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Gas is up. Groceries are up. And if your stomach does a little flip every time you open your banking app, friend, this one's for you.

Last time we talked about money, we talked about the two levers. This week I'm going to what happens inside us when money gets tight… and, believe it or not, what happens when we suddenly get more of it.

I'm also sharing what the research says actually helps us stay steady, a few offerings you can start using this week, and some very real, very practical places to turn if you're in the thick of it right now.

Not a perfect life. A comfortable one. Come plant a tree with me. 🌳

"Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago." — Warren Buffett

"A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in." — Proverb, often attributed to the Greeks

I'm a life coach, not a doctor, therapist, or financial advisor. This episode is for information and inspiration. Please talk with a qualified professional about your own health and financial situation.

• American Psychological Association, Stress in America: Paying With Our Health (2015)

• Swaffield, J. (Vancouver Island University / University of Alberta), research on stress and eating; Richardson, T. et al. (University of Southampton), International Journal of Eating Disorders (2015)

• Mullainathan, S. & Shafir, E., Scarcity: Why Having Too Little Means So Much

• Hankins, S., Hoekstra, M. & Skiba, P. M., "The Ticket to Easy Street? The Financial Consequences of Winning the Lottery," Review of Economics and Statistics (2011)

• Federal Reserve community development research, "The Benefits Cliff, Explained" (fedcommunities.org)

• Hendricks, G., The Big Leap

• Ashraf, N., Karlan, D. & Yin, W., commitment savings study, Quarterly Journal of Economics (2006); Thaler, R. & Benartzi, S., Save More Tomorrow (2004)

• Gjertson, L., "Emergency Saving and Household Hardship," Journal of Family and Economic Issues (2016); Ruberton, P., Gladstone, J. & Lyubomirsky, S., Emotion (2016)

• Ameriks, J., Caplin, A. & Leahy, J., "Wealth Accumulation and the Propensity to Plan," Quarterly Journal of Economics (2003)

• Buffett, W., Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meetings (2020, 2022) and 2013 shareholder letter

• Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, financial well-being framework (consumerfinance.gov)

• Mitchell, J., Mueller, A. et al., group CBT for compulsive buying, Journal of Clinical Psychiatry (2008)

• Gollwitzer, P. & Sheeran, P., implementation intentions meta-analysis (2006)

• Soman, D. & Cheema, A., earmarking study, Journal of Marketing Research (2011)

• Hershfield, H. et al., "Increasing Saving Behavior Through Age-Progressed Renderings of the Future Self," Journal of Marketing Research (2011)

• HUD Housing Counseling (hud.gov); IRS VITA free tax help; 211.org

• AAA gas price data, September 2026

Let’s go, let’s get it done.

Get more information at: http://projectweightloss.org