EP: 011 Finding Your "Enough" w/ Manisha Thakor

Modern Financial Wellness

On this episode of MFW I talk with Manisha Thakor about her new book "Money Zen: The Secret to Finding Your Enough". In the book Manisha shares her struggles with workaholism and "hustle culture" and how she's left behind the constant quest for "more" and created a life filled with balance and meaning.
I believe that the word "Enough" can be one of the most important topics in all of personal finance. I don't know that I can think of another word that carries so much weight and can appear in so many different ways.
Do I make enough money? Am I investing enough? Are my returns good enough to help me accomplish my goals? I hear questions like this all the time.
It shows up all over the place, intertwined with all kinds of financial planning concepts. However, where the word starts to take on new meaning is when it' is asked in questions related to one's identity.
Questions like, Am I doing enough for my children? Am I spending enough time with my family? Am I good at my job? When we start to use the word in this way what we are really doing is asking the question...
Am "I" Enough?
All of these questions and how you feel about them can impact your financial lives, as well as your overall wellbeing. So spending some time thinking about what your "enough" is can be time very well spent. Therefore I can't recommend Manisha's new book enough, pun intended!
During our chat Manisha and I talk about:

• Her childhood and how she traces her struggles with workaholism all the way back to the "small t" trauma she experienced when she was bullied in her elementary school days.
• Being a "Human Doing" vs. Being a "Human Being" .
• Social Comparison & Counterfeit Financial Culture and the challenges that they present in our modern lives.
• Net-Worth ≠ Self-Worth
• Money Zen = Financial Health + Emotional Wealth , How to invest in both sides of the equation.
• The 3 Super Power C's - Curiosity, Connection and Creativity
• Creating a "Joyful Spending" plan
• Granting yourself permission to accomplish less.

READ + LISTEN + LEARN:

I forgot to ask the specific question re: what books, podcasts or other things Manisha would recommend checking out, but during our conversation she references:

• The work of Derek Thompson at The Atlantic: https://www.theatlantic.com/author/derek-thompson/
• "A Room of One's Own", The book by Virginia Woolf
• "Your Money or Your Life", The book by Vicki Robin & Joe Dominguez * This marks at least the 3rd time this book has come up on the podcast which means you should probably read it.

FIND HER AT:

https://moneyzen.com/
ABOUT ME:
My name is Jim Grace and I am a CFP®️ (Certified Financial Planner) and the Director of Wealth Management at Silver Pine Capital, LLC. (www.silverpinecapital.com) a registered investment advisory firm in Medfield, Massachusetts. ​
In my spare time I host a podcast and write about Financial Wellness & Wellbeing. Check out some of my other work @ www.ModernFinancialWellness.com. On the website I try to unpack each episode a little further and also spotlight any other resources I think might be helpful to anyone trying to feel better about their finances.
https://www.instagram.com/modernfinancialwellness/