If you are like most people, you have probably used your money in ways you later regretted. You may have gone into debt beyond what you could pay back. You may have used money earmarked for a particular purpose to do something else entirely. You may have desperately held onto every dollar that came into your hands as if would be the last. You knew you were acting irrationally, but did it anyway. You read books or worked with consultants, and still kept making the mess. But why?  Most of us have emotional issues around money. Very few grew up in a family where money was talked about as easily as cooking or lawn?mowing. We heard a lot of messages about money that we either take too far or reject completely, unable to find the middle ground. You do not have to stay stuck in that ineffectual place. Paula is specializing in this area. With her help:
$  You might begin to explore your earliest memories of having, spending, or saving money.
$  You might examine the earliest messages you got about money and work on revising what you tell yourself.
$  You might look at some money or credit cards, sharing whatever thoughts come to mind.
$  You might just make some changes toward what looks like the middle ground and talk about whatever feelings come up when you do.
$  You might give some money away and process what it feels like.
$  You might ask for financial help and process what that feels like.
$  You might share your complete financial status with someone and process the feelings that come up when you break the taboo of silence.
$  You might talk about refusing to give to someone who asks for money, particularly someone close to you.
In this type of counseling work, most people benefit by feeling more comfortable talking about money, by thinking more rationally about it, and by using it the way they always wanted to but could not manage. This is especially important for couples who are having arguments about their finances.
Paula isn’t a financial advisor or manager. Her area of expertise is in helping people deal with the emotional baggage that gets in their way when they try to work with their money like a tool. The ability to use money like any other tool seems like a reasonable goal, one she can help you toward.