112: How to Feel Balanced with Finances

The aim of this podcast episode is to boost emotional awareness regarding finances, highlighting the feelings that affect our financial choices. It emphasizes the importance of establishing practical financial goals and habits through SMART goal-setting, while also advocating for intentional money management that reflects personal values.

Key Discussion Points:

• Recognizing emotions connected to money as valuable insights
• Setting SMART goals to provide structure and clarity
• Developing supportive financial habits, such as postponing emotional purchases
• Ensuring that spending aligns with personal values for a more intentional lifestyle

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Transcript

Objective: 

·      Increase Emotional Awareness Around Money – You will be introduced to the idea of recognizing and understanding the emotions (fear, guilt, shame, excitement) that influence your financial decisions, helping you respond intentionally rather than react impulsively.

·      Develop Practical Financial Goals and Habits – You will be able to set SMART goals and implement actionable habits such as delaying emotional purchases, building accountability systems, and tracking progress to create steady financial momentum.

·      Practice Intentional Money Management – You will gain tools to align your spending, saving, and financial commitments with your values, priorities, and long-term well-being, fostering a sense of control and balance.

Money can feel messy—especially when you are living paycheck to paycheck and caught in a never-ending loop of stress and survival mode. In this episode, we dive into what it really means to feel balanced with your finances—not just manage them. We talk about how to sit with the emotions that come with money (yes, those uncomfortable ones), how to analyze where you are, and how to set SMART goals that actually move you forward.

You will learn practical ways to take control and build steady financial habits:

1.       Delay emotional decisions – pause before reacting or spending.

2.       Create support – find accountability partners and systems that keep you grounded.

3.       Stay focused – keep your eyes on your goals, not the noise.

This episode is your reminder that financial balance is not about perfection—it is about intentionnel progress and giving yourself grace along the way.

So, how do you start feeling balanced with your finances?
Let’s break it down.

1.    Feel the Feelings — Do Not Run From Them
Before you can change your money habits, you have to acknowledge what is underneath them.

Ask yourself: What comes up when I think about money? Fear? Guilt? Shame? Excitement?

Those emotions are not bad — they are data. They tell you what needs your attention.
 Instead of avoiding them, get curious. Sit with those feelings. Journal them. Talk them out. Have a money date either with yourself or you and your partner so that you really talk.

Awareness is the first step toward peace.

2.    Analyze and Set SMART Goals
Once you are honest about where you stand emotionally, start getting specific.
SMART goals — Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound — help you create structure without pressure.

Specific: clearly define what needs to be achieved, who is involved, where it will happen and why it is important. 

Measurable: include criteria be able to track progress and determine success. 

Achievable: to ensure the goal is realistic and within reach, considering available resources and constraints. 

Relevant: confirm the goal aligns with broader objectives, values, and long-term aspirations. 

Time-Bound: Set a specific deadline or timeframe for completion to create urgency and focus. 

Specific: I want to build a healthier relationship with self by journaling three times a week. Measurable: I will journal three times a week for the next month. Achievable: Sit down and write for 30 minutes each session. Relevant: journaling three days a week is a way to get my inner dialogue on paper to heal the self-relationship. Time-Bound:  I will create the habit of journaling at least three times a week for sixty days. 

 
For example: “I will save $25 a week for three months” feels more realistic than “I need to save more.”

 Clarity builds confidence — and confidence builds balance.  This will have to be revisited because as you change and go through various stages, so do your finances and goals.

3. Build Financial Habits That Support You
 Here are three powerful ones:

•          Delay Emotional Decisions. If you want to make a big purchase, pause 24 hours. That space helps you check whether the decision aligns with your values or just your mood.

•          Create Support. Share your goals with a friend, partner or join a financial accountability group. Having a support system keeps you grounded and motivated. Sometimes writing it down or having a spread sheet can make you feel accountability.

•          Stay Focused. Review your progress weekly. Notice the small wins — they add up. Set aside a regular time each week to check in on your financial progress. Look at what you accomplished, even the small wins like saving a little extra or avoiding an unnecessary purchase. Celebrate these moments—they build confidence and momentum. Use this weekly review to adjust your goals if needed, stay on track, and remind yourself why you are making intentional choices with your money. Over time, these small steps add up to real, lasting financial balance.

4. Live Intentionally With Your Money
Being intentional means your money choices reflect what truly matters to you — not pressure, not comparison, not autopilot.
Before spending, ask: “Does this align with my values?”
Before committing to something new, ask: “Will this bring peace or pressure?”
That is how financial balance begins — with intentional awareness.

Stacked Intent offers tools and resources to help you take control of your life and finances with clarity and purpose. Our upcoming retreat, March 5–8, 2026, is designed for anyone who wants to slow down, reconnect with their authentic self, and learn how to sit with their emotions instead of letting them control their choices.

Intentional Money Pause Challenge

For the next seven days, every time you are about to make a purchase or financial decision, pause for at least 24 hours before acting. During this pause:

1.       Ask yourself: “Does this align with my values and goals?”

2.       Notice any emotions that come up—fear, guilt, excitement, or envy—and journal them.

3.       If needed, talk it through with a trusted friend or accountability partner.

By the end of the week, you will have practiced awareness, delayed emotional decisions, and strengthened the habit of making intentional money choices.