Watch Her Thrive

Watch Intentional Money Moves Live with Leah Hadley every Tuesday at noon ET on YouTube

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

financial planning tips money mindset personal empowerment

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...

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

money mindset

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 Tab

...

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

money beliefs money mindset personal empowerment relationship with money

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

money mindset

I need to tell you about a conversation I had last week 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, successful in her career. And she could not figure out how she got here.

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 dr...

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

financial literacy financial planning tips life after divorce money and relationships money mindset

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...

How to Keep The Winds of Change from Blowing You Off Course

budgeting investing money mindset

by Liesel Darby, Mediator & Divorce Coach

What do the following have in common?

You’re in the grocery store, looking for your favorite brand of stone-ground mustard, only to find that they no longer carry it. The replacement brand is twice the price, and you don’t like the packaging either.
You’re accustomed to your second shift schedule, but you have just been informed that you are moving to first shift for the foreseeable future. This throws a wrench in your Pilates class schedule.
Your spouse has just announced that he is leaving you for the neighbor down the street that you have been casually saying hi to on your evening walks if she’s out in the yard.

If you answered “things that make you go hmmmm,” you are partly correct. Actually, these are all examples of change, albeit in varying degrees of the impact it will have on a person’s life. New mustard brand versus your world being turned upside down by divorce are not on the same par, for sure. If you’ve been around in this...

Life’s “F-Word”: Fairness

financial literacy money mindset

by Liesel Darby, Mediator & Divorce Coach

Growing up, you likely heard others, at some point, say the “F- word”, and it wasn’t’ “fudge.” It was a taboo word, and could possibly land you with a bar of soap in your mouth. In this blog we will discuss a different “F-word”, and it still isn’t “fudge”, but it can still cause all sorts of unpleasant side effects for the unfortunate user. The guilty word is FAIR, and by extension, FAIRNESS.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

What’s so bad about fairness? The concept itself seems benign enough and has the ring of righteousness to it. When we perceive that a situation is fair (usually that means it benefits us in some way), life is good. However, that is precisely the problem. It is the expectation that things should be fair, and when they are not, we can feel like our world is in despair. We feel indignant, out of sorts, and want the situation to be corrected, pronto. At the extreme end, if we feel we have been legally wronged in some way...

Spring into Renewal: New Beginnings for Financial Empowerment

financial literacy money mindset saving

Spring, with its symphony of budding leaves and the soft hum of renewed life, is more than just a change in the calendar. It's a metaphor for rebirth, a reminder that no matter how barren the branches of our lives may appear, the potential for growth always exists. Each sprout breaking through the soil carries a whisper of promise and begs the question: what in your life is awaiting rebirth?

Hello, brave souls. Yes, you—the women who are emerging from the cocoon of financial dependency into the empowering sunlight of fiscal autonomy. Spring is calling to each of you, beckoning you to plant seeds of independence and cultivate a garden of self-sufficiency.

From Barren to Blossoming

It’s that time of year again, when everyone is sick of the cold weather. If you have to wear a turtleneck one more time, you will scream. It seems as if the days of feeling a warm breeze blow through your hair, let alone lounging by the pool in your new bathing suit, are a long way out. The trees are still...

Building Financial Confidence: How Action Shapes Your Financial Future

money mindset

I remember the range of emotions I experienced when I bought my house in 2007. I was proud to be buying my first home and worried that I was making the wrong decision. I was excited to move in and overwhelmed by all the tasks and new expenses ahead of me.

Building financial confidence is a journey, not a destination. With each financial decision, we get an opportunity to flex our confidence muscles. Yet, many of us shy away from these decisions due to fear or uncertainty. What if the pathway to building financial confidence lies in the very act of taking action?

Building Financial Confidence Through Action

Action is a tool that shapes and strengthens our confidence. The concept of "building financial confidence" isn't just about gaining knowledge; it's about putting that knowledge into practice. It's about making financial decisions - whether that's investing in a retirement fund, setting a monthly savings goal, or cutting out unnecessary expenses - and learning from the outcomes.

...

Scarcity vs. Abundance Mindset: What If We've Been Asking the Wrong Question?

money mindset

If you've spent any time in the personal development or financial wellness space, you've definitely heard about scarcity mindset versus abundance mindset. And the message is usually pretty clear: scarcity thinking is bad, abundance thinking is good. If you just shift your mindset to abundance, money will flow to you.

But what if this entire framework is completely missing the point?

As a financial planner who has worked with hundreds of women navigating major financial transitions, I've seen firsthand how the scarcity vs. abundance debate can actually harm people rather than help them. After years of watching clients struggle with shame around their "scarcity mindset," I'm ready to challenge this binary thinking.

The real question isn't whether you have a scarcity mindset or an abundance mindset. The real question is: Are you letting fear make your decisions?

Let me explain.

What Is Scarcity Mindset?

Scarcity mindset is the belief that there's never enough. Not enough money, n...

1 2 3

Leah Hadley, AFC, CDFA, MAFF

Hi! I'm Leah—a teacher turned financial planner. Each step in my journey, from admin assistant to investment analyst to business owner, taught me valuable lessons in adaptability and seizing opportunities. Now, I combine this experience with my passion for empowering women to navigate their finances confidently, especially during life's transitions. As a financial planner, I embrace my roots as an educator, guiding clients to become savvy and empowered investors.

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.