LIHU‘E — The majority of Americans — some 75 to 80 percent — are unsatisfied with their financial circumstances and that was even before the economy took a nosedive, said Dr. Brad Klontz of Your Metal Wealth. “Money has been
LIHU‘E — The majority of Americans — some 75 to 80 percent — are unsatisfied with their financial circumstances and that was even before the economy took a nosedive, said Dr. Brad Klontz of Your Metal Wealth.
“Money has been the number one stressor for years,” he said, despite Americans being “rich compared to the rest of the world.”
So what gives?
Americans have a “very conflicted relationship with money,” said Klontz, a clinical psychologist, addictions specialist, consultant, speaker and author.
America bought into the lie that “more money will make me happier,” he said, and the population became a “nation of credit junkies.”
An average of $10,000 in credit card debt exists per household, Klontz said. Rather than saving money, Americans are spending more than they make.
“The crisis on Wall Street is a mirror of the crisis on Main Street,” he said Friday. “Corporations were naughty … (but) also we were gobbling it up.”
After losing half of everything he owned because of over zealous stock investments about a decade ago, Klontz set out on a mission to determine what makes people’s wallets tick because he was “tired of being poor.”
What he found was “we make most of our decisions from our emotional brains and then we rationalize it,” he said.
Kaua‘i Chamber of Commerce President Randy Francisco agreed.
“It’s always been about denial and not accepting responsibility” for individual financial situations, he said Friday.
“Blame keeps us stuck” and sentences people to repeating patterns, Klontz said.
From watching parents hoard money to watching them pinch pennies, Americans have likely either inherited their traits or try hard to defy them. Both of which are counterproductive, he said.
Once individuals can recognize their “survival mode” patterns, they can break free and wealth will begin to accumulate in more forms than simply financial, Klontz said.
“Our self-esteem is wrapped up in our ability to make money,” he said. “If I’m not making money, who am I?”
Yet, no one “sits on their death bed thinking, gee, I wish I had bought that Camero,” Klontz said. They think about their loved ones and the moments they shared with them.
Freeing yourself from dwelling upon the financial crisis by connecting with others is important too, he said.
“Business people who are stressed get a sense of ‘I’m not alone,’” Francisco said regarding regular networking events hosted by the chamber.
Another suggestion for achieving “mind over money” and financial health is saving for the future. Wealthy people are that way because they saved their money, he said.
So cut your spending, let go of outside attachments and “entertain the idea that money doesn’t make you happy,” Klontz said.
Klontz will be speaking at the Kaua‘i Chamber of Commerce 1st Quarter Membership Meeting which begins at 5:30 p.m., Thursday, at the Sheraton Kaua‘i Resort. For more information, visit www.kauaichamber.org or call 245-7363.
• Coco Zickos, business and environmental writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 251) or czickos@kauaipubco.com.
