Financial Therapy: Minding Your Money

The Affordability Crisis: Drowning in Debt

Hey everyone, I'm Lena Banks – a Certified Financial Planning professional and small business coach based in Austin, TX. Welcome back to Financial Therapy, and Happy 2026!
Today we're talking about a subject that affects nearly every household in America: the affordability and debt crisis. When you're constantly chasing the next level of income, or spending just to flex, debt can pile up quickly. But now, just spending on the basics can drive you into debt, because the affordability game has changed.
Let's talk about where we're all at, and how we can be more conscious about what we spend, and how it adds to the debt tab. The goal here is to give us all ways to be more secure and confident in our financial decision-making, and to have a greater sense of well-being overall.
Call or text to submit your feedback and questions for the show: 1-844-4FINPOD (1-844-434-6763)

Holiday Replay: Budgets are Boundaries: 4 Hard Truths About Why You Don’t Have One

Happy Holidays, everyone! Today on Financial Therapy, we're replaying one of our most popular episodes--don't miss it, and be sure to call or text to submit your feedback and questions for the show: 1-844-4FINPOD (1-844-434-6763).
If you've ever wondered why it's so difficult to sit down, get focused, and make a budget, this episode is for you. Budgets help us set healthy boundaries--listen in for four hard truths about why many people don't have one. Let's talk about why budgets are important in setting boundaries with ourselves and others, as well as for our mental wellness.
Originally aired: October 14, 2025

Holiday Replay: Money Mindsets

Happy Holidays, everyone! Today on Financial Therapy, we're replaying one of our most popular episodes--don't miss it, and be sure to call or text to submit your feedback and questions for the show: 1-844-4FINPOD (1-844-434-6763).
Are you a minimizer or maximizer? A saver or investor? A responder or director? Lena and friend of the Financial Therapy podcast, Andi Cobb, cover Six Money Mindsets, and chat a bit about how they influence how we make financial decisions. The goal here is to give us all ways to be more secure and confident in our financial decision-making, and to have a greater sense of well-being overall.
Originally aired: July 4, 2025

3 Things Most Money Managers Won’t Tell You

Hey everyone, I'm Lena Banks – a Certified Financial Planning professional and small business coach based in Austin, TX. Welcome to Financial Therapy!
Today we're talking about three things the average money manager won't necessarily tell you up front. Listen in, before you make your personal finance new year's resolutions in 2026. As always, the goal here is to help us all to be more secure and confident in our financial decision-making, and to have a greater sense of well-being overall.
Call or text to submit your feedback and questions for the show: 1-844-4FINPOD (1-844-434-6763)

Deep Dive: Financial Pride

Hey everyone! Welcome to your Financial Therapy for the week. Data from an August 2025 Logica Future of Money Study indicates that 54% of Americans' outlook on their personal finances was optimistic, even as 50% believed the national economy was worse than a year prior. Why the disconnect?
How stable is your financial future? Do you have a sound foundation for your financial decision-making, or can you sometimes be overconfident? Today we'll talk about three questions to ask to spot-check your feelings of pride around money. The goal here in Financial Therapy is to give us all ways to be more secure and confident in our financial decision-making, and to have a greater sense of well-being overall.
Call or text to submit your feedback and questions for the show: 1-844-4FINPOD (1-844-434-6763)

Deep Dive: Financial Guilt & Shame

Hey everyone! Welcome to your Financial Therapy for the week. Have you ever felt guilt or shame about your finances? Do you want to make, spend, or give away your money with more confidence?
Today we'll talk about three questions to ask to spot-check your feelings of guilt and shame around money. The goal here in Financial Therapy is to give us all ways to be more secure and confident in our financial decision-making, and to have a greater sense of well-being overall.
Call or text to submit your feedback and questions for the show: 1-844-4FINPOD (1-844-434-6763)

Deep Dive: Financial Fear & Denial

For 49% of us, just looking at our bank accounts can trigger negative feelings. Fear can be defined as an unpleasant, often strong emotion caused by anticipation or awareness of danger; it goes hand in hand with denial--a defense mechanism where someone avoids a difficult truth by denying its existence. Have you ever wondered why you avoid or sidestep even looking at your finances? Do you want to make, spend, or give away your money with more confidence? How can you distinguish between 'real' financial concerns, and what's really just anxiety at work in your financial life?
Today we'll talk about three questions to ask to spot-check your feelings of fear and denial around money. The goal here in Financial Therapy is to give us all ways to be more secure and confident in our financial decision-making, and to have a greater sense of well-being overall.
Call or text to submit your feedback and questions for the show: 1-844-4FINPOD (1-844-434-6763)

Deep Dive: Financial Obligation

Obligation is the condition of being morally or legally bound to do something; it can also be a debt of gratitude for a service or favor. Have you ever wondered why you feel so financially obligated to make, spend, or give away your money? Is it really your values at play, or are you captive to others' needs? How can you distinguish between obligations you need to follow through on vs. those you need to set boundaries to address?
Today we'll talk about three questions to ask yourself to check your feelings of obligation. The goal here in Financial Therapy is to give us all ways to be more secure and confident in our financial decision-making, and to have a greater sense of well-being overall.
Call or text to submit your feedback and questions for the show: 1-844-4FINPOD (1-844-434-6763)

Bonus Episode: Current Events

Hey everyone, I'm Lena Banks – a Certified Financial Planning professional and small business coach based in Austin, TX.
Today we're talking about current events that are affecting our finances...and therefore our overall mental and emotional well-being. From a record spike in auto repossessions, to the highest number of October layoffs in 20+ years, to the longest federal government shutdown in history--with SNAP benefits and health insurance access on the line--Financial Therapy is here to help us put words to the financial uncertainty and mounting hardships many of us are facing, so we can be more secure and confident in our financial decision-making, and ultimately, have a greater sense of well-being overall.
Call or text to submit your feedback and questions for the show: 1-844-4FINPOD (1-844-434-6763)

Origin Story w/ Kelenne Blake

Today we'll ask our guest: What's your financial origin story? Were you taught financial literacy? Or did your caregivers rarely discuss money growing up? More often than not, we get our money mindsets passed down to us from our parents, or whoever was most responsible for making the financial decisions.
Whether you were scraping by, or had an abundance of wealth (or whether either is the case right now), those early influences affect how you now view money, how you choose to earn and spend it, and ultimately, your financial health and wellness.
Call or text to submit your feedback and questions for the show: 1-844-4FINPOD (1-844-434-6763)