Customer Reviews

Conscious Finance: Uncover Your Hidden Money Beliefs and Transform the Role of Money in Your Life

5 star:		(7)
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3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
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I've read an enormous number of books on personal finance over the years, and this is the best one by far. It takes the reader to the core beliefs that influence our decisions, and gives practical help on shifting from unhealthy money beliefs to healthy ones. It also shows the reader how money beliefs pervade most aspects of our lives, and gives lots of real-life stories to encourage and illustrate how to make good money decisions. There are exercises that will enable the reader to identify the root causes of bad decisions and learn how to address those issues. If you're looking for something that can help you make significant changes in the way you think about and deal with money, this is the book for you!

I will say up front that I am not the poster child for perfect control over my finances. I read this book to try and increase my understanding of the reasons behind my sometimes self-defeating financial habits. While I have never come close to anything like a bankruptcy or foreclosure, I work in the financial services industry and talk to people day in and day out who are in that very situation.

I have read a great many books on finance and business, and again, I work in the industry, so I have a good foundation on how to handle my personal finances. I also have read many so-called self-help books, and have done a great deal of emotional work on uncovering my hidden and unconscious beliefs, mostly through Harry Palmer's Avatar system. That said, I had never really looked at my monetary beliefs with a close eye. It is such an important part of our lives, but it terrified me to look at my money scripts.

This book did give the courage to look at my financial beliefs, which had gone unchallenged my entire life. I considered myself pretty self-aware, but this book certainly opened my eyes in that regard. However, I thought that, while the book did a great deal to help one uncover such beliefs, there is not a lot of advice on how to HANDLE these beliefs. It seemed that the authors pretty much thought that, once your beliefs are uncovered, that's all there is to it. Hardly. I would have liked to see more exercises geared towards dissolving the old beliefs and creating new ones, but perhaps that was beyond the scope of the authors' abilities.

While the second part of the book went into some left-brained financial advice, it didn't address the problem of what many people live with day-to-day. The book was overly simplistic, in my opinion. Old standard advice like "Don't spend money on it if you can't afford it" doesn't help address real issues, like the cost of living in a major city being far more than what the average person can earn. It played into the "blame-the-reader" scenario, in which the reader held complete fault for their financial issues, and if they would just learn to discipline themselves, they'd have no more financial problems.

In a perfect world, those of us who forego designer clothes, shoes, handbags and that daily latte at Starbucks because we can't afford it should be able to live in a comfortable (if modest) home, drive a decent car, have an emergency savings account, and still be able to retire on a decent income. But that is simply not always reality. There are some people working very hard, living minimalist lifestyles, and yet they still have nothing left over to save at the end of the month. This book doesn't address that problem, and I think that's a shame. The same old advice, "Don't take on any debt"(including student loans, which the authors consider to be bad debt- I disagreed with that point) seemed to me to be a hidden belief on the author's own part. Debt is not always a bad thing, especially if it is incurred for the greater good of your life. And some of the advice was downright absurd- "Don't spend more than 4% of your yearly income on a car". Assuming you make $40,000.00 a year, that would mean buying a car that is no more expensive than $133.00 in payment/month (assuming you pay no taxes & $40,000 is your take-home pay!). Huh!? I'd like to get to work without being stranded on the highway- buying a lemon of a car will NOT help anyone's financial life.

Overall, I'd say this is a book for those that have a shopping addiction or a spending problem, and need some psychological help with uncovering the reasons behind that. If you are already living a modest lifestyle and need to find more money just to get by, I don't think that this book will help much. Buy this book, if you want to, but take the advice given with a BIG grain of salt. Good luck to you!

This book offers a balanced approach to our relationship with money.The stories illustrate the topics discussed which makes the information real, applicable and personal. As a counselor, I haven't discussed specific money issues or beliefs with clients. This book has changed my approach to helping others. I have found that now when I discuss money beliefs with clients we end up addressing core life beliefs which in turn, help them make the life changes they desire.
When people are equipped with accurate information, understand their thoughts and beliefs and are aware of their emotions, they are better able to make conscious and purposeful decisions in their lives.The "technical" or exterior information provided in the book is easy to read and understand.The book has helpful, practical and wise suggestions for budgeting, investing and long term planning. Read this book and you too can be transformed.
Laura Longville
Therapist and Life Coach
Walking in Grace, Inc.

This wasn't a book I could only read one time because the information came back time and time again settling into practical situations in the budgeted month. I then needed to go back and highlight it for future reference (no offense to underlining). The number of people I have referred directly to this book in day to day conversations has been far more than any other book I have read. I have spent years perfecting my bookkeeping skills, but what does it matter if I lack the means to interpret my data and change the behaviors that led to all of the negatives on the balance sheet. This book teaches us that it is fundamental to break our habits and make money choices that bring us out of the negative patterns we find ourselves in. I am not a professional in the money world but I feel well qualified to now teach my children about money and what it really is... a product of consumerism. Money is never necessary for happiness but almost always the bearer of misery.

As a financial planner, I found Conscious Finance to be well-organized and clear in its concepts. Additionally, the personal stories shared by the authors help solidify the very important concepts discussed in this book. Kahler and Fox have done an exceptional job of communicating difficult, often fuzzy ideas in a clear, practical way.

I could see myself and other members of my family and friends in the book as I read and within 2 minutes had gotten a pencil to underline passages. This is a new and innovative approach to why we handle money in the way we do. I think this will help us spend more wisely in the future

While there are some interesting aspects to this book, it really only makes sense for the financially challenged reader. If you already have and follow a budget, save monthly, live well within your means, know what insurance you need and don't need, and invest for the long term in diversified and low cost index funds then you won't get much from this book. The personal finance portion is little more than Personal Finance 101. I have no doubt the book would be useful for people who are struggling to earn, save and invest but not for those with even a modest level of personal finance acumen.

As a counselor that has worked through many different issues, of which money is an important one, I found conscious finance to be insightful and helpful. In working with clients on money issues, I have never found money issues to truly be about the money, rather unresolved feelings the cloud clear decision making with money. I appreciate the personal and technical information this book gives because it gives direction to move forward.
The previous response indicated that "therapy is about healing dysfunction, not about becoming conscious." I find it is about both and the consicous part is the part that creates emotional freedom. I appreciate that this book gives a pathway in which the emotional freedom around money can occur.

I did learn something about the book but it did not fully meet my expectations since they included some concept on money management like investing and different types of insurance. I was hoping to learn more about my hidden beliefs in a deeper way with probably more exercises and examples. The exercises they had here were exercises I did in some books already - nothing new.

I have long been insecure about my financal standing and could never seem to find any comfort so I continued to deprive myself of all but the barest of essentials. It wasn't until I read this book that I realized how my past had shaped my idea of the future and was serving to keep me running scared.

This is one of the most enlightening books I've ever read..and THE MOST entertaining of all finance books I've read!

The book is an easy read, but the application of the principles of overcoming your detrimental "money scripts" is not easy...but what personal change is easy?! I highly recommend this book to anyone who feels anxiety when it comes to money...whether you are an overspender or an oversaver... it can make a POSITIVE difference in your life!


Next on my agenda is "The Financial Wisdom of Ebeneezer Scrooge" which was co-written by Kahler.