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Financial Failure: The Dark Before the Dawn

Kate Phillips — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 02:37:52 +0000

I spoke with a friend tonight who is in the process of filing for bankruptcy. She has lost her livlihood, her credit, her car, even her own place to live. After two failed business ventures followed by a health challenge that left her briefly incapacitated, she finds herself now with mountains of debt and no real income. Falling on the mercy of family and friends who have fed and sheltered her the last few months, she has retreated to an earlier profession, wrangling a few hundred dollars a month from friends and aquaintances who can afford to hire her on occasion. She has lost what most people would consider “everything.” As I spoke to my friend, I noticed a palpable shift in her since we last spoke a number of weeks ago. Was it depression? Resignation? Anger, shame, or blame? Not at all. While those emotions had become her loyal companions a few months ago, now, in her words, she has discovered “peace.” Even joy, gratitude, and new reasons for living! She talked about the the importance of “living in the present,” letting go of past regrets and future fears. She spoke of her newfound certainty that she would be alright, no matter what circumstance came her way. And she decribed her confidence that she has not been forgotten by God, but is rather sustained by a God who has been faithful through this storm. She knows the road to financial recovery could be a long one, but she is discovering how to enjoy each day to the fullest, regardless of her financial situation. Contast this to the tales we have heard the last few months in the news, of devastated fund managers and unsuccessful or unemployed executives who have chosen to end their own lives. French fund manager Thierry de la Villehuchet, a well-respected man of significant personal wealth and honorable morals, committed suicide when he learned that several of his clients’ fortunes, as well as much of…

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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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