Money is a tricky topic for everyone in a money-centric, capitalist culture. For highly sensitive people, who can especially sense the complex layers and the ethical fairness concerns, money can easily turn into a tangle or something we avoid dealing with. And yet we have to deal with it.
So, what can be helpful when dealing with money, in ways that align with your values and your own needs? Such as in your career, business, saving, and giving?
Given the complexities, I decided to invite Diana Yañez, an HSP money coach and financial planner, to write something to help us find more grounding and ease around money.
Article By Diana Yañez
Mixed Messages About Money
Money is a juicy topic and it is often the leading cause of mental health stress. Most of us walk around navigating confusing mixed messages, such as “money is the root of all evil” and “diamonds are a girl’s best friend”.…
When popular culture tells us that so many opposites are true, we’re left wondering which way is up, which can feel even more acute for highly sensitive people since we clearly see this complexities.
Worst of all, these confusing messages can chip away at our confidence and belief in ourselves, bringing us to a point where we avoid the topic of money or feel defensive as soon as it comes up.
Money is something we need to navigate our entire lives, from childhood to old age. I have found that bringing in metaphors and gentle examples helps us see the many interconnected threads clearly, so that we can decide our next best steps.
Recognizing Patterns Across Money Challenges
In my first year as a money coach, I sensed when clients had similar patterns and wondered how to bring these together. While others have developed money archetypes, their descriptions often felt like there was a hierarchy between them. Which is exactly what I was trying to avoid — my hope was to have clients see their money patterns with understanding and compassion, not judgement.
This took me to think about nature and all of the ways she shows herself to us. You can’t really say one tree, plant, or animal is better than another; in reality they are each perfectly made to suit their environment.
Happily, one of my close friends is a nature translator, superb arborist, and also highly sensitive! Jennifer Walker and I spent hours thinking about trees, thinking about people, and bringing both together. She even helped me develop a separate version for Mexico with our local trees and money patterns.
These archetypes have become a shorthand with clients that help them recognize their money patterns and those of people they are close to.
As clients understood themselves more clearly within the money archetypes, they intuitively knew what kind of changes were needed to make in their outer life.
Take the Money Archetype Quiz (free)
Ready to find out your own money archetype using my nature-based method?
>> Take the short money archetype quiz here. <<
Once you’ve taken the quiz you’ll be redirected to a general overview of the archetypes. Below is a snapshot for each:
- Coppice – Symbolizing the Giving Tree.
This archetype is focused on continuous growth and giving, often at the expense of personal needs.
To grow: Their gift lies in visionary stewardship and dedication, but they must overcome the shadow of feeling unworthy without constant giving. - Magnolia Grandiflora – Always blooming, always beautiful.
The Magnolia Grandiflora archetypes exude grace but can overshadow others, struggling with entitlement and focusing on pleasure at the expense of their future goals.
To grow: They must acknowledge that discomfort is part of the experience of being human and often a part of striving for long-term goals. - Saguaro – Rooted in self-reliance and resilience.
Saguaros always have a back-up plan, but may struggle with excessive risk management and judgment.
To grow: Finding balance means embracing the present, seeking support, and giving themselves permission for joy. - Tree of Heaven – Known for resilience and resourcefulness.
Tree of Heaven archetypes challenge systems yet risk focusing too much on critiquing the system at the expense of making changes to improve their own situation.
To grow: Embracing their agency and reevaluating limiting beliefs allows them to harness their visionary power for positive change personally and for their community. - Wisteria – Persistent climbers.
Wisterias symbolize adaptability and hope, yet may struggle with endless expansion and over-dependence on others to manage their financial difficulties.
To grow: Finding strength in self-awareness and cultivating stable money habits can enable them to channel their resilience and adaptiveness into fruitful growth.
Adding Skills to Our Money Toolbox
By seeing how what’s right for one archetype doesn’t fit for another, we get to expand our definition of money best practices while having compassion for the areas where we need to add skills to our money toolbox.
I invite you to see where the challenges of your primary archetype could be balanced out with the gifts of a different archetype to create a more balanced money approach.
Often when people are learning about the archetypes they’ll be reminded of someone they know – a coworker, their partner, a parent, a sibling.
The archetypes can become a shared language and shorthand for how you each see money. This opens the way to see that neither of you is wrong, you’re just coming from different tree habitats. By understanding others’ money archetypes and patterns, you can have easier, gentler conversations.
Bottom Line
Integrity is becoming whole. It’s accepting both the helpful and difficult parts of our lives.
When we become aware of the places where we struggle, and acknowledge any unhelpful habits, we will free up energy to either change those habits or add additional skills.
Remember that nothing exists in a vacuum. Compassion is key as you uplevel your way of being with any part of your life, including your financial life.
About Diana Yañez
Diana Yañez, CFP®, RLP® is a money coach at All the Colors and wealth manager at Strategy Squad. She also has a podcast, Highly Sensitive Money.
She provides clients with the education they need to make financial decisions, accountability to take action, and coaching to understand why they do what they do with money.
As an individual and group coach, Diana helps women of color entrepreneurs create stable and sustainable money systems for themselves, their loved ones and their communities.
Through Strategy Squad, Diana supports impact investors in aligning their values and investments.
You can set up a call with Diana for a free 30-minute Heart-Centered Money Call or to bring your organization money workshops that center nervous system regulation.
