The Financial Therapy Podcast - It's Not Just About The Money

 “I don’t deserve money,” is one of the ten most common money scripts. Holding this belief has very little to do with whether society, friends, or family view you as deserving. Few people would argue that we all deserve the support money can give us to have nutritious food, safe and adequate shelter, and access to safe and reliable transportation. Saying “I don’t deserve money” is saying “I don’t...

Rick and his guest, Deb Kaplan, introduce the term Cognitive Biases in this segment. They choose Confirmation Bias and Loss Aversion to explore how couples can resolve conflict by first understanding their own biases. This provides couples an opportunity to be curious about themselves and their partner’s perspective. Curiosity, compassion, and compromise are tools to resolve money disagreements.”...

You might think that you lack financial savvy and are doomed to make money mistakes. But even people who are good with money can slip up sometimes. One of the tricky things about poor financial choices is that they often go unnoticed or unacknowledged by the person who makes them. It might take a long time for them to realize the consequences of their actions, if they ever do. But when a bad finan...

Vendors pushing investments like gold are selling more than gold, they are pushing fear, creating a sense of panic and anxiety within a person that they suggest can only be solved by buying gold.  The problem is that they have a huge conflict of interest.  If you don’t buy gold, they don’t eat. It’s in their interest that they motivate you to buy gold with any strategy, manipulation, exaggeration,...

Rick visits some notes he made in 2020 where he wondered about the possibilities of applying IFS, MDMA Assisted Therapy, and the use of groups to financial therapy. All of these are transformative in their own right, but what are the possibilities when combined with financial therapy?   A podcast that blends the nuts and bolts of financial advice with the emotions that drive our money decisions. J...

Gambling, gaming, and hoarding for many can be an enjoyable endeavor. For some, it can become impulsive, compulsive or part of an unhealthy cycle.  Rick and Deb Kaplan explore what beliefs and behaviors one might consider to assess whether healthy behaviors are problematic, compulsive or addictive. Rick steps into the client’s seat for an impromptu session in the second half of the segment to answ...

What would you do with a million-dollar windfall? This question was the topic of a survey in a March 28, 2023, article by Jessica Whitehouse in onlinegambling.com,  “This is how Americans would spend $1,000,000 in lottery winnings.” Before I read past the headline, I mentally answered, “Blow it!” However, 80% of the 500 respondents said they would do one of three things with the money: buy a house...

“Rick, what is your money script?”  I was a bit baffled and responded, “I have well over one hundred, I don’t have just one.”  He responded, “No, there are only four and I was wondering which one is yours.”  He clearly didn’t understand the concept of money scripts. In this episode we explore the origins of this myth and the myth that there is one superior money script to have. A podcast that blen...

Join Rick for a conversation with Chaitali Shah, a financial coach with, Wealthron, Mumbai, India. Chaitali will talk about her transition from the finance industry where she has worked since the age of 21 and gained extensive experience in financial planning, investment management and taught financial economics, to becoming a pioneer in India in financial coaching. She shares a transformative eve...

Compulsive behaviors are often due to an individual’s need to self-medicate unresolved wounds. Deb Kaplan and Rick Kahler explore the psychology of compulsive financial behaviors through the lens of Internal Family Systems (IFS). IFS focuses on a person's internal “parts” and “Self.” Partners can apply IFS to understand themselves and heal their coupleship's money conflicts. A podcast th...

K.I.S.S., Keep It Simple Stupid.  It’s a catchy phrase, but what does it mean?  What does simple mean.  Does it mean to make complex topics understandable, or not to make a simple communication overly complex, or not to oversimplify complex topics?  Oliver Wendell Holmes explained oversimplification this way,  “For the simplicity on this side of complexity, I wouldn't give you a fig. But for...

It doesn’t occur to most people to seriously consider the likelihood they may outlive their retirement income.  It is often “blown off” with an attempt to laugh it off.  It’s often one of those laughs that is more about anxiety that anything that’s actually funny.  The greatest financial risk for depleting retirement resources is an unexpected and lengthy stay in a long-term health care facility,...

The media you consume is a significant factor, probably the most significant factor , in your investment returns .  If you are one of the millions of Americans that choose to only consume media with a far left or far right ideology, it would be in your financial best-interest to be “down the middle” with your consumption of economic and investment news. Separating one’s political ideology from the...

Why is it so hard for many couples to talk about money? Rick’s guest, Debra Kaplan, dives into romantic relationships, some of the reasons that it becomes hard to discuss money and the ways that our childhood experiences influence our beliefs and behaviors about money. A podcast that blends the nuts and bolts of financial advice with the emotions that drive our money decisions. Join Rick Kahler, C...

How many times have you heard yourself or your partner repeat these statements; “I’m passionate about work, that’s why I work long hours!” or, “I won’t be home late?” In this episode, Rick and Deb take on the topic of workaholism other money behaviors, beginning with work and shifting to compulsive shopping/spending. They explain the difference between being passionate about work and unhealthy wor...

References to income and wealth inequality generally focus on how unevenly income and wealth are distributed throughout a population. The greater the gap between those at the top and the bottom, the more problematic it can be to the social health of a country. In a marriage or committed relationship, income and wealth inequality between partners also present some challenges that don’t exist where...

Bringing alignment of your stated values with your money is something I’ve been promoting for over 20 years. They don’t always align. It’s not unusual for a person to embrace a value that is not fully embraced in their spending. A person who is concerned about climate change and a strong proponent of individuals, corporations, and governments to “go green”, will avoid purchasing items like coffee...

In his state of the union address, President Biden announced he is “taking on junk fees” which are the hidden fees involved with many of the services we purchase. Hidden fees and terms have been around a long time.  The old adage of, “Read the fine print,” is timeless advice.  I love the quote by Pete Seeger, American folk singer, “Do you know the difference between education and experience?  Educ...

What can you and your children do to assure your financial plan won’t be sabotaged by family money scripts?  There are a number of steps to take and all require dealing with you and your children's emotional vulnerabilities.  Find out five specific steps that can guard against your financial plan going of the rails and sacrificing your emotional and financial wellbeing in your last years.  A...

What is the biggest risk to a senior parent that has just lost their spouse?  Even if they have a well-designed financial plan and the best financial planner possible in their corner, there is one factor that can deal them a knockout blow, their kids. Understand why your kids can pose one of the greatest threats to your final years.   A podcast that blends the nuts and bolts of financial advice wi...

Is investing in the stock market akin to gambling?  Certainly, investing in stock markets carry a reasonable amount of risk.  Unlike what some contend, that investing in the market is gambling, done correctly it is not remotely gambling.  The operative word is “done correctly.”  To understand this we need to understand the emotional differences between investing (done correctly) and speculating (d...

Rick talks with his guest, Debra Kaplan, about their collaboration that resulted in them writing, “Coupleship Inc: From Financial Conflict to Financial Intimacy.” They dive into some of the elements of a financially intimate coupleship and their unique perspectives that help couples successfully resolve their financial conflicts. This episode highlights topics such as Internal Family Systems (IFS)...

Often, the most logical and beneficial financial solutions are the absolutely most difficult to make, especially when there is a large emotionally charged component to them.  There are millions whose budgets are strained, they live paycheck to pay check, they are not saving money for retirement, and stress around money is an everyday occurrence.  In many of these situations, a simple move to a cit...

My son, Davin, age 21 recently asked me, “So what do you think about Modern Monetary Theory now?”  MMT has come under a lot of criticism recently given the huge spending bills, So why is MMT under fire by some as the primary cause of the high inflation rates?  Many politicians incorrectly interpret MMT as favoring the printing of currency with abandon by a government, with the notion that deficits...

Rick takes a look back at the origins of the Financial Therapy Podcast, going behind the scenes as to how it came about, its format, some statistics, and considers what may be next.  A podcast that blends the nuts and bolts of financial advice with the emotions that drive our money decisions. Join Rick Kahler, CFP®, CFT™, as he blends practical financial wisdom with the emotional insights that sha...