In this book review, I will cover the amazing book by Kate Northrup, “Money: A Love Story”. This book has changed my life, and if you struggle with money issues I sincerely hope that it might change yours, too.

Before telling you about how this book changed my life, let me first tell you about what I thought about money before reading the book. Basically, I was terrified of money. I knew that I had debt, but I didn’t know how much. I was afraid of opening bills, and I hated paying bills. I didn’t like checking the balance on my bank account, and I was constantly afraid of being overdrawn.

I don’t think that I was alone in this. Studies suggest that most Americans have debt — an average of $16,000 dollars of personal debt, in fact!

Many of us live in fear and denial when it comes to money. We try to ignore the discomfort and soldier on.

This is where Kate Northrup’s book came in. She did not try to separate emotions from finances, but instead said that finances can be handled emotionally. We can use our emotions to face our finances. In healing our relationship to money, Northrup suggests, we can shift and heal the things that have been holding us back. This leads to abundance and a feeling of peace.

I have never tried combining emotional charge with finances before. The experience was eye opening and intense. Northrup walks you, the reader, through each stage of the process, as if she was there holding your hand. There are exercises to complete as you read the book. It is definitely not a book that you can breeze through, in any sense of the word. This is a work book, essentially. Each chapter has action points that must be followed.

Early on in the book Northrup asks the reader to become very clear on his or her debt situation. I read this with fear. I have to admit that a part of me did not want to know exactly what my situation was! However, I did as she directed and started to calculate what I owed.

If you choose to read the book, you don’t have to do this step with an old-fashioned pencil, paper, and calculator. Free tools exist, such as the debt calculator on the Nationwide Debt Reduction Services website. Northrup suggests that you play some “feel brave” music, and bust through your fears on this step of the journey. I played an upbeat song as I worked through the steps on the Nationwide Debt Reduction Services website, and in no time at all I had my numbers before me.

It was completely worth it! Once I saw my numbers in front of me, my fear started to lessen. Northrup continued to help me by giving suggestions for passive income methods. This was one of the most fascinating aspects of the book, and I found myself reading it over and over again. Her advice is sound, helpful, and easy to follow.

If you have ever found your relationship to money to be less than ideal, I highly recommend this book! Start your own love story with money, and begin a journey towards financial freedom.