I don’t even know where to start.
Literally minutes into the research on this topic, my eyebrows were up around my hairline, and my jaw was near the desk.
“This is huge”, I said to myself. The first sentence in my notes is literally: ‘It’s hard to know where to start’
So, I’m going to share some things that I’ve discovered to get you to the point where you’re leaning in, mouth agape, too.
I always knew that money was something that people had some real emotion around. And I suspected that those emotions were being tickled more than ever these days.
But I didn’t understand the full scope of the issue.
Or did I?
Maybe what happened is, as I read this research, I felt myself saying to myself: Wow. This has really affected me. As in, this is a big part of my life. Perhaps even my character.
For now, I’m going to share some of the biggest things I’ve discovered. And when your jaw is suitably close to your own desk or phone, I’ll continue on through the series.
First up, maybe a little un-surprising, but money issues are the strongest predictor of divorce. The strongest! Not sex, culture, kids, or your cranky mother-in-law. Money. So says a study of 4,500 people at Kansas State.
Next … here’s how most people deal with their money issues … they ignore them. They don’t look at their bank balance, and they reject advice, even good advice, about money.
Money anxiety has little to do with the money. Because you definitely don’t need to be at the point where you’re sifting through your neighbors’ garbage to experience financial stress. You can have tons of cash and still be panicking about it. Money anxiety is about scarcity, inherited wounds, and avoidance tendencies. Numbers rarely even feature in the discussion about money.
Anxiety about money shrinks your brain!
Frictionless payment systems (tapping, buy-now-pay-later, etc) are engineered to suit the psychological characteristics of people with money stress. Crafty buggers!
Are you with me yet? I’m not done. At all. But I’ll stop there, for now.
I think this warrants our attention.
And I’ll finish with positive news …
• We’re not stuck with money anxiety.
• Despite its prevalence and heavy impact on our lives, It’s entirely possible to fix.
And we should fix it.
Money is not everything. But a healthy relationship with it sure does increase our access to peace.