167. Frightening Finances: Naming Your Money Fears Before They Run the Show

It’s spooky season — but the scariest thing haunting most people isn’t a ghost or a monster…it’s their finances. If you’ve ever felt a knot in your stomach opening your bank app or avoided checking your debt balance, this episode is for you.

In this episode, I’ll help you name your money fears, understand why they feel so overwhelming, and take small, powerful steps to move from fear to focus. You’ll learn how to stop letting financial fear run the show and start finding peace through clarity and stewardship.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• The most common types of money fear (and why they show up)
• How fear feeds on avoidance — and how to break that cycle
• A simple three-step process to move from panic to peace
• Why clarity is always kinder than fear’s imagination
• The truth about courage and what ownership really looks like

Feeling weighed down by money fear? You don’t have to face it alone. Schedule a free clarity call and take your first brave step toward peace: AccelerateYourLegacy.com/claritycall 

Learn more about working with Laura Sexton

. Join the Facebook group Legacy Builders Network.

· Become a master with your money. Learn more here!

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Send an email to Laura@AccelerateYourLegacy.com or send a DM on Instagram @accelerateyourlegacy

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Transcript

Audio Only - All Participants-13: 0:00

It's spooky season, and while the jumps, scares, and costumes are all in fun, there's another kind of fear that isn't so easy to laugh off money, fear. Today we're talking about frightening finances, all the ways money can make us feel anxious, uncertain, or even ashamed. So if that sounds like you stay tuned.

Laura: 0:22

hello and welcome to money and career mastery from overwhelmed to ownership. I'm Laura Sexton, your abundance and legacy coach here to help you navigate the world of money, debt payoff, and career growth with confidence and clarity. In this podcast, we'll tackle the financial and career challenges, holding you back, optimize your income and build the freedom that comes with true ownership. If you're ready to break free from overwhelm, create a budget that aligns with your values and design a legacy that empowers future generations. You're in the right place.

Audio Only - All Participants-13: 0:57

Hey, accelerators, it's spooky season and it's not my favorite time of the year. I love the costumes. My kids are super excited about trick or treating, but I'm not a fan of the jump scares, the scary stuff, the gory stuff, things like that can really just go take a hike. The kind of fear that we're gonna talk about today is money, fear, and it's the kind that kind of creeps in late at night when you're starting to think about bills debt, the future. It's the kind that makes you flinch when your phone buzzes with a bank alert or when someone asks you how your finances are really going. For me, it's how I feel when I get another reminder that there's another school event that I have to pay for it. It can get overwhelming. I understand. But if you've ever been afraid to look at your balances, afraid of not having enough or afraid that you'll never get ahead, you my friend, you're not alone. Let's name a few things that can make money feel scary. Sometimes it's debt. That number that sits heavy in the back of your mind, or it's weighing on you. Literally, your body feels the weight of what you owe to someone else. Maybe it's uncertain income, especially if your job or your business feels unstable, it can be up one month and down another. Maybe it's the pressure to keep up the house, the holidays, the lifestyle you think you should have by now. I know that one gets me. Sometimes it's relational, it's fights with a spouse. It's the guilt that you have over how you've handled money in the past, and you just don't wanna share about that. And for others, it's the future. The fear of never being able to retire, never catching up, not being able to help your kids the way that you want to. There are a hundred different ways that money can feel frightening, but underneath all of them is one thing. Fear. Fear that we've lost control. Fear that we've made mistakes. We can't fix fear that there's not enough time or money or grace left to turn things around, and that's the part we're gonna focus on today. It's not the numbers, but the fear behind them. I thought this was perfect for Halloween, and I hope you do too. You see fear. Fear is a survival instinct. It's your brain's way of warning you. Something feels unsafe. It's not weakness, it's wiring. You see, the problem is that when fear shows up around money and you shut off, you shut that down instead of leaning in. Well, by doing that, we're avoiding checking our bank accounts and we're ignoring the bill that came in the mail and we fill the space with distractions, scrolling, shopping, anything at all to just not think about it. But avoidance, acting like an ostrich is like turning off the flashlight in a dark room. It doesn't make the monsters go away. It just makes them harder to see, and they definitely feel more real. So here's the truth, fear isn't the enemy. The moment you name your fear, you get to take back the power. Fear feeds on confusion. It grows in the darkness, but clarity. Even if it's uncomfortable, always brings peace. I've walked with so many clients through this, people who are terrified to face their numbers. I was one of them. I didn't wanna know. I was blindsided one day by the realization of what I was actually facing.$372,347 in non-mortgage debt. When I'm working with my clients, almost every single one of them to a T is goat. Oh, well that wasn't as bad as I thought. You know it. It's not that their financial situation magically improved. It's that when they looked, they saw the truth and the truth, even when it's imperfect, is always kinder than your fears. Imagination, fear tells you you're behind. Clarity said, Hey, here's where you are and here's where we can go next. Fear says you're failing. And Clarity says you're learning. Beer says you'll never fix this. Clarity says one step at a time. Beer is a signal. It's your brain's way of saying, Hey, hey guys, this matters. Pay attention. If you alarm bells weren't going off when you had multiple debts that you owed to multiple people, your body wouldn't be working correctly. So this my friends, this is what stewardship looks like. It's noticing the fear, naming it, and then doing something about it. If we just stuck our head back in the sand, now that you've heard this, that you know you have a choice to stick your head back in the sand or to keep doing things you were choosing to avoid, you were choosing to let the problem grow because that monster hiding in the closet. It's feeding itself in your fears. It's feeding itself in interest, payments and fees, and it's just growing. So when we turn the light on, we focus in, we can make that monster two inches tall. So how do we do that? Exactly? Well, here are three small, brave steps to help you move from fear to focus, first of all. We're gonna name the fear, say it out loud, write it down. Sometimes it's really, really, really good to say it to somebody else. It just takes some of the shame away because we've said it out loud. So go to a friend and say, I'm afraid I'm never gonna pay my debt off. I'm afraid of making another money mistake. I'm afraid I'll disappoint my family name It. Naming it takes it from a shadow to something you can actually do something about. Step number two, find the fact, look at what's really true. Again, we're taking our feelings and we're gonna put them off to the side. Because feelings, that's our alarm bells going off, but facts are our friends. So look at what's really true. Open that bank statement. Check the bill. Write down the numbers, even if it's messy, especially if it's messy. The truth will always set you free faster than avoidance ever will. And then take the next right action. Fear shrinks when you move. Maybe it's gonna be updating your budget. Maybe it's deleting the Amazon app. Lord knows that helped me. It's probably a really good idea right before we get into Cyber Monday and all of those things. The Black Friday deals are not actually good deals. Just throwing my notes to the wind here for a second. The Black Friday deals, they mark up the prices. And then they show a discount back to what the prices used to be. If you track it over time, that is being seen more and more and more, and it's just sad. Don't fall for that trap. The Black Friday deals and the Cyber Mondays and the cyber weeks, all of that. Well, unless you're on Etsy where people are handling it. If it's a company or a corporation that's handling it, they're raising the price and then slashing it down to back where it used to be. Do not fall for the trap. So one more tiny action I was gonna tell you about is just having one honest conversation with your spouse or accountability partner about what's been stressing you out lately. Look, you don't need to do everything. You just need to start somewhere. Small steps, build confidence. And confidence. Quiets the fear. Accelerator. Fear loses its power when you bring it into light, courage doesn't mean you're not afraid. It means you move anyway. This is the work of overwhelm to ownership. It's not perfection. It's not hustle, it's not having it all figured out. It's just one brave choice at a time. Listen, I know it's exhausting to be strong. You don't have to carry, if it's alone, there's peace waiting for you, not when the numbers are perfect, but when your perspective changes. You're not behind. You're just ready to see things differently, and that's the moment everything starts to change. So if you've been carrying money, fear lately, I want you to know that you don't have to face it by yourself. This is what I do every day in coaching. We take fear, the chaos, the confusion, and we turn it into a plan. And not just a plan, but a plan that works. You don't need a perfect plan, you just need to start. So if you're ready for that, schedule a clarity call with me and let's look at your numbers together. We're gonna find peace in the process, a promise, and next week we're gonna talk all about student loans. Another fear that is resurfacing for a lot of people. I'll show you how to approach that without panic. And until then, I want you to take a deep breath. You are doing better than you think in fear. It doesn't get to run the show anymore. That's it for this week. Accelerators go out and make a difference.

Laura: 10:16

thank you for spending time with us today on Money and Career Mastery from Overwhelm to Ownership. Remember, your legacy isn't just about financial freedom. It's about living with purpose, taking action, and building a foundation that lasts for generations. Don't just listen, implement what you've learned and share it with someone who could use a financial or career breakthrough. If you found value in today's episode, help us grow by rating, reviewing, and sharing the podcast. I'll be back next week with more strategies to help you master your money and career. Until then take ownership of your future and build your legacy with intention.