My Philosophy
Financial anxiety hurts like hell, BUT…
You don’t have to go it alone. I’m here to help.
My Holistic Financial Wellness curriculum has been built from the ground up, and it’s based on “trauma-informed care” and six key principles: safety, choice, collaboration, trustworthiness, empowerment, and cultural/gender/historical concerns.
Why it’s important to talk about trauma…
From the outside it might look like working under the assumption that every has experienced trauma is a little much, but it’s an important assumption to make.
Trauma, including financial trauma, comes at us from nearly every part of our lives. And our finances have the odd distinction of being one way we can not only traumatize ourselves, but exacerbate any other lingering, seemingly unrelated traumas. This is part of the idea of holistic financial coaching… every part of our lives touches our finances, and our finances touch every part of our lives… even the painful stuff.
Over and over, we try to effect lasting change in our lives by employing shame, guilt, obligation, and judgment, but get very mixed results.
“Sometimes, I beat myself up enough to do what I know is good for me. Sometimes I can’t. What’s wrong with me?”
This only harms us further and makes it highly unlikely that we’ll ever try any other way of making change. Long-term, positive behavior change doesn’t happen by accident, and it doesn’t happen by using the conventional tools we’ve heard and regurgitated over and over.
Trauma-informed does not mean trauma-focused. It means we’re focused on long-term, positive change.
Our society values productivity and restriction over growth, evolution, rehabilitation, and healing. In my own small way, I’m trying to change that. Holistic financial wellness has the potential to change the world one person, one couple, one agency at a time.
You are safe here.
The threat of risk is always with us… it can reach the point where it seems like no choice we ever make is correct if you factor in all the possible outcomes. This kind of anxiety, if left unchecked, becomes a crisis and a reluctance to try again. Unfortunately, our social norms make it unsafe to talk about our finances… the very thing that we need to assess risk, understand our work through decisions, and seek comfort and collaboration.
You will not be shamed, judged, or punished here.
We use conventional financial “tools” all the time, thinking that punishing ourselves for our past “mistakes” will help us make better decisions in the future, but it just doesn’t work that way. After all, if beating ourselves up worked, we’d all be just fine!
While our past decisions are important because they inform where we are now, looking into the past is not important to get where you want to go.
You are in control.
You will not be directed, corrected, or even advised – even if that’s what you want me to do. I’m not here to tell you exactly what to do or be your “accountability partner.”
My job is to offer you tools, practices, and insights to help you grow your resilience and awareness. To that end, our conversations will be choice-rich, adapted to your life, and every step will be taken with your consent and permission.
If you want to be told what to do with your money, the Pacific Stoa curriculum will disappoint you.
We are partners.
Decision-making is an enormous part of the work we do together. I won’t be making choices FOR you. Rather, I’ll be practicing new decision-making strategies, systems, and games WITH you.
My purpose to you is to build the perfect environment around you to make decision-making intuitive and empowering.
Together, we’ll navigate through the obstacles you have in front of you and chart a path that will help you reach all your goals!
You are respected here.
We’ll talk openly about what you can expect from me and your financial coaching experience at our very first session.
My overarching goal is to be worthy of your trust. I respect that our conversations will, at times, cover incredibly sensitive (but also incredibly important) topics. You will never be obligated to share anything.
We will work together to normalize talking about finances and reduce the stress associated with money matters.
We will go at your speed, with no expectations of when you should accomplish any particular objective.
You already have everything you need to succeed.
Your financial anxiety is not a reflection of your intelligence, self-worth, or potential.
I work under the assumption that you have all the internal resources to get from where you are to where you want to go.
Sure, you may not have the mechanical or behavioral tools modeled for you yet, but that’s temporary.
Not sure if holistic financial coaching is your thing?
Don’t worry! Questions are welcome. Check out the FAQ page for answers to the most common questions I get asked. Want to get a feel for my philosophy in action? Head over to this article about why we can all just stop telling each other to how to stop wasting money (9/10 sassiness). The home page has some great stories. Or if you’re just ready to get started, let’s talk!
I’ve got a free info session with your name on it: (503) 908-3425.
Call or text now.