The Hidden Stories Behind How We Spend, Save and Struggle | Tari Vickery the Emotional Side of Money

Why can someone have enough money and still feel financially unsafe? In this episode of What’s the Point?, Bill Ellis speaks with financial wellness coach and author Tari Vickery about the emotional side of money. Tari shares how childhood scarcity, family beliefs, financial loss, and relationship dynamics can shape the way we spend, save, and define success. They explore why couples often argue about more than the purchase itself, why reaching a financial goal may not create security, and the difference between having enough and truly believing it. Tari’s book, The Emotional Side of Money, is available in print and audiobook. Connect with Bill: [email protected] www.billellis.com www.brandingforresults.com IG - @wcellis Facebook - @CoachBillEllis Facebook - @bill.ellis LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/wcellis Book: Women Who Won Links for This Episode: CONTACT INFO: Name - Tari K. Vickery Email - [email protected] Website(s) - https://www.tarikvickeryauthor.com/ SOCIAL MEDIA INFO: LinkedIn -   / tari-k-vickery-09027a2   Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?... Instagram -   / tarikvickeryauthor   Threads - https://bsky.app/profile/tarikvickery... BOOK: "The Emotional Side of Money" Goodreads -   / the-emotional-side-of-money   Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/Emotional-Side... Bookshop - https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-emot... Quick Episode Summary: 00:00 – Why money is rarely just about money 01:00 – Meet Tari Vickery and The Emotional Side of Money 02:00 – Growing up with money, fear, and survival 03:00 – Three generations of women, work, and financial struggle 04:00 – Do we inherit a financial mindset? 06:30 – Asking for a loan at four years old 08:00 – Understanding her mother and releasing the past 09:30 – What financial instability really threatens 11:00 – Tari’s first childhood business 12:00 – Working through high school and becoming a high achiever 14:00 – Building wealth through a family business 15:00 – Losing the business, home, retirement, and lifestyle 17:00 – Cleaning houses and deciding to apply to Harvard 18:00 – Applying to Stanford and changing the family’s future 20:00 – From a 6,000-square-foot house to campus housing 21:00 – Reinvention driven by survival 22:00 – How different childhoods affect financial hardship 24:00 – Rebuilding personally before rebuilding financially 25:00 – Why reaching a financial goal doesn’t always bring safety 27:00 – Feeling financially secure but emotionally unsafe 28:00 – What children learn by watching their parents 30:00 – Why the goalpost of “enough” keeps moving 31:00 – Spending $1,000 and feeling nothing 34:00 – Why money is so difficult to talk about 35:00 – Two completely different childhood money stories 37:00 – What couples are really fighting about when they fight over money 40:00 – Why successful people still avoid opening bills 42:00 – How to begin changing a painful relationship with money 44:00 – The difference between having enough and believing it 45:00 – Scarcity versus abundance 46:00 – What financial freedom really means 48:00 – Money, identity, gratitude, and loving your life 49:30 – Tari answers: “What’s the point?”