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The Hidden Cost of Financial Avoidance: Why Women Avoid Their Money and How to Stop

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The Statement You Haven't Opened
What Financial Avoidance Actually Is
Why Women Are Especially Vulnerable to Financial Avoidance
What Financial Avoidance Looks Like in Real Life
The Hidden Cost of Not Looking
The Connection Between Mental Health and Financial Avoidance
How to Stop Avoiding Your Money
You Don't Have to Do This Alone
Frequently Asked Questions

The Statement You Haven't Opened

There's a bill sitting in your inbox. It's been there for three weeks.

You know it's there. You think about it more than you'd like, actually. You think about it when you're trying to fall asleep. You think about it when you're in the shower. And still, every day, you find a reason not to open it.

Or maybe it's not a bill. Maybe it's your investment account that you set up three years ago and haven't logged into since. The retirement statement that arrives every quarter and goes straight into a drawer. The email from your divorce attorney that requires you to revie...

50 Money Affirmations for Women Ready to Claim Financial Freedom

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Financial freedom is something most women want and far too few feel permission to pursue. Not because they lack intelligence or discipline, but because they've absorbed decades of messaging that money is complicated, risky, or simply not theirs to claim.

Here's what I know after nearly two decades of working with women on their finances: the outer work of building wealth almost always has to be paired with the inner work of believing you're worthy of it. That's not soft advice. That's the reality I see in my clients every single day.

Money affirmations are one tool for doing that inner work. They're not magic words, and they won't replace a solid financial plan. But when you practice them consistently, they help interrupt the scarcity narratives that keep smart, capable women stuck, and they create the mental space where real financial change becomes possible.

What Financial Freedom Actually Means

Financial freedom isn't a number in a bank account. It's the ability to make choices ...

How to Build Healthy Financial Habits (The Hard Truth Nobody Talks About)

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In August 2024, I had VSG surgery. Vertical sleeve gastrectomy. A major procedure that permanently changed the size of my stomach, and with it, my entire relationship with food.

The recovery was hard. Not primarily because of the physical pain, although it was certainly uncomfortable. It was hard because for the first time in my life, I could not use food for comfort. Not even a little. While my stomach healed, food as a coping mechanism was completely off the table. And that meant I had to sit with every uncomfortable emotion I had been numbing for years.

That experience cracked something open in me. Because I had spent years sitting across from clients who were doing the exact same thing with their money.

Not facing their numbers. Not opening the statements. Spending in ways that felt good in the moment and terrible afterward. Using money the way I had been using food. As a way to avoid feeling something they did not want to feel.

When you cannot run from the hard thing anymore, ...

The Intentional Money Method: A Values-Based Approach to Building Wealth

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A few years ago, I was sitting across from a client who had done everything "right." She had a solid income. She was contributing to her 401k. She had no credit card debt. On paper, her finances were in great shape.

And she was miserable.

Not because of the numbers. The numbers were fine. She was miserable because none of it felt like hers. Her financial plan had been built by a previous advisor who never asked her what she actually wanted from her life. He asked about her risk tolerance and her time horizon and her tax bracket. He never asked what kept her up at night. He never asked what she would do with her life if money were not a factor. He never asked what mattered to her beyond the spreadsheet.

So she had a plan that looked good on paper and felt hollow in practice. She was saving for a retirement she could not picture. She was investing in a strategy she did not understand. She was following a financial path that someone else had drawn for her.

That conversation, and dozen...

Women's Empowerment Network: Why You Need More Than a Group Chat

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Let me tell you something I wish someone had told me earlier in my career: the women who build real, lasting wealth are almost never doing it alone.

They have a women’s network. They have mentors. They have a community that holds them accountable, celebrates their wins, and tells them the truth when they’re playing small.

I’ve been a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst and financial planner for nearly two decades. I’ve sat across from hundreds of women in some of the most vulnerable moments of their lives, and one pattern shows up again and again: women who are isolated make harder, more expensive, more emotionally draining decisions than women who are connected.

That’s not a knock on anyone. It’s a call to action.

If you’re looking for a women empowerment network that goes beyond surface-level networking and actually helps you build wealth, clarity, and confidence, keep reading. This is for you.

What a Real Women’s Empowerment Network Actually Looks Like

Not all women’s networ...

5 Money Lessons My Mom Taught Me (That Changed How I Think About Wealth)

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A tribute to the woman who showed me what financial intentionality looks like in real life

My mom didn't teach me about money through a course or a textbook. She taught me through how she lived and the lessons she passed down became the foundation of everything I do today.

Today, February 18th, would have been her birthday. And I wanted to honor her the best way I know how: by sharing what she taught me, so you can carry it forward too.

My mom was an accountant, a business owner, a director of operations at a nonprofit, and she retired as a director of financial aid at a college. She had an undergraduate degree in accounting and an MBA. She reinvented herself more times than I can count. And every single time, she did it with intention.

These five lessons are woven into the Intentional Money Method™. They're woven into my book. And today, I'm sharing them with you, along with one thing you can actually do with each one this week.

Lesson One: Reinvention Is Always on the Table

...

Where Your Money Beliefs Come From (And How to Change Them)

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The first thing I learned about money had nothing to do with a bank account.

I was about ten years old. My mom was a single mom, and she had hurt her back badly enough that she could not go grocery shopping. So she sent my brother and me to the store with a list and a set amount of cash. I remember standing in the aisle doing math in my head, trying to figure out if we had enough for everything on the list. We did not. We had to make choices about what to put back.

That experience taught me something I carry to this day: money is about choices. It is about trade-offs. And your feelings about those trade-offs start forming long before you ever earn a paycheck.

I share this because when I sit down with a new client and we start talking about money, the conversation almost always goes deeper than numbers. It goes to a place that feels more like identity. She will say something like, "I have always been bad with money." Or, "I do not deserve to have more than I need." Or, "Money just st...

When Abundance Mindset Becomes Financial Self-Sabotage

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I need to tell you about a conversation I had that has been sitting heavy on my heart.

A woman came to me $47,000 in credit card debt. She makes good money. She is smart, capable, and successful in her career. And she could not figure out how she got there.

As we dug into her spending patterns, a theme emerged. Every purchase was justified with some version of: "I'm claiming abundance." "The money will show up." "You have to spend money to make money." "I'm investing in myself." "Scarcity mindset is what's really expensive."

She had taken courses she never completed. Bought business coaching programs while her business barely broke even. Purchased a luxury car because "successful people drive nice cars." Invested in a mastermind she could not afford because she was "afraid of staying small."

Every decision made sense in the moment. Every purchase felt like an act of faith in her future self. Every swipe of the card felt like choosing abundance over scarcity.

And now she is drownin...

Setting Financial Boundaries With Adult Children Without Guilt

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You love your kid. You also have a retirement to fund. And somewhere in the middle of those two things, you have been quietly saying yes when you probably should have said something else.

I hear some version of this almost every week.

"I want to help my kid. But I'm starting to feel anxious. Resentful. Like I'm stretched in every direction and there's nothing left for me."

If that lands for you, take a breath. Nothing has gone wrong. That feeling of tension is often where awareness starts. And awareness is where everything changes.

Supporting adult children financially is an expression of love. I truly believe that. But when that support has no shape, no limit, no clarity around it, it stops feeling like generosity and starts feeling like a slow drain. On your finances. On your peace. On your relationship with your kid.

Setting financial boundaries with your adult children is not about loving them less. It is about creating something sustainable for both of you.

Why This Is Esp...

Building a True Money Partnership: How Women Can Create Trust, Transparency, and Confidence with Their Finances

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When it comes to feeling confident with your money, most women aren’t just looking for investment returns. They’re looking for relationship returns.

A true money partnership between a woman and her financial team goes deeper than numbers or market performance. It’s about trust. It’s about being heard and respected. And it’s about having people beside you who help you align your money with your values, your goals, and your bigger vision for your life.

In The Empowered Sisterhood, we talk a lot about reclaiming your financial power. One of the most powerful ways to do that is by building a financial partnership that feels genuine and grounded in mutual respect.

Let’s look at what that kind of partnership really means and how you can start creating it today.

Trust Is the Heart of Financial Empowerment

Trust is the foundation of any healthy relationship, and that includes your relationship with your advisor.

When you trust your financial team, you feel comfortable asking questions...

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Leah Hadley, AFC, CDFA, MAFF

Leah Hadley, AFC® CDFA® MAFF™, is a bestselling author and financial planner with over 20 years of experience helping women build wealth with intention. She is the founder of Watch Her Thrive and Intentional Wealth Partners, and the author of Intentional Money: The Modern Woman's Guide to Building Wealth, Purpose & Peace.

Amazon Affiliate Disclosure

Watch Her Thrive is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

Investment Advisory Disclosure:

Leah Hadley is a Licensed Investment Adviser Representative and the Founder of Intentional Wealth Partners, a Registered Investment Adviser. Advisory services are offered exclusively through Intentional Wealth Partners.

Watch Her Thrive is not a Registered Investment Adviser and does not provide individualized investment advice, financial planning, or securities recommendations. All content provided through Watch Her Thrive is for educational and informational purposes only.

Table of Contents

The Statement You Haven't Opened

What Financial Freedom Actually Means

What a Real Women’s Empowerment Network Actually Looks Like

Lesson One: Reinvention Is Always on the Table

Why This Is Esp...

Trust Is the Heart of Financial Empowerment

Amazon Affiliate Disclosure

Investment Advisory Disclosure: