Customer Reviews

Mind over Money: Overcoming the Money Disorders That Threaten Our Financial Health

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For the curiously-minded who want to understand the root of your behaviors, this is the book that explains so much. Considering money literally touches everything in our lives, it helped me to understand so much more about myself than just my "number" I carry around in my head that I think I need to feel safe and secure for the long-term. It helped me recognize family money scripts, what happened when my family moved out of their parents' "financial comfort zone", and why I struggle to let my own entrepreneurial spirit loose. Highly recommend.

Mind Over Money is a refreshing breath of fresh air in the world of books about money and self-improvement. For the first time, I feel like a book has helped me understand the ROOT CAUSES of my issues with money. I already feel like this book has helped both my business and my marriage (which has business aspects to it), and will continue to going forward. I liked these guys' last book, but this one was better.

This book goes beyond the dollars and cents of money and identifies the true causes of chronic financial problems. Rather than just define the problem and give the typical advice to save more and spend less, the authors include some exercises that they use in their counseling program. I walked away with some insights into the ways I sabotage myself, and I will never look at money in the same way. The authors, a father and son team of psychologists, are refreshingly honest about their own money mistakes, how money was mishandled in their family, and how they turned their financial lives around. There is also a "Money Disorder" test you can access for free using a special code in the back of the book. I found this test particularly informative and helpful. I highly recommend this book.

I'm halfway reading this book..and there was quite a few aha moments, I can't wait to finish it.
I'm still trying to get over the subconscious programming that I have towards money...
It's a wonderful book!

Having read "The Financial Wisdom of Ebenezer Scrooge," I was inspired to know more about what Brad Klontz and Ted Klontz have to say on my and other people's subconscious thoughts around money.

While these authors version of the Ebenezer Scrooge book has a strong use of metaphors that place readers fully in their own heart and mind, "Mind Over Matter" has a heck of a lot more.

This book has great examples supporting every message that the authors share. It also includes the rich, poor, and in between.

Many people who haven't read anything or very little on personal finance argue that they don't like those other financial books because they don't relate to their history, needs, limitations and interests.

This is not the case with "Mind Over Money."

This book takes readers on a journey that after reading this book will continue, as they, the readers, explore subconscious decisions that they made during their childhood, which may or may not be serving them well in their lives now.


I especially appreciate the exercises presented in this book. A modification of one, which I really almost ignored doing is below:
Apple Tree

1. Visualize your mom
a. What are 3 adjectives that describe her behaviors
around money?

b. What 3 things did she say about money and how money works?

c. What beliefs did she have about money,and how did she demonstrate these beliefs?

2. Visualize your dad
a. What are 3 adjectives that describe his behaviors
around money?

b. What 3 things did he say about money and how money works?

c. What beliefs did he have about money,and how did she demonstrate these beliefs?

3. What would each of your parents say to one another about money, if they were open and honest about money and their lives?

4. Can you see yourself here? How?


Being introspective, I was surprized and pleased by what I discovered about myself while reading this book.

Seeing another example of the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, I'm empowered to make new choices, based upon my individual beliefs, needs and wants.

I'm on a mission to learn as much as I can about "the psychology of money." It's a tough quest because so many books are about investing, budgeting, planning, growing, or otherwise "doing stuff" with money. This book is about your relationship with money itself. I found the stories fascinating, tragic, and powerful and appreciate the authors are psychologists and financial planners who have worked with many people around their "issues" of financial and emotional health.

I really like the idea of "money scripts" and how they are rooted from our past. The book helped me see that I actually had a pretty easy relationship with money until early in my marriage when we had two massive career changes. I'm still stuck in my old money scripts (when I had safety, security, and ease with having and spending money) even though my current life is one of major upheaval and living on a shoe-string budget as we reinvent ourselves and live happier lives on less income.

This book normalizes that we all have very complicated relationships with money and helps you add a NEW voice to your "ooh, I need/want/must have" voice when you are in your trigger moment. Now I can laugh and plan ahead appreciating when I will be triggered by irrational thoughts and not let them get the best of me. And perhaps most important, I am now even MORE aware of the messages we're sending our very young kids as they create their money scripts.

When you deal with depression, many other issues come into play. For me a major one is money. I have to watch myself (and sometimes so do others) for financial infidelity. Or in layman's terms "feelgood" spending. You know where you buy things you just don't need to fill that hole inside.

Now I am lucky that I do not do this in large ways. Like buying big ticket items. But I can still lie about what I spend by just not telling. And being that I am the budget maker and bill payer then that is not always the best thing.

Well, I have a lil help now. "Mind Over Money:Overcoming the Money Disorders that Threaten Our Financial Health" has been written by a father and son team of financial psychologist. They have put down in easy to understand terms just what we do to hurt ourselves. The dangers and pitfalls that are in a disorder when dealing with money. And they also help in how to overcome those issues. What I really like is that this does not tell me how to manage my money. Instead it helps me learn about my relationship with money. How I use it or abuse it to fulfill other needs. And in turning that around I am releasing some of the mounting stress I feel. Of course, that helps my depression lift too! So it is a win win situation for me.

I use this book in my practice and in some of my talks as a way to help people understand how their childhood beliefs are formed and carry forth in their adult behaviors. The concept of Money Scripts is very useful. The ideas of scripts has been around in a different format that was originally described in the theory of Transactional Analysis developed by Eric Berne. Here it is refined and applied to money issues in particular.Very helpful in understanding yourself and your choices about money that are unconscious and may continue to baffle you.

In Mind Over Money Brad and Ted Klontz, two of the most innovative thinkers in the area of money psychology, provide a clear and comprehensive explanation of brain structure and function - and how the more primitive but powerful parts of one's brain can override the newer, rational brain, creating money related disorders. They help us identify and correct misguided beliefs about money so that we can enable the rational parts of our brains to gain control over our financial behaviors.

There is strong anecdotal evidence that financial success is linked more to behavior than income. We see this all the time in our office; people with high income and low net worth, or, alternatively, people with low income and high net worth. What accounts for those differences? Is it the money or is it the mind?

Drs. Ted and Brad Klontz - father and son psychologists - recently authored Mind Over Money. It's a breakthrough of sorts, and it offers both clinical and personal insights. The book features considerable research and a detailed bibliography.

Their premise is simple. Financial issues are clouded by psychology. Money evokes emotions such as stress, fantasy, irrationality, and fear (among others). Powerful feelings, all, and they can distort the best possible financial intentions. Why is it, they ask, that we know the right things but do the wrong things?

In fact, Drs. Klontz identify twelve common disorders by name and recount both observations and explanations. To add some gravity to this discussion, they note that American Psychological Association surveys show Americans rate money as life's number one stressor - higher than work, health, or children. Some research suggests that money disorders may be more prevalent than anxiety or depression.

I'll not list all the disorders here, but most will seem familiar. Hoarding, dependency, enabling, denial, rejection, and - of course - the spending disorders are witnessed frequently. They fall into three broad categories - Money-Worshipping, Money-Avoidance, and Relational disorders.

Symptoms are easy to spot. Constant financial anxiety or despair. A lack of family savings or excessive debt. Multiple bankruptcies or defaults on loans. Financial conflicts with family or friends. Clearly, it's not an occasional bout with these issues, but long-term, recurring, and unresolved problems which signal a disorder.

* Hoarding - A Money-Worshipping Disorder. Where is the line between hobby and obsession? When the new Lamborghini or another exotic vacation robs resources from the kids' college account, that's a legitimate problem.
* Enabling or Dependency - Relational Money Disorders. How many times must we toss a financial lifeline to adult siblings or children? It takes at least two people to play this game, and it's financially destructive for both.
* Denial - A Money-Avoidance Disorder. I don't deserve to have money. Financial things - retirement, education, and career - will take care of themselves. All money is bad. Success might ruin me.
* Rejection - Another Money-Avoidance Disorder. That uncle was evil, and I don't want anything to do with his money. All rich people are greedy. I need to spend lottery winnings quickly. Inherited money is poison.

The daunting challenge with any disorder is a pattern of continuing behavior. Without intervention - either personal or clinical - destructive patterns rarely stop on their own. It's that over-and-over-again cycle that wreaks havoc.

Thankfully, there are exercises and techniques to address problem areas. Obviously, dramatic cases might require clinical intervention, but enlightened self-treatment can be effective. A growing number of financial and mental health professionals train or research in this field. The Financial Therapy Association [...] and the Financial Therapy Journal offer cutting edge research and knowledge.

The importance of this book is that money really matters. Financial health is critical to both patients and our own families. People need money for daily expenses, but they also need money for a healthy life and retirement. Financial health is one important component of overall wellness.