situation. Here are some questions to guide you on the journey:
• What was happening?
• How old were you?
• Are you alone or are there others there with you?
• Where were you?
• How did you feel?
• Is there a specific message about mo’ney you can distill from this memory...either one that you specifically heard or somehow interpreted?
Once you have explored this, now reflect on your current relationship with mo’ney and look for parallels, be they behaviors, beliefs, or feelings. Ask yourself if there is anything about this mo’ney memory that is keeping you "stuck in time" when it comes to managing your finances today. Is there any healing that needs to occur for you to leave this in the past so you can create the relationship with mo’ney that truly serves you today?
WOULD YOU LIKE TO INCLUDE THIS ARTICLE ON YOUR WEBSITE, BLOG, OR YOUR OWN E-NEWSLETTER?
I'd be delighted for you to share this, but ask that you do not alter it in any way and include the following blurb and live website link:
Lora Sasiela, M0ney Makeover Artist and founder of Financially Smitten, LLC, is empowering women worldwide to kiss financial heartache goodbye with her transformative financial therapy and m0ney coaching programs. To learn more about Lora, her services, and to claim your F.R.E.E M0ney Makeover Kit, visit www.FinanciallySmitten.com.
