HOW EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE SHAPES YOUR MONEY DECISIONS
- Derek Hagen
- 5 days ago
- 2 min read
❝It takes something more than intelligence to act intelligently.❞ -Fyodor Dostoyevsky
When it comes to money, the hardest part usually isn't knowing what to do. It's actually doing it.
I once knew someone who came into a large sum of money after a tragic loss. She grew up without much, so having this much money was new.
Friends warned her to slow down her spending. She told herself the same thing. And yet… the big withdrawals kept happening.
She wasn’t unaware of the risk. She understood the math. But knowing and doing are two different things.
This wasn’t about a lack of information. It was about not being emotionally ready to make the changes she knew she needed to make.
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That’s where emotional intelligence, EQ, comes in. It’s the bridge between what you know and what you do.
WHY EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE MATTERS FOR YOUR MONEY
You’ve probably heard that motivation drives action. And it’s true. When you’re clear and committed, you’ll do whatever it takes to move forward.
The problem is, we’re often motivated in more than one direction at the same time. Part of us wants to save, part of us wants to spend. Part of us wants to change, part of us clings to the familiar.
That’s called ambivalence, and it lives at the emotional level.
When you build emotional intelligence, you start noticing what’s going on underneath the surface:
The feelings driving your decisions
The values you’re trying to honor
The fears or habits holding you back
And when you understand those things, your motivation becomes clearer and stronger.
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Money Scripts® are subconscious beliefs we have about money that we learn these we are growing up in our family systems. A Money Script can be anything, but they tend to fall into four categories. Learn what categories your Money Scripts fall into. |
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EQ TURNS GOOD INTENTIONS INTO FOLLOW-THROUGH
You probably already know plenty of “good advice” about money:
Spend less than you earn
Save for emergencies
Invest for the long term
The real challenge is putting that good advice into practice.
That’s where EQ acts like a funnel, helping you filter what you know through emotional understanding, so it becomes action.
If you’re struggling to follow through on something you know is important, don’t start with more information—start with curiosity.
Ask yourself:
What am I feeling about this decision?
What’s the story I’m telling myself?
What do I really want to protect or accomplish?
The answers are emotional, not mathematical. But they’re the key to turning what you know into what you do.
EQ is the work beneath the work. And it’s a skill you can start practicing today.
You get one life; live intentionally.
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REFERENCES AND INFLUENCES
Klontz, Brad, Rick Kahler & Ted Klontz: Facilitating Financial Health
PositivePsychology.com: Emotional Intelligence Masterclass
