Financial Sobriety School with Linda Parmar

Experiencing a financial blackout these days in our instant gratification society is something that is actually quite normal. A financial blackout is similar to a blackout someone might experience with alcohol or drugs, but in the context of money. It's a state where you lose control or awareness of your financial decisions—spending or making financial decisions without fully being conscious and p...

Have you been asking yourself if loan consolidation might be something you want to do with your debt? In this episode I walk you through the questions to ask yourself before you follow through with a loan consolidation application or a balance transfer with your credit card company.  When it comes down to it loan consolidations can be a great way to make your payments more realistic but is it the...

If you struggle with perimenopause and you saw the title of this lesson it may feel like a bit of a warm hug, but in saying that you don't want a warm hug cause the hot flashes have taken over, but you get what I mean.  I am talking about what alot of peeps aren't talking about, perimenopause.  Perimenopause has really affected my Financial Sobriety.  With the mood swings, hot flashes, feeling com...

Guest episode - Jake!  Jake is joining us from Ottawa Ontario to share his journey that he has had with his money.  Jake's story really spoke to me as the things he has dealt with in his life so far and focusing on his money has been something he keeps coming back to.  He shares his journey of being in recovery from cannabis use, ADHD and bipolar disorder. This journey brings him through many ups...

Lee is joining us as a guest on the pod today from Brisbane Australia.  It always excites me so much when I get to hear stories of recovery and money in countries all over the world as I am in Canada.  Lee shares her journey of her recovery and going through a divorce and how this has impacted her money and focusing on next steps to move into Financial Sobriety.  One thing that I really admire abo...

Summer Series is back with a guest episode ☀️ Tami from Seattle joins us today to share her story with the work on her Financial Sobriety.  Tami has done SO much work on healing her relationship with debt and overall spending.  If you need some inspiration on what making peace with debt, this episode is for you.  Such an honour to have Tami on the podcast and share her hope and inspiration with he...

Summer is here and guest episodes are back!  Our first guest to share their story is Jenn.  Jenn is a client who I worked very closely with the last few years and I am so excited that she is our first guest as her story is SO POWERFUL.  When I think of someone who has been extremely dedicated to her journey with money I think of Jenn immediately. She remained so committed and accountable to her jo...

Consumerism and Capitalism are words that are referred to a lot in conversation in our world, but understanding it can feel overwhelming. Breaking it down into bite sized pieces was something that I wanted to do. Being armed with information about our money is SO powerful and helps us make decisions with our money and practice our Financial Sobriety.  Unfortunately Consumerism and Capitalism is so...

Building habits and routine for your Financial Sobriety is such a huge piece of following through with working on your money.   Today I share my routine that helps support my Financial Sobriety.   This routine has taken 7 years to work as a system and it is an ever evolving process, just like my relationship with money.   Here are some of the key pieces of my routine:   1. Create monthly spending...

It's time to practice some sober spending this summer.   If you are anything like me the summer sun can bring out impulse to spend money.   This summer let's make it different and practice sober spending under the summer sun.   Sober Spending is one of the 7 foundations of Financial Sobriety School and in this lesson we focus on how to practice it the summer.  In this lesson Linda walks you throug...

Do you think it's possible to save money even when you have debt? When we are working on our Financial Sobriety it is important to start to change some behaviours.  One of those behaviours can be saving money.  This is often something people talk about is that they really wish they had savings.  Starting the habit of saving, even when you have debt is REALLY important.  If you start to save you wo...

Spending in sobriety.  Getting sober from your drug of choice is a HUGE milestone in life.  Sobriety is the biggest gift. Financial Sobriety is an even bigger gift.  It is important to balance out our spending when we are working on our Financial Sobriety.  This episode is probably not what you think. This episode talks about how important it is to spend our money in sobriety, with boundaries and...

This lesson felt hard to record and it may feel very uncomfortable to listen to.   It is also a lesson that is really important to understand.  Financial Infidelity is the topic of this week's lesson.  Overall financial infidelity is explained as when one partner in a relationship hides financial actions, assets, or debts from the other. It can also happen when you are hiding these from yourself. ...

It is extremely common not to be taught about money as a child.  What were you taught about money as a child? What weren't you taught about money as a child? This is something I hear daily from people and it is often met with a lot of anger and resentment.  Our society as a whole has not been taught a lot about money and in this lesson Linda breaks down how that now can affect you with your relati...

The amount we are spending in grocery store and eating in general is at an all time high.  Now is the time, more than ever, that we have to getting clear about our spending.  In Lesson 3 we talked about Sober Spending, if you haven't listened to that lesson go back and listen if you feel called.  Here is the lesson 3 that you can read: https://www.lindaparmar.com/blog/lesson3 In this lesson today...

Have you ever thought about what is going on with your body, mind and spirit affects what is going with your spending and money overall? You have probably heard people talking about regulating your nervous system.  In this episode Linda helps you understand why what is happening with you physically and mentally is important for your money and your decision making with money.  Linda goes step by st...

It's that time of year - GOAL SEASON!  2024 is quickly approaching us 🎉 What do you want to accomplish with your Financial Sobriety in the new year? In this lesson we talk about getting clear and specific on what we want to do with our money.  While new years resolutions can sometimes be a way people think about money, goals are way more specific and will help you succeed with what you wan to acc...

How is the beginning of the holiday season going for you?  How is the spending going? How are your energy levels? What do you need right now to have a successful holiday season? These are just a few of the questions that Linda asks in today's lessons to help you to define some holiday boundaries for you and your Financial Sobriety.  Financial Sobriety isn't always about our money. Financial Sobrie...

The holidays are here!  Have you started to plan your holiday spending yet? Is planning your holiday spending something that you do?  Let's make the holiday season of 2023 the year that you plan your holiday spending and save your much needed energy.  The 10 steps to holiday spening are:  Step 1 : Set Expectations Step 2 : See how much you have to spend Step 3: Who do you have to buy for? Step 4 :...

Oniomania, also known as compulsive buying disorder or shopping addiction, is a mental health condition characterized by an overwhelming and uncontrollable urge to shop excessively and compulsively. When you struggle with oniomania you find it hard to control impulses to buy things and usually comes from an emotional need.   In this episode Linda breaks down what oniomania is and how it can affect...

When it comes to our spending we often don't even know why we are buying what we are.  When we are sober spending we are focusing on making mindful, clear, conscious present decisions with our money.  One question we can ask when we are practicing sober spending is: What am I trying to heal with my spending? What are you trying to numb out? What are you trying to escape from? What are you running...

Dopamine is a big word these days. Dopamine has ALOT to do with our behaviours and patterns with money.  This lesson talks about the how spending, dopamine and our brain are affected by our thoughts and actions when it comes to our money.  Our brain is absolutely amazing and the neural pathways that are made within it are really driven by dopamine. Dopamine hits the happiness button in our brain....

Do you struggle with addictive spending? What is addictive spending? It is patterns of compulsive, impulsive, excessive spending.  Does this resonate with you?  Addictive spending is really normal these days. We have been conditioned to buy anything we want. The dopamine hit gets us feeling good and then the behaviour continues.  We are usually reaching for something to make us happy. We are chasi...

Lesson 13 is all about the final foundation of Financial Sobriety School - Financial Sobriety Strategy.  Throughout all the previous lessons you have found what you needed to be able to get all the information together to make your Financial Sobriety Strategy. Overall what the strategy is about is creating a plan for your money. Money LOVES us to be specific about what we expect from it. This incl...

Lesson 12 is focusing on the 6th foundation of Financial Sobriety School - Surviving to Thriving.  This episode is an invitation to drop into your heart and start to move the dial from being in survival mode with your money to start to repair your relationship with money and thriving.  Here are the journal prompts that Linda gives in the lesson:  How do I feel about my money? How do I show up for...