Finance

Money issues? The financial psychotherapist will see you now

Published

5 months ago

July 12, 2025

Money issues? The financial psychotherapist will see you now

I am surprised that Vicky Reynal, a financial psychotherapist, is soft and reaffirming when I meet her. Perhaps I shouldn’t be – she is a therapist, after all. But something about her line of work, helping people untangle their issues with money, had primed me to expect someone more brisk, more clinical.

I think of how many business executives she meets with, how prohibitively expensive her time must be, and how strong her boundaries probably are. I even panic at the thought of logging into our Zoom meeting one minute late, because time, after all, is money.

Reynal, I’m sure, would find this compelling. She believes that we often have thoughts and feelings about money that actually have nothing to do with cold, hard cash, and everything to do with our earliest emotional experiences, deepest yearnings or misgivings.

It can be frustrating, then, that Reynal won’t talk much about herself. I’m genuinely curious – especially when I ask about her fascination with Warren Buffett, whom she has read extensively about and once met in person. She admits she was drawn to him growing up, but offers only vague hints as to why: references to formative financial experiences and the symbolic weight he held within her family, though she declines to elaborate.

As a psychotherapist, she tries to obscure her own life from her clients, to prevent it obstructing their process. Anonymity, it turns out, is a very good therapeutic tool.

“People try to guess where I’m from, and their guesses tell me so much about their internal world. Some people who have very strict and ungiving parents guess that maybe I’m eastern European, because of how cold they perceive me to be. Others guess I am Mediterranean or South American – from a warm country – because of how loving and giving [they think] I am.”

When Reynal was younger and went through therapy herself, she had a transformative experience working through some of the feelings about money. This, she thought, must be an area ripe for psychotherapeutic practice. But after nearly a decade studying psychology and psychotherapy, she was surprised to find that only a handful of research papers and textbooks directly focus on it.

“I thought, ‘Wait a minute, we are talking about our relationship with food, with sex, with people, why aren’t we talking about people’s relationship with money?’ It comes in the therapy room anyway, because it’s part of leading a life and people get into all sorts of messes because of it – and as therapists we have the lens to understand that.”

When Reynal began to explicitly market herself as a financial psychotherapist, she was suddenly overwhelmed by patients queueing up to talk to her. Her inbox was full of emails from would-be clients, telling her how relieved they were to find her. “They were saying: ‘I didn’t know a money psychotherapist existed, and I need your help,’” she says.

She sees some clients on a concession fee or a reduced rate, as they may be unemployed or struggling with debt. But others don’t need it. These are patients who know what they need to do when it comes to money on a rational level, but they just can’t bring themselves to do it: the client who obsessively buys shoes, or the one that can’t bring himself to buy basic things like a coat in the winter, because he feels a deep and bewildering desire to deny himself nice things – despite having more than ample means to buy them. Others have more than enough cash, but can’t find contentment. They come to her thinking: “Maybe you won’t judge me, for being wealthy and yet unhappy.”

Finances are central to how we relate to the world. The way we deal with our income affects our families, shapes our conversations with partners, and can cast long shadows over our relationship to our parents.

But as with so much in therapy, when people think they are coming to talk about money, it is actually not about the money at all. And beneath all that, it often reflects the lessons we absorbed growing up.

“It’s just a language that we use, because I think it’s easier to say: ‘You are being stingy,’ than to say: ‘I wish you were more affectionate with me,’ or ‘I don’t feel you love me enough,’ or ‘I love you more than you love me,’” says Reynal.

Our thoughts and feelings about money often reflect the lessons we absorbed growing up. Photograph: Andrew Aitchison/Alamy

She also meets clients who are struggling to make ends meet, who have the sense that they are being childish and impulsive with money – they feel belittled by the way that they spend. When Reynal raises this, I can’t help but wonder whether her clients attach those negative descriptions to themselves because in the US and the UK, poverty is often described as being about bad choices rather than broader economic conditions.

Most of us can point to relationships in our lives – certainly with ourselves – where the way in which we spend serves as a proxy for something deeper. The colleague who is a constant under-tipper, who feels hard done by despite always contributing least to the bill; the sibling who works like a dog but can never, ever ask for a raise; the friend who constantly feels on the edge of financial ruin, despite having more than enough.

So what are the subconscious motivators beneath these interactions? Reynal will often see clients who come in to talk to her about one thing: for example, a recurring frustration that they are always too generous and give far beyond their means, even to the point that it leaves them feeling resentful and angry; which in turn leads to a conversation about people pleasing and where the urge to put others’ needs first came from in their life.

Those behaviours, it turns out – just like infidelity or drug use, or any of the more obvious topics that we associate with therapy – may originate from a time in our lives when we felt unsatisfied. An incredibly generous person might have struggled to fit in during their teenage years, while another’s hunger for wealth might be due to an unmet need to be loved by their caregiver as a baby or feeling constantly rejected or dismissed as a child.

“They are non-obvious links on the surface … but they help us get to the real longing underneath, the real unmet desire.”

Her practice has helped her understand broader shifts, too. She remains shocked at how social media use has led to an unprecedented level of lifestyle inflation. People are no longer comparing their lives with their neighbours, but to totally unattainable lifestyles displayed by people paid to look rich.

“There’s this manic level of social comparison,” she says. “People begin to believe that everyone has more money than they do. A lot of clients of mine are men who come under an enormous amount of pressure because they have taken on mortgages bigger than they could afford or cars that they couldn’t afford. They have to accept that they have failed against their own standards, or the shame of not being able to provide what their family wanted or was hoping for.”

In some ways, it’s no surprise that many of her clients feel a sense of relief after finding her. These kinds of struggles aren’t often met with much sympathy – especially in an economy where so many are simply trying to make ends meet.

“There’s this idea that is quite common that money will fix everything. And of course, if you are struggling to pay your bills, money would make that better. But to make the leap that if people have money they must be happy, or they have no right to be unhappy – that’s a big leap,” she says.

She lists many of the ways that people struggle with wealth. Some clients have more than their families did, and self-sabotage as a result, perhaps believing they don’t deserve it. They don’t invoice clients properly for work, or feel guilty when there’s a lot of money in their account. Others spend money extravagantly, almost to rid themselves of it. And in the therapy room she often learns about how the stories clients have heard growing up affect them: if their families thought of wealth as immoral or greedy, for example, what does that say about them if they become wealthy?

But Reynal also stresses the many stabilizing and positive relationships people have with money – like feeling empowered after years of struggle, or wanting to be financially independent because it is freeing.

“It’s not about stripping emotions out of financial decisions,” she says. “It’s about becoming aware of them.”

In that sense, she invites readers to be inquisitive about their own attitudes towards money, how they spend it, and where their own beliefs about financial security come from.

“We can’t all afford therapy. But opening up that curiosity can be enough: why am I buying this thing? Or why am I feeling guilty about spending money on that thing, if I have enough for it? What’s the longing behind that?” she says.

Some may think there are just a number of different ways to split the bill. But for those who look deeper, they may just find out something new about themselves.

Finance

RFSD board approves financial assurances, reviews annual audit

Published

10 hours ago

December 18, 2025

Press Room

RFSD board approves financial assurances, reviews annual audit

The Roaring Fork School District Board of Education approved its annual financial accreditation assurances and reviewed the district’s 2024-25 audited financial statements during its meeting on Wednesday, according to a district news release.

The audit, presented by McMahan and Associates, found the district’s overall financial position to be stable and identified areas for continued improvement in internal controls and financial processes. The district’s General Fund balance remains above minimum levels required by board policy.

Chief Financial Officer Christy Chicoine said the audit reflects progress following prior concerns identified in earlier reviews.

“We have made significant improvements compared to the prior year’s audit as a Finance Department, and I am grateful for the finance team’s commitment towards those improvements as demonstrated in this audit,” Chicoine said. “While we still have work to do to continue to sustain and enhance the district’s fiscal management, the audit report indicates we are clearly headed in the right direction.”

Superintendent Anna Cole said the findings validate work undertaken over the past two years to rebuild internal systems and improve transparency.

“Over the past two years, our teams have worked diligently and transparently to rebuild internal financial systems that left the district at risk,” Cole said. “The outcomes of this audit are evidence that we are on track.”

Cole said the timing of the audit is significant as the district begins developing its budget for the 2026-27 school year and faces mounting external pressures.

“We couldn’t have stabilized internal systems at a better time,” she said. “As we begin the budgeting process for the 26/27 school year, we face external challenges like declining enrollment, instability of state and federal funding, and a rising cost of living that is outpacing staff and teacher salaries. This audit is an important confirmation that our finances are in order as we prepare to navigate oncoming challenges.”

Board President Lindsay DeFrates said the board is better positioned to plan ahead following the audit’s conclusions.

“We are grateful for the leadership of Chief Chicoine and the hard work of the district finance and human resources teams,” DeFrates said. “We are now in a much better place financially and will move forward with clarity, transparency and accountability, able to better navigate the challenges to come.”

Finance

UK’s Former Finance Minister George Osborne Joins Coinbase – Coinspeaker

Published

22 hours ago

December 18, 2025

Press Room

UK’s Former Finance Minister George Osborne Joins Coinbase – Coinspeaker

Key Notes

Former UK finance minister George Osborne is joining Coinbase’s Global Advisory Council.
Osborne will focus on crypto regulation, stablecoins, and tokenized assets across the UK and EU.
The exchange is also expanding beyond crypto trading as it steps into 2026.

Coinbase has appointed former UK finance minister George Osborne as chair of its Global Advisory Council. It is clear that the American crypto exchange wants to deepen its influence with governments outside the United States.

Earlier this week, Coinbase tested the waters in India as its deal to acquire a minority stake in local crypto trading platform CoinDCX was approved by the Competition Commission of India.

https://twitter.com/CCI_India/status/2000905244080034292

Coinbase Expands Policy Reach Beyond the US

Coinbase confirmed that Osborne will take a more active role in advising on government engagement worldwide, with a focus on Britain and the European Union.

Osborne, who first joined Coinbase as an adviser in January 2024, will be based in London. He will work closely with policymakers on issues related to crypto regulation, stablecoins, and tokenized assets.

Coinbase’s chief policy officer Faryar Shirzad said the crypto exchange has already become a powerful lobbying force outside the US. In the UK, the company is pushing for clearer rules on tax treatment, stablecoin payments, and the use of tokenized assets in capital markets.

Osborne’s Background

Osborne served as the UK’s finance minister from 2010 until 2016, stepping down after the Brexit referendum. Since leaving politics, he has built a broad private-sector portfolio.

He currently chairs the British Museum, is a partner at investment bank Robey Warshaw, and leads Lingotto Investment Management.

Just days before the Coinbase announcement, OpenAI named Osborne to support its overseas data centre expansion under its global infrastructure program. His appointment to Coinbase adds crypto and blockchain policy to an already wide-ranging list of responsibilities.

Expansion Across Crypto

According to an earlier report, at its recent System Update event, Coinbase revealed plans to expand into stock trading, prediction markets, custom stablecoins, tokenization platforms, and AI-powered investment advisers.

Coinbase has already launched stock trading and prediction markets on its platform and now rivals firms such as Robinhood and eToro. The exchange has also partnered with Kalshi to offer markets tied to real-world events such as sports, elections, and economic data.

The exchange’s long-term goal is to become an all-in-one financial platform that operates around the clock.

Meanwhile, Deutsche Bank recently initiated coverage with a buy rating, according to CNBC. Analysts expect the company’s broader new everything-in-one strategy to reduce its dependence on crypto trading volumes as it scales into 2026.

Disclaimer: Coinspeaker is committed to providing unbiased and transparent reporting. This article aims to deliver accurate and timely information but should not be taken as financial or investment advice. Since market conditions can change rapidly, we encourage you to verify information on your own and consult with a professional before making any decisions based on this content.

Coinbase News, Cryptocurrency News, News

A crypto journalist with over 5 years of experience in the industry, Parth has worked with major media outlets in the crypto and finance world, gathering experience and expertise in the space after surviving bear and bull markets over the years. Parth is also an author of 4 self-published books.

Parth Dubey on LinkedIn

Finance

Equipment finance outlook optimistic as legislation, investment bolster industry

Published

1 day ago

December 17, 2025

Press Room

Equipment finance outlook optimistic as legislation, investment bolster industry

After difficulties this year, next year looks to be better for the equipment finance industry as government legislation and investment in data centers and AI provide opportunities for financiers.

The U.S. economy heads into 2026 resilient, with real gross domestic product growth of 1.8% and a 6.2% increase in equipment and software investment, according to the 2026 Equipment Leasing & Finance U.S. Economic Outlook, released today by the Equipment Leasing and Finance Foundation. Strong equipment demand, AI-driven capital spending and equity market strength should drive growth for the industry.

ELFA 2026 Economic Forecasts — (Courtesy/Equipment Leasing and Finance Association)

Rather than a typical temporary cyclical downturn, after 2025 the equipment industry faces a systemic change, Michael Sharov, a partner in consulting firm Oliver Wyman’s Transportation and Advanced Industrials practice, told Equipment Finance News. Evolving channels, customer fragmentation, labor shortages, and digital and supplier realignment will drive change and create opportunities for dealers, lenders and OEMs.

“Systemic change is going to happen, but the industries are not going to fall apart.” — Michael Sharov, transportation and advanced industrial partner, Oliver Wyman

The equipment industry can still prosper because they serve “essential use” industries such as food, infrastructure and materials, “so there is high confidence in recovery, as long as everyone does not hunker down, but uses this downturn,” he said.

Amid restructuring, lenders face battles around asset transparency, uptime and service capacity, changing underwriting factors, longer trade cycles and elevated importance of used equipment, even with the strong long-term outlook, Sharov said.

In industries such as transportation, mergers and acquisitions will allow stronger players to pick up clients as capacity shifts across the industry, Anthony Sasso, head of TD Equipment Finance and senior vice president at TD Bank, told EFN.

“There are more opportunities for companies to pick up good clients for those companies that are financially sound and well-heeled,” he said. “We’re seeing that today.”

Equipment finance industry set for growth

Meanwhile, the equipment finance industry appears set for growth in 2026 alongside the U.S. economy’s recovery following a year plagued by economic uncertainty, Cedric Chehab, chief economist at economic research firm BMI, said during a Dec. 11 webinar.

Factors supporting industry growth include fiscal stimulus and bonus depreciation because of the One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act, additional Federal Reserve rate cuts that are anticipated, resilient corporate profitability and earnings, and especially, continued investment in AI and data centers, which could affect the economy on multiple levels, Chehab said.

“When you combine the huge strengths of AI and the software around AI and the LLMs and how they interact with machines and robotics, they could boost productivity even further,” he said. “Many economies, and in particular the U.S. economy, are pursuing aggressive industrial policy, driving investment in cutting-edge technology, which will not only foster greater competition to a degree, but really accelerate the pace of development of these technologies.”

Deductions, depreciation under OBBBA

A full year under the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act, which was signed by President Donald Trump on July 4, should spur equipment investment, especially for the equipment sectors in need of recovery, according to a Nov. 19 Wells Fargo research note.

“By making bonus depreciation permanent, firms can fully expense capital equipment, machinery and qualifying real estate improvements,” according to the note. “This change, along with other tax incentives, reduced policy uncertainty and lower borrowing rates, should provide support to investment growth next year and keep the CapEx cycle rolling.”

While increased deductions, bonus depreciation and financing can improve liquidity to help pay for replacement assets, weak trucking and finance fundamentals mean the incentives alone may not be enough to drive new equipment purchases, TD’s Sasso said.

“That’s probably one of the areas that, if you see an uptick in that, it may promote more CapEx spending, and this not only applies to the trucking vertical, but it’s for a number of other verticals,” he said. “If you see more CapEx spend, then you’d see the financing go along with that, and that’s where those benefits would kick in.”

Data centers boost construction

Investment in data centers and technology is also expected to continue in 2026, according to the Wells Fargo note.

“The race to build out the next generation of AI capabilities with the latest information processing equipment, software and new data centers has led capital spending to charge ahead despite elevated policy uncertainty,” according to the note. “But this concentration in tech spending glosses over undeniable weakness in more traditional CapEx categories, such as transportation equipment and commercial construction.”

Wells Fargo Tech Investment — (Courtesy/Wells Fargo)

Data centers also require significant capital, with financing for U.S. data centers projected to reach $60 billion in 2025, according to a Dec. 11 release from the Equipment Leasing and Finance Foundation focused on data centers.

In the wider construction segment, sentiment toward growth remains cautious in some regions, with nearly half of construction firms in the Minneapolis Federal Reserve region feeling more pessimistic than they did in mid-2025, Erick Luna, director of regional outreach for the region, said during a Dec. 12 webinar.

“Some of the same challenges showed up in this change of outlook, a slowdown in projects, reduced RFPs, tariffs, etc.,” he said. “Almost half [of the firms] expected backlogs to keep contracting, and in turn, [fewer] projects will be completed and so on.”

Equipment industry faces more challenges

Meanwhile, executives rated the state of the industrials market a 5.7 out of 10, down from 8 last year, according to Oliver Wyman’s 2025 State of Industrial Goods North America, Non-Road report, released on Dec. 3. The report surveyed 105 equipment manufacturer executives in conjunction with the Association of Equipment Manufacturers.

Exhibit 1: Rating of the current state of industrial goods sectors — (Courtesy/Oliver Wyman)

Looking ahead, indicators such as farm receipts, construction activity, residential starts and large data center projects will be central to assessing demand across agriculture and construction, Nate Savona, a partner in Oliver Wyman’s Transportation and Advanced Industrials practice, told EFN.

“What we got from the members that we worked with who are living and breathing the industry is there is cautious optimism, but they’re not feeling great right now. The original sentiment for the [State of Industrial Goods] report was done six months ago or so, and then we revisited the question in the past month, and the sentiment was the same, so it hasn’t gotten better yet.” — Nate Savona, transportation and advanced industrial partner, Oliver Wyman

While the outlook for 2026 does come with optimism, BMI’s Chehab pointed to several risk factors, including:

A weakening labor market;

Higher-than-expected inflation;

Limited Fed easing due to inflation;

Financial market volatility due to a potential AI bubble;

Escalating trade tensions; and

Political uncertainty tied to midterm elections.

Despite the challenges, there’s cautious optimism for 2026, with the potential rebound of the trucking industry on the back of improving values serving as a bellwether for the broader economy, TD’s Sasso said.

“When you look at values, we may be in a trough right now where we’ve hit the bottom, and hopefully those valuations, we’re going to see coming back up,” he said. “Overall, there’s much more optimism going into 2026, and hopefully that is the case that would benefit all businesses, including ours.”

Check out our exclusive industry data here.