Just like all emotional relationships, our connection to money is multifaceted. It starts when we are infants and progresses, develops and wraps around us in many ways until we close our eyes for the last time.
Sounds dramatic, but it is the truth, not just for those that need more money but for those who have a lot of it.
To explain this in a simpler way, I ask you this, what was your first memory of money? Was it negative or positive, was it strained or frivolous, was it rational or emotional? All these things will be the first blueprint of money in your life. This blueprint will provide the basis for how you approach money, earn it, save it and spend it throughout your time on this earth.
For me, my first memory of money was about not having enough. My mother was very upset because she couldn’t ‘afford Christmas’. She wasn’t able to provide what the world was telling us we needed; stacks of presents under the tree, champagne and sparkles. Instead our Christmas was based on charity and community, things that I now know are much more valuable than gifts, but at the time I didn’t have that knowledge.
Because of this initial explanation of money, my life has been dedicated to getting more of it, in the hope that at some point, I will have enough. Guess what? It turns out that because of my first money blueprint, I will never truly feel as though I have enough. Just like the mental blueprints of everything else in life such as the mother daughter relationship, the family unit, the working world – this one is reinforced throughout your early childhood. When you then leave your home and enter into the adult, earning world, your blueprint is the set of boundaries and rules you base your decisions on.
Again, in my case, I historically have always been driven by the commercials, what decision will make more money, what client will pay more. In some cases this has fared me well, but in others it has clouded my judgment and forced me to choose something that logically is not the correct route.
~Novel Serialisation: Heavens Fire~
However, there is hope! Once you understand your money blueprint, you can start to make decisions with the knowledge that you may be biased or emotionally driven by your blueprint. The agency I co-founded, Full Fat, is currently considering trialing a four day week for all our team. My gut, i.e. my instinctive feeling about this is we will lose a full day of billable time, but having looked at all the research I push myself to question my emotional response. Why wouldn’t I want my team to be more productive, why wouldn’t I want to attract more talent, why wouldn’t I want to lower my office costs? This is a good example of how my money blueprint can hold me back, and how now I’ve done the work, I can work through it and make the right choices.
Financial knowledge is so important to overcoming a negative or restrictive money blueprint. Giving yourself the tools to be able to understand a profit & loss sheet, or create a cash flow forecast or simply budget your personal finances will free you from your emotional response to money. You will be able to make financial decisions based on fact, rather than emotion, which is very important and essential to building a financially sound position. You always hear stories of how you have to be brave to win big, crypto is a good example of this. Here is the thing you don’t hear, those individuals who did well out of crypto researched relentlessly to fully understand the market, the opportunity and the risk. They then made a rational decision based on that knowledge, and you know what – it paid off!
If there are three things you take away from this article they are –
- Buy The seven stages of money maturity.
- Understand your money blueprint
- Learn about financial systems and metrics
I wish you the best of luck with your relationship with money, cheers to a long and happy union.
By Megan Morass
About the author
Co-Founder & CEO Full Fat Agency (Diversity & Inclusion Champion 2022)
Podcast Presenter of The Slice
Public Speaker & writer
Winner 35 under 35 Management Today
Megan is a successful entrepreneur, co-founding and running Full Fat – one of the UKs leading creative communications agencies over eight years ago.
Full Fat is a creative communications agency fueled by experiences. From huge events to intimate moments, Full Fat gives audiences the ‘feels’ for events, festivals, drinks, food and art. The agency creates campaigns which spark emotion and deeper connections. Helping audiences remember, share and believe in brands.
The multi award-winning agency has delivered campaigns for some of the world’s biggest brands including San Miguel, Big Drop Brewing, Adidas and more. It is also, in part, responsible for a number of success stories throughout the ‘experience economy’, from festivals such as Sziegt to Field Day, to traditional experiences with a twist, such as Backyard Cinema and Junkyard Golf.
Megan’s leadership role within the agency spans internal and external business development, motivation, strategic thinking, insight and financial planning. Alongside her co-founder, Megan has successfully steered Full Fat through two financial crises, Brexit, CoronaVirus and more.
Megan has and continues to suffer from depression. Megan has since worked to ensure transparency at Full Fat which allows for mental health challenges across the agency. Megan is adept at talking about this topic and is currently working on a book which signposts the dangers of entrepreneurial life and mental health. Full Fat has also recently won PR Weeks Diversity & Inclusion champion across the UK agency landscape.
Megan is the co-host of a successful podcast, The Slice, which discusses and investigates motivation and positive routine. In 2019 The Slice was nominated as ‘best new podcast’ at The Influencer Awards.
She has also co-founded two additional businesses, Flock and Power Diva. Both focused on helping women build business in the UK and North America.
Megan has a Masters Degree in Creative Writing from Goldsmiths and is currently an active mentor at the university, and comes from a very explorative and persistent background. Her father is a successful inventor and her mother continues to play an integral role in the UK’s understanding of early years learning and development.
At a young age Megan plowed her time into independent and creative exploits, starting a greeting’s card business at the age of just twelve.
Megan started her Public Relations career in London agency Idea Generation then moved to Sky Arts.
Megan has established herself as a key player in the vibrant entrepreneurial scene in the UK, sitting on a number of boards, guiding businesses through the process of growth. One of her favourite subjects is negotiation and money.
Megan has given talks on both PR and communications and the successes, struggles and current world of entrepreneurs. Audiences have included IBM, Her Hustle, Shoreditch House London, Soho House New York, The Trouble Club London and many more.
