Bag Lady Syndrome

Bag lady syndrome knows no boundaries.

I have clients who are multimillionaires who stay awake at night in fear that they will lose all their money and end up living under an overpass as a bag lady.

It really doesn’t matter how much money you have.
The tell tale sign is that you are afraid you will lose it all.

Your brain goes to the extreme.

In a study of 2,213 women with household incomes of $30,000 or more the majority said they “often” or “sometimes” fear losing all their money and becoming homeless.

What?!?

And A THIRD of women with household incomes of $200,000 or higher often or sometimes fear losing all of their money and becoming homeless.

Crazy.

Why don’t men have the same fear?

Personal Finance Editor Richard Eisenberg says, “For the most part, there are three things we as men don’t think we need help with: directions; in the bedroom… men think they were born with an extra gift; and money. We think we can figure it out on our own.” 

I know, I know, it’s ridiculous.

It’s easy to see how wrong the men are.
It’s easy to see someone else’s problems.
Let’s turn the lens on ourselves.
Maybe it’s just as ridiculous to them that we have bag lady fears.

Bag lady syndrome comes from a scarcity mindset.

It comes from thoughts like…
“I might make a big financial mistake.”
“The whole economy might tank.”
“I don’t have enough money.”

And thoughts like these are intertwined with the idea that you have no control over your outcomes in life.

So much suffering, 
and yet we are still warm and dry and safe.
​​​​​​​But that’s how our brains work.  
Our minds try to keep us safe.

Friends, let me make a suggestion.

You can choose to disbelieve these painful thoughts.

You get to decide what you think.

You can decide to disbelieve that you will end up a bag lady.

You don’t hit hard financial times and then give up.
You get a job.
Or live with relatives.
Or ask for help.

And I have yet to have a client who has become homeless.

But homelessness is never really the issue.
It’s what’s going on in your mind.

The fear.

So when you feel the fear rising, stop and ask yourself… 

Is it true?

Choose to disbelieve.

And be compassionate with yourself.

Maybe we can take a page from the men.

We can always get more money.
There is plenty to go around.

Let this be your meditation for today…
There is plenty.