When I tell people I'm running a course about healing your relationship with money, I am usually met with one of two responses:

1.  If they've already "passed" the Are You Ready to Heal quiz, they'll whisper their private struggles and dysfunctional habits.

2. If they're still in denial, they'll list all the reasons why their bank account balances are due to circumstances outside of their control.

What they don't realize is that both answers tell me more about why they are broke than their salary, family size, or geographic location do combined.

What do your money habits reveal about you?

Take a look.

Important Disclaimer: These revelations do not apply to those not earning living wages. Living wages are dictated by capitalism, patriarchy, and oppressive systems that deem some people “worthy” while hoarding resources to the top 1%. Instead, these revelations focus on the root causes of how people with discretionary income use those resources in maladaptive ways.

Revelation 1: Your Problem-Solving Skills

Here are two prominent, unhealthy patterns that are separate from not earning a living wage. These two issues apply to people who do earn enough money to pay their necessities and who also have disposable income.

Scenario 1:

If you're "robbing Peter to pay Paul," I can tell that you're a short term thinker who doesn't put much weight into tomorrow or long-term planning. Instant gratification matters to you, whether you grew up in poverty where security wasn't promised or you grew up indulged where you could always get what you wanted.

Scenario 2:

If you let bills pile up and dodge bill collector phone calls, I can tell you're an avoider. You tend to think that if you ignore a problem or a person long enough, they'll just go away. The fact that this rarely works is not a deterrent. You hope that the next time, it just might.

While both of these scenarios are adequate analgesics in the moment, they both lead to on-going stress and guilt.

Which one is your most dominant habit, even beyond money?

Revelation 2: Your Self-Worth

Even though your bank account balance does not determine your value, I can tell very clearly what you think about your  self-worth.

First, where you spend your money (beyond basic necessities and utilities) reveals what is important to you. It also reveals your chosen poison for avoidance or self-medication (snacks, pre-cooked food, "retail therapy," designer bags, and the lot). Don't get me wrong, self-care is a must and often that care comes with a price tag. But there's a vast difference between spending to appreciate one-self and spending to create a mask.

Second, if you spend on everyone else before you spend on yourself, that also sheds light into your sense of self-worth.

Where does the majority of your discretionary income go?

Revelation 3: Your Trust in your spiritual guides

Yeah, I said it. Take a deep breath and get through this moment so you can hear me clearly. Too often, we create, rush, and push plans that have nothing to do with what our ancestors, gods, spiritual guides want for our lives. We know this is the case because we are too afraid to pray for that outcome because we "know better."

Or we ignore all the ways that our pantheon is trying to remove that plan for our life. And the last thing we do, focus on something that has nothing to do with our gods-given purpose because want a quick-fix or to instant security or validation. When we do any or all of these things, we are really saying to our spiritual guides, "I don't trust the plan you have for me, so I'm going to take care of it the way I see fit but then I'll pray and wait on a miracle when it doesn't work out."

Are you trusting your guides to create your strategy or are you waiting for a bail-out plan?

Revelation 4: Your Walk in Your Purpose

Last but not least, your money habits reveal to me what you understand about your divine purpose. If you understand your divine purpose, then all actions, commitments and plans should be made in alignment with that. When you don't have a clear, divine vision, it's easier to spend recklessly both on things that are not important or in such a way that you can't use your money as a tool.

Do you understand your divine purpose in life?

So Now What?

Let’s kick these habits in the ass and rewrite new beliefs and habits. Add your name to this list for First 5 Steps for Overcoming Your Money Story.