Guidelines for Money Autobiography:
Sharing Our Stories: Naming Money’s Role in our Lives:
Please work on this before our meeting next session.
A money autobiography is a simple process of answering a few questions that lead you to remember some of your history around the events and attitudes that have shaped your relationship to money, and to reflect on a few ways you think about money today and the role it plays in your life. To some people, this may sound like a wonderful exercise. To other is may be painful or feel like a burden. Whichever response you have, I ask you take it seriously so that we can share our stories with one another as a practice of beginning to talk about the difficult and often private topic of money in our lives.
As adult learners and peers, we aren’t approaching this like a school assignment. There are no right or wrong answers. If you don’t like to write, just put your thoughts down in brief notes, an outline, or even a drawing. It doesn’t matter what form it takes. It is just a way to prompt some thinking and yield some insights into why you do what you do around money. You don’t have to answer every question but capture what comes up for you as you reflect on these questions.
Money Questions:
- Describe the role of money in your childhood. What is your happiest memory in connection with money?
- What events brought you the greatest pain around money?
- How has your attitude about money changes over various periods of your life?
- How does money – having it or not having it – affect your self-esteem?
- How does having more or less money that someone else – spouse, partner, friend, colleague – impact your relationship with that person?
- If someone saw your checkbook log or credit card statement, how would they describe your priorities and values?
- In what way is your relationship to money a part of your spiritual journey?
- In what way is your relationship to money an expression of your deepest values?
