Bringing You into the financial conversation

If you know me, you’ll know that I get really fired up about the topic of financial empowerment. You’ll also notice that what I’m talking about isn’t what would be considered the common dialogue that surrounds the idea of financial empowerment. Today I’d like to share more about why that is — starting with my title of Certified Financial Planner and Financial Educator.

When I say that title, there is an association that leads to the idea and feeling that there is going to be a one-sided conversation happening. A lot of terms, definitions, strategies and general to-do lists are formed in our minds. The question I have is: how does that make you feel?

If you have negative feelings of overwhelm, stress or even guilt, you’re not alone. The thing is, more people feel this way than you may think, and it’s impacting us in ways that we haven’t had the opportunity to bring an awareness to.

The reason is that the terms, definitions, and strategies are what we’ve been taught as the starting place of the financial conversation — in other words, everything that’s external to you.

Which brings me to my passion formed through the acknowledgement that there’s something significant missing from the financial conversation — the starting place.

humanizing the financial conversation

Money is a human experience that is formed over time. Its presence is woven through our life events of every size and significance. Think of any event or memory in your life and chances are money was there because it played a role in some shape or form.

This is why I believe it’s high time that we humanize the financial conversation and to do that, we must include an essential part of the human experience — emotions.

But where are emotions in the financial conversation? Where did you see them when you saw my title or the idea of financial empowerment? Exactly, it wasn’t there. That’s why I’m committed to changing the associations we have with those titles.

Bold? That’s what passion does!

Building the Bridge for Positive Change

Including the way you feel does more for the financial conversation than may appear at first glance. Just as money is a human experience, interconnected through your life events, so are emotions in the financial conversation. To welcome the way you feel into the conversation is to welcome yourself as an individual.

Our negative associations were formed from the starting place of finances being everything external — the terms, definitions and strategies. But when we humanize the financial conversation it starts and continues with you and for you, making it the most accessible, approachable and applicable conversation there is.

Accessible

Starting with the financial terms, definitions, and to-do often encourages the idea that you have to a specific skill set or be a specific type of person to be able to access the financial conversation. Starting with you takes your involvement from feeling unobtainable, to feeling accessible.

approachable

Now that the conversation is accessible you know that no matter what your income, net worth or life circumstance is, this conversation is one you know you belong in. You can approach it with your goals and objectives being at the forefront.

applicable

Because the dialogue started and continued with you, any ideas, recommendations or strategies are based on your specific goals and objectives — applicable to you.

Welcoming your emotions into the financial conversation is so much more than an option. I’m passionate about it because it is essential. Yes, it creates a dialogue that is accessible, approachable and applicable, but the reason is far more powerful. Including your emotions, makes the conversation uniquely yours.