S2 E26:🕔 Start here (Money healing isn’t what you think)
EPISODE SUMMARY
Financial Art Therapist, Rachel Duncan answers a listener's beautifully simple question "How do I get started? Is it too late to start? How many people are in the group?"
Rachel shares exactly what happens inside the Money Healing Club membership, addresses common fears about sharing money struggles in a group setting, and explains why her approach focuses on decreasing shame and increasing self-love rather than strict budgets and accountability. Listen in to form a clearer picture of what deeper money healing could look like.
đź’¬ "You don't have to be perfect to start. No one is perfect. You just have to be curious enough to try a new approach to money." - Rachel Duncan
Key takeaways from the episode:
• The Money Healing Club doors are always open—no cohorts, start dates, or perfect timing required. We also have a course for private learning.
• Shame thrives in darkness; community and witnessing can be powerful tools for moving through money shame
• You're never required to share financial details or numbers in the Club. Only insights, struggles, and experiments
• Real change often comes from decreasing shame and increasing mindfulness rather than strict tracking or budgets
• The Club is small and growing, with 4-8 people typically joining live events
• ADHD or neurodivergence are welcomed and celebrated in the Club.
⏰ EPISODE BREAKDOWN
What's Inside the Money Healing Club [00:02:19 - 00:03:16] Rachel explains the membership structure: always-open doors, 2-3 weekly events, seasonal themes, gentle challenges, and recorded sessions for catch-up.
Is It Too Late to Start? [00:03:34 - 00:04:02] Addressing the fear that it's too late to begin money healing work, Rachel emphasizes that starting now still matters and it's never too late to improve your relationship with money.
Group Dynamics and Sharing Fears [00:04:42 - 00:06:14] Rachel tackles the biggest fear: having to share money problems in a group. She explains the gentle, no-pressure approach and how shame heals through witnessing others' experiences.
What the Club Is NOT [00:06:14 - 00:07:31] Important clarifications: not therapy, no investment advice, and surprisingly—budgets aren't the main focus.
đź“š Resources Mentioned
• The Money Healing Club Membership - Main offering with open doors, live events, courses, and community
• 12 Week Roadmap to Money Healing Course - Standalone option for private, solo learning
• Quarterly Money Organizing Challenge - Seasonal intensive within the club
🎧 Your next listen:
How I Became a Financial Art Therapist
đź’« Use code PODCAST for 50% off your first month and start your money healing process!
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[00:00:00] Music
[00:00:03] Welcome to the Money Healing Club podcast. I'm your host Rachel Duncan. I'm a financial therapist and art therapist, and I founded the Money Healing Club membership. You've come to the softest place to land in personal finance where we talk about all the things we don't usually say when we talk about money.
[00:00:21] This podcast is for education and entertainment purposes only. For help with your particular situation, please seek help from a licensed mental health tax, legal, or finance professional.
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[00:00:36] Speaker: How do I get started? Is it too late to start? How many people are in the group?
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[00:00:47] I know this isn't our usual type of question I answer here on the podcast, but I loved its simplicity so much. I just had to hop in and answer it because it just touches the heart of everything I'm building here. So if you've ever wondered what a safe, creative, emotionally intelligent space to talk about money could be like, I wanna tell you about it here.
[00:01:06] It's just basically my life's work. It is the place where big ideas and big feelings meet real tools and community, and you do not have to be perfect to start.
[00:01:17] No one is perfect. You just have to be curious enough to try a new approach to money. And if you've been jiving with my podcast, my guess is you are probably a very emotionally intelligent, sensitive, creative person who's felt generally ignored by mainstream advice. I see you and I wanna tell you more from how do I get started?
[00:01:40] Is it too late? And how many people are in the group? Really important questions. So first off, I wanna list just the ways I can help you. My main service is the club membership. And , and that's what I'm gonna talk about mostly in this episode. But I also run a quarterly organizing challenge. I also offer a standalone course, which is the same one I use in the club.
[00:02:02] I have a retreat going on. Just please just check the website to see what I'm offering, 'cause I'm always rolling out some new stuff. But in this episode, I'm gonna focus on the membership since that's just at the core of what I believe money healing is about. Basically, our doors are always open. There isn't a start or end date.
[00:02:19] There's no cohort. Just go to money healing club.com, click join the club. That's it.
[00:02:25] What is inside the club when I join? There are usually two, sometimes three events a week. Everything is hosted in the Circle membership forum. And you have instant access to the self-paced courses as long as you are a member. There is just lots of access and contact with me and my team for all club members.
[00:02:46] We also have seasonal themes, monthly themes that kind of help guide our conversation month to month. It's not always the same thing. We have gentle challenges and sprints. We just like to look at money from many angles from financial activism, one month to spring cleaning in another month. So if you're interested in joining, I do recommend you prioritize joining the live events because that's just where the magic tends to happen.
[00:03:12] But we do record almost all of our live events so you can catch up.
[00:03:16] Okay, question two, is it too late to start? Absolutely not. The club is always ready for the next money healer who's ready to begin, and we have new members joining each week. You will be welcomed. I know it feels probably like dropping into a garden party that's already in full swing, but don't worry.
[00:03:34] We'll hand you a virtual drink. We'll show you the comfy chairs, we'll introduce you around. Those early jitters usually get replaced pretty quickly by sense of excitement and belonging. And I could answer the bigger question, like, is it too late to start this just in life? Look we can't undo the past. I get that.
[00:03:54] But starting now still matters. It's, it's simply not too late to get better with money. It's a life long relationship.
[00:04:02] The third question, how many people are in the group? So the club is intimate and growing.
[00:04:07] At the time of this recording, we have about 35 members total, but it's growing all the time. We have about four to eight members, I would say come to most live events and more people join in the online discussions. Sometimes it's just one or two people, which is often just a lovely surprise to get really intimate about money healing.
[00:04:26] I just wanna mention a couple times a year I will run a small group intensive within the club, sort of an upgraded experience and, club members get first notice and special discounts on these special small groups. So seriously, just join now and be in the know.
[00:04:42] I wanna answer a question that actually wasn't asked, but I hear a lot, how am I expected to share my money stuff in a group? Like, there's no way in hell I do hear this question. I really get it.
[00:04:55] After all, the number one word I hear from my audience and club members about money is the S word. Yes. Shame. Shame thrives in darkness. So one way to move through money shame is to be with others who are sharing. I know it sounds a little scary. You may feel that your problems are much worse than other people's and.
[00:05:19] Look, I don't know you, I can't say, but other people are having an emotional experience with money as well. You are not alone in that circumstance.
[00:05:28] Look, you'll be invited to share, but at the beginning you can just listen. You can just witness. There is no forced sharing. If you choose to share, that could really help your process. But just know that our events are really gentle and fun. No one is ever asked to share financial details ever. We're just, we're not interested in that.
[00:05:50] We're interested in the you in money. I'm interested in the you in money. You may share your intentions for the week, the things you're experimenting with, your setbacks, your struggles, your questions, your tiny wins to your huge thoughts about consumerism in this culture. You'll be cheering on others.
[00:06:08] Look, you'll just never be required to share your numbers, just your insights.
[00:06:14] Another question you did not ask but I want to answer is what the club is not. So even though I'm a therapist, this club is not mental health therapy. You cannot use your insurance to pay for it. It is strictly under a coaching and education model,
[00:06:29] and I am happy to provide referrals if your situation needs other types of experts in your life. I don't offer investment planning or investment advice, but I can recommend planners and give some basic guidance. You may be surprised that budgets actually aren't the focus. Like if you want to create a budget, we absolutely will support you, and I have some resources for that.
[00:06:52] But if getting organized is maybe your goal, we can totally help with that. Actually, each quarter we run a get your money organized challenge within the club.
[00:07:00] That's probably the best time when we focus on the more nuts and bolts of money stuff.
[00:07:04] But what I found helps people shift their money habits is usually not by tracking or strict accountability. It is by decreasing shame and increasing mindfulness and self love. Members have told me that these things surprisingly help them move the needle for them more than making a budget ever could.
[00:07:24] It is a messier but more holistic and longer lasting model of change. It simply works.
[00:07:31] Hey, not everyone is a joiner. I get it. So that's why I offer the 12 week roadmap to money healing and money organizing mini course as a standalone product. This is a newer thing and it's perfect if you just wanna start privately, you can take it solo if that feels safer right now.
[00:07:49] It's exactly the same lessons and activities I teach in the club, and you'll get all the updates with lifetime access. It's a reflective, creative, emotionally safe orientation to healing your relationship with money. Just look for the course on our menu moneyhealingclub.com.
[00:08:05] I just wanna end by saying that the club membership is, it truly is one of a kind, I don't know, another place that blends creative, healing, arts, emotional clarity, community care with financial therapy and personal finance lessons, practical tools, all of that. It's intimate enough for real change and flexible enough for most people's lives.
[00:08:27] And the membership is frankly my most affordable offer, and you can cancel at any time. It's a really special experience. Look, you are not alone. Most members suspect themselves of A DHD or neurodivergence of other kinds. Many are cycle breakers and truth tellers, your you are not broken. Your brain might just need a different path.
[00:08:51] You don't have to have it all figured out to start. You just need a place to start, and I'd love to welcome you to the membership or the course. I have seen transformation happen again and again. It doesn't happen with force or strict accountability or weekend boot camps. There's no shame-based tactics.
[00:09:10] It actually starts with a gentleness and love and support. If you're feeling curious, come join us moneyhealingclub.com/club. Or if you'd prefer to start more quietly, check out the courses on the website and whichever path you choose, you'll be welcome here. If your heart skipped a little beat while listening, or you just wish you could have a kind, real,
[00:09:32] conversation about money like yesterday. This is your invitation. Welcome to Money Healing, and the doors to the Club are always open to you.
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