Money worries are one of the biggest sources of anxiety in our lives. Psychologist Brad Klontz says these worries are shaped by more than the number in our bank accounts — they’re often driven by our unconscious beliefs. This week, we bring you a favorite 2022 conversation with Klontz, who says it’s possible to identify and change what he calls our “money scripts."
This is hidden brain.
I'm Shankar Vedantam.
Around the world, when you ask people.
What keeps them awake at night, they'll invariably tell you money problems.
Our challenges with money are varied, but.
We generally tend to have a fixed.
Way of thinking about them.
Most of us point to external factors as the root cause of our money problems.
The price of higher education keeps increasing.
And tuition hikes at many colleges and universities are expected to continue.
Sales of existing homes slumped last month.
The National association of Realtors says July sales were down almost 17% from a year ago.
Every American is feeling the bite of inflation.
Groceries cost more.
Gas costs more.
Everything seems to cost more.
It certainly is true that a layoff or an unexpected medical expense can send our finances into a tailspin.
But it's also the case that psychological factors within us can play a powerful role in determining our financial successes and failures.
All I know is I have these beliefs around money that are banging around in my subconscious.
And in our studies, we have found that these beliefs, most of us aren't even really aware of them.