Millions of people today are struggling with money issues. Consider the statistics: 70% of people in the United States do not use a spending plan or budget; savings rates are at an all-time low; about one-third of credit card holders owe more than $10,000 in credit card debt (of these, 36% have household incomes under $50,000); the percentage of disposable income used to pay debts is at a record high.

Today there are many, many people who are simply not living to their fullest potential because they either can’t, don’t, or won’t make effective money decisions on a daily basis. Most people with money issues are in a fog about money. They need to see their financial lives clearly and embrace a process for making effective money choices.

From Personal to Professional and Beyond
My passion for helping others in building successful financial lives has remained constant since I opened the doors of my practice almost twenty years ago. This passion is now shared by a growing number of professional counselors who use my methodologies, tools, and knowledge with their own clients.

Solving my own money problems led me to this deeply satisfying and financially lucrative career of financial counseling. Mastering this work with clients has been the most compelling and gratifying work of my life. I see the transformation that takes place in the lives of my clients when they are able to create stable, satisfying, and sustainable relationships to money—just as I have. Now I want to offer like-minded professionals the same opportunity to be stewards of transformation for men and women everywhere, and build satisfying careers of their own.

My approach to helping others is rooted in my own experience. Years ago, my financial life was in shambles. On the outside, I looked every bit the part of a successful career professional. Financially, I was a mess. Instead of saving, I was living paycheck to paycheck. I had received a substantial amount of money from a divorce settlement and stashed it in an under-performing savings account. I was racking up credit card debt at an exorbitant rate—confusing things I wanted with things I needed.

I was too proud to admit I didn’t know how to manage my money and too ashamed to ask for help. When I finally hit rock bottom, I realized that there was more involved than my lack of financial skills—that there were deep-seated emotional issues that were undermining my ability to succeed with money.

I looked for books on the subject, but found few on the shelves. I sought out therapists, but they didn’t have the expertise to help with my money issues. I began to understand that the only hope for me was to integrate the practical, emotional, and spiritual aspects of my relationship to money. By accepting this responsibility, I began building a new kind of financial life for myself.

Financial Recovery Counseling Bridges the Gap
There is a tremendous need in this country for a more holistic approach to personal finance, one that encompasses the practical, emotional, and spiritual aspects of money relationships. Current available tools and resources fail to address this.

There are lots of tools that show a person how to get out of debt. Like diets, most of these systems don’t work over the long term. If a person is fundamentally unhappy or depressed, he will begin the devastating cycle of spending beyond his means all over again. 

There is no lack of information on investing money. But if a person is not fully committed to why she is investing, she will lose sight of her goals and fall short of her investment objectives.

This is why I’ve created the MoneyMinder® system. It is a proprietary and holistic process for helping people develop and maintain healthy relationships to money, and make good money choices every day—choices that lead them closer to their dream lives.

It works.

Sharing the Wealth
Today, what excites me is that I can help others build the career that I have. I love the Chinese proverb “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach him to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” A few years ago I created the Financial Recovery Institute to train other individuals and professionals in using the MoneyMinder® process. While I still maintain a limited counseling practice, my core focus is on training other professionals to do the work that I do, and to build the kind of practice that I have had.

Learn more about how this training can enrich your life, and the lives of your clients.