financial therapy | Total Wealth

How to Recover from a Financial Setback

Kate Phillips — Wed, 03 Oct 2018 03:57:10 +0000

Nearly every American will experience multiple financial setbacks during their lifetimes. Incomes fluctuate. Investments fail. Emergencies strike. Life happens.

Very few people travel a straight road to financial success. Most of us encounter detours, potholes, even road blocks and dead ends along the way.

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When Money Becomes a Life and Death Matter

Kate Phillips — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 07:11:30 +0000

On the final night of the cruise, after my father went to bed, Aunt Faye slipped out to the deck for some fresh air. Then she climbed overboard, and let go.

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Taxes and Tummy Aches

Kate Phillips — Tue, 04 May 2010 23:29:35 +0000

Ten Tips to Get Your Bookkeeping, Taxes, and Bill-Paying Done! A funny thing happened on the way to getting my taxes done… Some kind of “tummy bug” hit. Not that awful have-to-sit-on-the-toilet-with-a-bucket-in-your-lap flu that leaves you wondering what else your body could possibly purge, but a milder I-just-don’t-have-an-appetite-and-my-stomache-kinda-hurts thing. Now, with all the “work” I’ve done with my relationship with money, I’m pretty conscious about how my mind, body, emotions, and financial world fit together. Was I resisting doing my taxes? To be honest, it’s one of my least favorite things, though I’m not sure the tummy ache was related. (I actually was in a pretty good mood after I got into the swing of things…) I’ll admit, I relish exploring the more creative, emotional, right-brained aspects of money… from brainstorming business ideas to helping someone process through their “stories” about money, perhaps gaining big “aha’s” or even reframing how they relate to money. But I’m not an accountant type; I struggle with mundane record-keeping tasks, and I’m not the person to come to with your questions about Quickbooks! Having huge breakthroughs in my relationship with money — and developing many distinctions that help others to do the same — created a new world of possibilities for me, but it didn’t make me a bookkeeper! Still, the bills must be paid, the taxes must be filed. And if you’re like me (naturally resistant to mundane financial tasks), you might even find your mind and emotions working against you to accomplish these things. As they say, awareness is a perfect place to start…. but awareness itself doesn’t guarantee change or even progress. What’s needed is focused attention and energy. Changing our focus and energy around something can have profound effects. Law of Attraction coach Sandy Forster, an Australian single mom who went “from…

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Emotional Spending: Buying Love

Kate Phillips — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 11:42:29 +0000

A Financial Coach takes a look at emotional spending, and the link between love and shopping.

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Why Men Play Football and Make More Money

Kate Phillips — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 22:37:18 +0000

A look at why men seem to score more touchdowns than women, in football AND in finances!

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The Daily Candy Special

Kate Phillips — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 13:17:30 +0000

Kate's special for DailyCandy readers... Sweet!

The post The Daily Candy Special first appeared on Total Wealth.

“Financial Therapy”

Kate Phillips — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 09:19:31 +0000

“What do you do?” It’s the simplest, most basic question, one we might be asked on a daily basis. I know exactly what I do, but I’m still trying to figure out how to answer that question in a way that people can understand. In a nutshell, I help people think and feel differently about money. I help people create wealth, but not with stocks, bonds, real estate and budgets with built-in automatic saving plans. (Yes, one must have a plan, but it’s the wrong starting place.) I help people create wealth from the inside out, through transforming beliefs, attitudes, and emotions. But what am I? Sometimes I define it by describing what I’m not. We all probably know what a Financial Planner is, or perhaps we have had experience with a Financial Advisor, Financial Services Representative, or similar animal. Some work on commission, some work for fees. All have tools to help you assess your current financial situation and panic properly as you grasp the enormity of the canyon over which you must leap in order to one day retire. Most sell financial products (investments, insurance, etc.) that might assist you in reaching your goals. I took a CFP course once. I got my life insurance license. I interviewed in the financial services field. I was well on my way to a life of using tools and charts and calculators to help people plan their financial futures. But I wasn’t sleeping well. It wasn’t my calling. I knew the world didn’t need another financial planner (with all due respect to the thousands of fine financial planners who serve a genuine need to their grateful clients). I knew what I was. I couldn’t deny it. I had been one for years. It was time to just admit it. I was… A Financial Therapist. Since no self-respecting therapist would ever call themselves…

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