Virginia and Craig

Virginia and Craig sought out a Cambridge Advisor after receiving an inheritance. They had already spent $50,000 of the inheritance in only six months. They were afraid that they would continue to spend the rest of the money if they didn't invest it soon.

When the initial goal-setting appointment was done, they identified retirement and having adequate liquidity as their most important financial goals. Unfortunately, in reviewing their progress a few months later, they saw that they had continued to spend the inheritance and weren't meeting their savings goals. When it was suggested that Craig maximize his 401(k) plan, Virginia got very anxious that they would not have enough money to live on each month. It was apparent that further discussion of their goals was needed, along with clarifying how they would work toward them.

Together with their advisor, Virginia and Craig spent considerable time exploring what their images were of "wealthy people" and how they feared their friends might react to them if they were to become truly financially independent. They realized that they were, in some ways, embarrassed to have achieved wealth through an inheritance and, therefore, had associated many negative feelings with this "bad" money. It was this money that represented the loss of their parents, money they subconsciously didn't want. They were finding reasons to get rid of the money because of all the negative feelings they had associated with it.

Once Virginia and Craig were able to identify these hidden beliefs, they were able to begin identifying strategies to change what "wealth" meant to them. In associating words with "millionaire," they were able to change their adjectives from "greedy, snobbish, and selfish" to "powerful, generous, having more choices and financially independent." They began to notice all the problems money could help solve, instead of all the problems they had initially associated with having money.

They made a commitment to consciously make choices about this inheritance and money in general, instead of wanting to ignore it and literally "make it all go away." Instead of continuing to stay in denial about their debt and spending patterns, they worked with a bookkeeper who provided them with monthly reports, so they could then objectively work with their financial advisor on their goals. They worked on a "conscious spending plan" and agreed to discuss with each other any purchase that fell outside this plan or over a set amount of money. As their behaviors began to change, so did their comfort level with their image of themselves as being "wealthy."

Virginia and Craig learned that although many people work very hard with the goal of obtaining wealth, the easiest and yet most productive work may be in changing the way you perceive yourself, your money, and your self-esteem.