Worthy Property Bonds is proud to feature Linda Grizely, a personal finance expert, financial wellness speaker, and creator of the MeMoney™ Method, a financial strategy that creates a mindset shift and helps people feel confident and in control of their money. Linda’s work empowers individuals and organizations to build lasting financial wellness by teaching both the practical strategies of personal finance and the mindful habits that make them stick.
Worthy will present content by guest writers as part of our goal to promote thought leadership in the fields of finance, savings, investing, and community impact.
Why Even the Savvy Slip Sometimes
It happens to even the most financially savvy people. You know your cash flow, you’re saving in all the right places, and planning for your future. But one stressful week, a celebration, or a well-timed sales event, and you’re clicking “buy now” or agreeing to an expense you didn’t really want or need.
It’s not a lack of discipline. It’s the quiet pull of emotion, which is the very human side of money that logic alone can’t override.
Even those who manage money for a living make emotional money moves. Not because they’re careless, but because money decisions are never purely financial. They’re emotional, behavioral, and deeply personal.
That’s what makes them powerful, and unfortunately, they can come at a cost.
The Logic Trap
High achievers like to believe logic runs the show. Yet the more financially capable we become, the easier it is to disguise emotion as reason.
You can rationalize almost anything:
- It’s a business expense.
- It’s a reward. I’ve earned it.
- It’s not that much in the big picture.
Beneath those explanations usually lives something deeper: fatigue, guilt, comparison, or the quiet need to feel in control.
As author Morgan Housel writes in The Psychology of Money, “Doing well with money has a little to do with how smart you are and a lot to do with how you behave. And behavior is hard to teach, even to really smart people.” That’s the challenge, and the opportunity, behind every emotional money move.
Clients tell me things like, “I don’t need the things I buy; I just like the feeling of pressing the buy-now button.” That’s not about the purchase; it’s about dopamine.
It doesn’t mean you are a financial failure. It’s just a sign that you are connecting money and tangible things to your emotions.
I also hear “I always feel guilty when I buy something for myself, like I’m being irresponsible.” That guilt is an emotional signal that something isn’t aligned with your values. The thing about that is, you should value yourself.
The Weight of Financial Guilt
Guilt-spending, or guilt-saving, or guilt-giving, isn’t measured in dollars; it’s measured in distraction.
You make the choice, but instead of being satisfied, you feel a little unsettled. That’s your gut letting you know something is off.
Over time, guilt chips away at confidence. It turns decisiveness into hesitation and strategy into self-doubt.
Financial guilt is the silent tax on clarity. The kind you pay in energy, not money.
From Reaction to Reflection
That’s why I created the MeMoney™ Method. To help people lean into the way they naturally interact with money and recognize their own money behavior. It’s a simple strategy that sets aside a portion of money just for you and lets you spend on yourself without answering to anyone, not even yourself.
It’s not about restriction; it’s about intention. It removes the guilt and the need to explain your choices.
Before spending, giving, or committing, pause and ask yourself:
- Is this decision aligned with what I value?
- Am I trying to fix an emotion I haven’t faced?
- If I say yes to this it may mean saying no to something later, and am I ok with that?
- Should I say no to this now so I can say yes to something better later?
These questions transform guilt into data and replace shame with self-knowledge. That’s where true financial growth begins.
5 Mindset Shifts to Reclaim Clarity
- Pause Before You Purchase
A ten-second wait can rewire habit into intention. Ask, “Will this still feel good tomorrow?” Or better yet, wait until tomorrow to complete the purchase. - Name Your Triggers
Notice what drives your impulses: stress, comparison, people-pleasing. Getting honest about your patterns reveals more than you think. - Redefine “Responsible”
Responsibility isn’t saying no to everything; it’s saying yes for reasons that fit the season you’re in. - Create a Guilt-Free Fund (like MeMoney™)
Set aside money purely for enjoyment or generosity. Boundaries don’t restrict joy, they protect it. - Automate Emotional Stability
Consistency breeds calm. Automating savings and recurring transfers takes willpower out of the equation, helping you stay steady even on stressful days. When your system runs smoothly in the background, you can focus your energy on choices that matter most.
What Your Gut is Really Saying
When you get that gut feeling or guilt shows up around money, it’s rarely asking, “Can I afford this?” More often, it’s asking, “Is this worthy of my money?”
Answer that honestly, and the numbers usually take care of themselves.
Financial wisdom isn’t the absence of emotion; it’s the integration of it. As behavioral-finance expert Dr. Brad Klontz notes, our “money scripts” shape behavior more than spreadsheets ever will.
You are the product of your life experiences with money since the day you were born. And that is complex. The goal isn’t to be perfect with money, it’s to be present with it and start to understand how you interact with it.
The smartest people don’t make emotionless money moves. They make emotionally intelligent ones.
And when your choices reflect your truth, money finally starts to feel good.
References
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Morgan Housel, The Psychology of Money (Harriman House, 2020)
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Brad Klontz, “Money Scripts,” Journal of Financial Therapy (2011)
Talking about the emotional side of money doesn’t have to feel overwhelming.
The first step to understanding the way you interact with money is to understand your money personality.
Take Linda’s free quiz: “What’s Your Money Personality?”
For more personal finance insights, Linda Grizely can be found on her website.
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