My relationship with money is … ahem … complicated.
I’ve walked the road of student debt and post-divorce financial transition. I’ve made good money decisions and crummy money decisions. Mostly I’d rather not think much about my own finances much less the national debt.
Until now.
Maybe you’ve tuned in to recent In the Moment conversations with SDSU macroeconomics professor Joe Santos. Or perhaps you’ve been thinking about your own "money scripts” after listening to my recent conversation with wealth advisor Rick Kahler. (If you missed those, click on the links for a refresher.)
For me, the “Crash Course in Economic Literacy” with Joe Santos has awakened my curiosity about so much more than macroeconomics. It has me thinking about politics and campaign promises in a new (all right, even more skeptical) way. Professor Santos graciously posts a link to his online blog called “Schooled” each week, where he expands upon our In the Moment segments with all the charts and graphs and equations a good wannabe-macro-nerd might need.
Rick Kahler has written several financial therapy and financial literacy books, including “The Financial Wisdom of Ebeneezer Scrooge,” which I’m reading now. The thing about Rick Kahler’s work is, I’ll be honest, it freaks me out. Remember how I said I’d rather not think about my own money?
Turns out that’s not the best plan.
Joseph Campbell said “The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure that you seek.”
I’ve always embraced that quotation as a creative challenge, but now I’m seeing its potential for exploring my own relationship with money. Fortunately, I have financial therapist Rick Kahler as my guide, and now, Dear Listener, so do you.
I’m opening up about my own money scripts and money worries in the hopes that you might be inspired to take this journey with me. Invite a friend, order one of Rick Kahler’s books, sign up for a financial planning session, or just listen along in the privacy of your own car, home, or headphones. I predict you'll hear a "driveway moment" about money you never expected.
And as for that national debt … it might just be that U.S. fiscal policy has a few money disorders of its own. We'll talk more about that later.
