It's Not About The Money

Have you ever noticed that no matter how hard you work or how skilled you become, you seem to hit the same income ceiling over and over again? There's a fascinating concept in financial psychology called your financial set point - an unconscious income limit that most of us cap at roughly the same level our parents earned when we were growing up. When you try to exceed this invisible ceiling, your brain literally hits the emergency brake, triggering self-sabotage, guilt, or an overwhelming sense that you don't deserve more. I experienced this myself when my mum saw my bank statement showing over £50,000 in one month and I immediately downplayed it, feeling this deep shame about earning more easily than she ever did. Today, I'm unpacking why your childhood money environment is a stronger predictor of your financial success than your education or business skills, how unconscious loyalty patterns keep you stuck at your parents' income level, and the four essential steps to gradually expand your nervous system's capacity to hold more wealth - because breaking these patterns isn't just about you, it's about resetting the entire financial landscape for the next generation. Chapters 00:00 Understanding Financial Set Points 07:08 The Impact of Childhood on Financial Success 12:52 Identifying Signs of Financial Self-Sabotage 17:39 Breaking the Cycle of Financial Limitation24:48 Tools for Regulating Financial Anxiety Resources: Get my FREE book 'It's Not About The Money' Take the Money StoryTypes® Quiz Sign up to my FREE Newsletter Become a Certified Financial Coach Reveal and Heal The Inherited Money Patterns Keeping You Stuck with the 5 Hidden Money Beliefs Framework Guide Check out The Body Of Wealth Listen to The Psychology of Wealth: How to Start Thinking Rich and How to Change Your Beliefs About Money with Dr. Brad Klontz 

What if the financial freedom you've been told is the one thing you should be focusing on - the independent, the self-sufficient, the doing it all for yourself - is actually the very thing that's been keeping you from the enriched abundant life you're perhaps seeking? On today's show, I want to talk about financial freedom, and it's so interesting that every single book in the personal finance space, including my own book "It's Not About the Money," refers to this topic as a very individual pursuit. I'm exploring why everything we've been taught about financial independence might actually be the very thing stopping us from creating a better life for ourselves and for others around us.  Chapters 00:00 Rethinking Financial Freedom 02:35 The Balance of Masculine and Feminine in Money 05:42 Challenging Traditional Financial Paradigms 08:03 The Shift from Independence to Interdependence 10:47 Embracing Community and Collective Wealth 13:12 The Future of Financial Relationships 15:50 The Power of Asking for Help 18:24 Interdependence as a New Paradigm 21:15 Exploring New Financial Models 23:41 Invitation to Collective Action Resources: Get my FREE book 'It's Not About The Money' Take the Money StoryTypes® Quiz Sign up to my FREE Newsletter Become a Certified Financial Coach Reveal and Heal The Inherited Money Patterns Keeping You Stuck with the 5 Hidden Money Beliefs Framework Guide Check out The Body Of Wealth  

Today, I'm sharing a practice that has supported me so much I can't even begin to tell you - one that allows for more flow, more ease, and some wiggle room for change. Traditional goal setting attaches your worthiness to a specific outcome, which means your whole body and nervous system code the entire process as a task you're measured against. If you fear failure, setting a goal activates fear instantly and your body goes into contraction. If you fear success - what happens if I actually achieve this? - you unconsciously self-sabotage. Instead, I'm sharing my four-step money visioning ritual that honours the season you're in, brings all parts of yourself along for the journey, and creates a future so exciting and inspiring that you'll want to follow it rather than feeling like you have to push yourself into rigid frameworks. Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Goal Setting Challenges 03:02 The Money Visioning Process 10:47 Creating an Expansive State for Visioning 16:38 Understanding Your Current Season 29:33 Welcoming All Parts of Yourself 39:03 Vividly Embodying Your Vision43:14 Conclusion and Invitation to Action Resources: Get my FREE book 'It's Not About The Money' Take the Money StoryTypes® Quiz Sign up to my FREE Newsletter Become a Certified Financial Coach Reveal and Heal the Inherited Money Patterns Keeping You Stuck with the 5 Hidden Money Beliefs Framework Guide Check out The Body Of Wealth Want to coach on money? Work out your personal year Book your 1:1 sessions with Jo Discover why scaling broke me  

Is there this part of you that genuinely wants more, but another part of you that's pushing money away? What I'm about to share in today's episode might actually come as a bit of a relief - your money struggles aren't necessarily about what you know or what you don't know, and they're not even really just about what you think or what you believe. I've been able to bottle it all down to seven somatic resets, seven states of being that live in your body, seven ways that your body has essentially learnt to relate to money. I know this because I've lived all seven of them, even with my qualifications as a financial adviser, even whilst sitting across from clients helping them plan and invest their money. I still felt that familiar sensation of stress, tightness in my chest, not believing I was worthy of having money, and that sense that no matter what I did, I couldn't keep hold of it. Today, I'm walking you through all seven of these states - from separation to wholeness, scarcity to sufficiency, independence to interdependence, transactional to relational, forcing to allowing, fear to love, and forever to seasons - what they actually feel like in your body, why they keep you in these patterns, and the very specific invitation that's going to support you in shifting your relationship with money for good.   Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Somatic Financial Coaching 02:38 Understanding the Seven States of Being 03:03 State of Separation: Feeling Disconnected from Money 06:07 State of Scarcity: The Illusion of Lack 11:34 State of Independence: The Burden of Self-Reliance 16:57 State of Transaction: Moving to Relationship with Money 21:00 State of Forcing: Transitioning to Allowing 26:08 State of Fear: Embracing Love as a State of Being 31:42 State of Forever: Recognizing Natural Cycles 39:44 Conclusion: Embracing Change and Transformation   Resources: Get my FREE book 'It's Not About The Money' Take the Money StoryTypes® Quiz Sign up to my FREE Newsletter Become a Certified Financial Coach Reveal and Heal the Inherited Money Patterns Keeping You Stuck with the 5 Hidden Money Beliefs Framework Guide Check out The Body Of Wealth  

How much more money would you need to earn to stop worrying about money? Is it £10,000 more, £20,000, £50,000? I've worked with many clients earning six figures, people who have millions in their bank account, who lie awake at night with the same money anxiety. The myth that more money will solve all of your money problems may be the myth that's keeping you broke - not because you're not earning enough, but because you're chasing a target that never stops moving. Let me tell you about when I finally earned "enough" - I'd spent years convinced that the next pay rise would create certainty and financial stability. When I hit that number at 32, here's what happened: absolutely nothing. The financial anxiety was still there, the hypervigilance around checking my bank balance was still there, and that's when I realised it wasn't an income problem - I had a safety problem. Today, I'm breaking down why this myth is so destructive, how lifestyle creep and attachment patterns scale with your income, and the four practical steps to build genuine safety with money at any income level, because true wealth isn't about your bank balance - it's about healing your relationship with yourself. Chapters 00:00 The Myth of Money Anxiety 03:12 Understanding Financial Anxiety 08:17 The Destructive Patterns of Money Myths 12:58 Attachment Styles and Money 18:14 The Concept of Abundance 22:01 Building a Healthy Relationship with Money Resources: Get my FREE book 'It's Not About The Money' Take the Money StoryTypes® Quiz Sign up to my FREE Newsletter Become a Certified Financial Coach Reveal and Heal The Inherited Money Patterns Keeping You Stuck with the 5 Hidden Money Beliefs Framework Guide