The Money Tree Diagram

Post #14

(Find the full Table of Contents for this book, Femme Your Finance, HERE.)

Your Money Tree is a very interconnected, interdependent construction and representation of what you want for this life. It is also a reflection of where you struggle.

If you were to complete my Money Tree Assessment, in less than 10 minutes, I could look at your full Money Tree and have a deep, insightful view into some of the biggest opportunities and challenges you are facing across a wide spectrum of your life.

‘How is this possible?’ you may be wondering.

You may remember from the beginning of this book that money (or the energy of it) touches and influences nearly every aspect of your life. As a result, when you view your whole life through the lens of money, it’s startling what you can learn about yourself.

How you use money on a daily basis, what you dream for, what you aim for, what you create, how your money interacts with others in your life, what you build with money, who you strive to be – all of it stems out of the deep intertwinement your life has with money.

Viewing your life through money can also serve as a powerful lens into what is working or not working, and what needs love, attention, and healing.

When my clients choose to journey into the heart of their money relationship, it’s astounding what profound changes can happen in their lives, as a result.

Money Tree Diagram

By now, you may have a clearer idea of how the Money Tree’s interdependent parts would look if you were to draw them. If not, here’s an illustration of the parts and their interrelationships (main point: every part of the tree impacts ALL the other parts), along with some examples:

Money Tree Examples

LEAVES: Actualized dreams and goals (aka: Rewards for the Efforts)

I finally saw kangaroos in Australia and paid for the trip in full before I left, We got Sarah successfully through college with no debt, I was able to be at Mom’s bedside for a month and didn’t have to worry about the bills, My sister and I helped with the fund-raising that got the first female governor elected in my state, I no longer have to work full-time because of my nice nest egg, I was able to afford the time and expense to finally get my black belt in karate last month

BRANCHES: Life Visions and Goals

I am committed to saving $30k so I can finally start my dream business, my spouse and I have set a goal to save/invest enough to retire from full-time work at 60, We want to save enough to send both kids to great colleges, I intend to save enough money to buy that bigger house in 3 years, I want to set aside $2000 to donate to charities each year, I am going to build a sizable emergency fund so I can have peace of mind, I’ve decided to save enough to take my family on an international trip every 2 years

TRUNK: Income Generation and Money Management Systems

Income from job, income from real estate*, income from investments*, income from business*
(* Where real wealth gets built)

I decided I was ready to move up and got the promotion, I wish I knew more about negotiation because I didn’t get the salary I deserve, I have no idea how to raise my rates with my clients and feel good about it, I have a plan to grow both my business and my income, I want to learn how to use some of my profits to leverage my time and invest for higher returns, I am learning how to improve properties to increase rents, I know I need to add more new products to keep growing my income

I can estimate the year’s taxes on a napkin and automatically save that amount, I know how much home repairs cost on average each year so I auto-save a monthly amount, I know the maximum I can save in an IRA each year and I have it automatically withdrawn from my account, once a year I re-balance all of my investments, I have a tracking system for my expenses and net worth and can see my progress over the last 5 years, I am using the snowball method every month to get rid of my credit card debt, my kids have a bank account and debit cards to help them learn the basics of money while they are young

ROOTS: Money Beliefs, Behaviors, Habits

My father always taught me that women women can be just as kick ass with money as men, my mother used her inheritance to control me, when I believe in myself I usually get the raise I ask for, I’ve never slept well because I’ve always been so stressed about money, I’m afraid to be rich because I don’t want my friends to think I’m a greedy snob, I don’t care about money at all – it doesn’t make me happy so I won’t really bother with it, I don’t work with financial planners because they will think I’m stupid, If I raise my rates it might upset my clients and they might leave me, I know how to attract amazing things into my life and feel confident in myself to do that, I never pay my bills on time and have no idea where my account passwords are, I’ll never be able to retire and will have to work until I die

FOREST: Influences from the World around You

Some of my friends are acting jealous that I got a promotion/raise, My husband thinks I should leave all the investing to him, A terrible drought devastated a village in Africa and they need serious donations, None of my social circle knows much about money, Women never get promoted very high in my company, My whole industry pays poorly, The only wealthy family I know is really mean and selfish, The economy is booming, Two of my friends built super successful businesses and I feel so inspired by it

Is the Money Tree concept fairly clear to you now?

Be sure to join me tomorrow as I will take you back to my Money Story so we can briefly look at it through the lens of the Money Tree.

• Next See: Troubleshooting My Money Story – PART ONE
• Previous: Money Tree Overview – The Trunk

Got questions, comments, praise, criticism, requests, feedback, insights, ideas to share?
Click on the ‘Comment’ link at the top of this post to do so. Your Comments help shape this ever-evolving manuscript and will make it more valuable to future readers. So, Comment away!!!