When you think about financial decisions, what comes to mind?
Maybe it’s creating a budget, paying down debt, saving, or making a large purchase?
The role money plays in these decisions is obvious. But money is also often embedded in choices that may not feel primarily financial.
Consider moving in with a partner. The decision may be primarily about building a life together, but financial decisions are being made inside it. How will expenses be divided? What financial information will be shared? Will finances be combined or kept separate?
In Fidelity Investments’ 2026 Couples and Money Study, 68% of couples reported that they did not know their partner’s complete financial situation before moving in together. For nearly one in five couples, it took more than a year of living together to understand the full picture (Fidelity Investments, 2026).
This is not unique to relationships. Leaving a current job to work for yourself may be motivated by a desire for greater autonomy or meaning. It also involves decisions about income, benefits, working hours, and financial uncertainty (Nikolova et al., 2022). Providing caregiving support to loved ones may feel primarily like an expression of care or family responsibility, but that support can also shape savings (Su, 2025).
Each of these choices has a financial dimension, even though finances may not be the only, or most important, consideration. Money is part of the broader context of the choice and the person making it.
Recognizing the financial component does not mean allowing money to determine the answer. It means considering the financial impact alongside the other factors that matter to us. When that dimension remains unnamed, we may find ourselves making choices by default or addressing the financial consequences only after the decision has already been made.
Financial information matters. But information alone may not address the emotions, beliefs, experiences, and relationship dynamics influencing our choices.
It can help to ask:
What matters most to me in this decision?
What role should money play alongside my other priorities?
What emotions, beliefs, or relationship dynamics might be influencing my choice?
Be.WELL.’s upcoming workshop, Money, Meaning, and Self, will explore the experiences, emotions, and beliefs that shape financial decisions, including the ones hiding inside our everyday choices.
This is not a budgeting workshop or an investing seminar. There will be no math or spreadsheets! It is an opportunity to look beyond the numbers and better understand your relationship with money.
Money shapes our lives, yet we rarely examine the beliefs behind our financial habits. Join Dr. Victoria Rodriguez and Bridget Scanlon, MSW for a 90-minute virtual financial wellness workshop designed to help you uncover the root of your financial patterns and build a healthier, more intentional future with your money.
Event Details:
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Format: Live Webinar (Register on our website bewellinstitute.org and you will receive a Zoom Link)
- Date: September 16th at 7 PM EST
Reserve your spot today to pause, reflect, and reshape your financial future.
References
Fidelity Investments. (2026). 2026 Couples and Money Study. https://preview.thenewsmarket.com/Previews/FINP/DocumentAssets/715788.pdf
Nikolova, M., Nikolaev, B., & Boudreaux, C. (2022). Being your own boss and bossing others: The moderating effect of managing others on work meaning and autonomy for the self-employed and employees. Small Business Economics, 60(2), 463–483. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-021-00597-z
Su, C.-Y. (2025). Intergenerational financial support and planned retirement timing: An overlooked dimension of caregiving. Innovation in Aging, 9(Supplement 2), igaf122.590. https://doi.org/10.1093/geroni/igaf122.590
