The Emotional Side of Money: A Roadmap to Financial Wellness

by Tari K. Vickery

For fans of Brené Brown, Suze Orman, or Lynne Twist comes this compassionate, transformative guide—an essential roadmap to uncovering the emotional roots of money struggles, transforming relationships, and finally finding true financial peace.

Have you ever wondered why you handle money the way you do? Why anxiety creeps in when you check your bank account, or why certain spending habits seem impossible to break?

In this eye-opening guide, author and financial wellness coach Tari Vickery explores the deep emotional currents that shape your financial life, taking you beneath the surface to reveal how childhood experiences, family dynamics, and societal messages silently influence every money decision you make. Through candid personal stories and compelling client experiences, Vickery shows how unresolved money trauma, emotional spending, and inherited beliefs can quietly control your financial reality—often more than income or education ever could.

But this isn’t just about awareness—it’s about healing. With compassion and clarity, Vickery offers a powerful path to understand your money story and rewrite it. With her help, you’ll uncover the emotional patterns driving your financial behavior and learn how to build a healthier, more empowering relationship with money.

Whether you’re starting fresh or seeking a deeper shift, The Emotional Side of Money will help you release anxiety, reclaim your power, and finally feel at peace with your finances—from the inside out.

288 pages, Paperback

Published May 5, 2026

About the author

With over 25 years of experience managing the full spectrum of her clients’ financial lives – everything from accounting and bill payment to coordinating with wealth managers, estate attorneys, and insurance agents – Tari K. Vickery brings an unmatched, real-world perspective to the emotional side of money.

Her sociology degree from Stanford and lived experience through dramatic personal financial shifts give her a rare blend of academic insight and deep empathy. Her authenticity and hands-on expertise resonate with readers across generations, making her voice both trustworthy and transformational.

Reviews

[elena j. · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Emotional Side of Money approaches financial wellness from a place many money books rarely reach the emotional undercurrents that quietly shape every financial decision we make. Tari Vickery moves beyond budgets and surface-level advice to explore the deeper relationship between money, identity, fear, self-worth, and inherited beliefs.

What makes the book resonate is its compassion. Rather than treating unhealthy financial habits as personal failures, it reframes them as emotional patterns often rooted in childhood experiences, family dynamics, and unresolved stress. That shift gives the book a sense of humanity that feels both comforting and empowering.

The balance between personal storytelling, client experiences, and practical guidance keeps the message accessible without losing emotional depth. Vickery doesn’t simply encourage readers to “manage money better”; she encourages them to understand themselves better, which makes the transformation feel more sustainable and personal.

There’s also a strong sense that this book speaks to people carrying silent financial shame or anxiety. Whether it’s emotional spending, fear around scarcity, or the pressure tied to financial success, the book creates space for readers to examine those feelings without judgment while offering a path forward grounded in awareness and healing.

At its core, this is a book about reclaiming peace not just financially, but emotionally. Readers drawn to personal growth, emotional healing, mindful living, and holistic approaches to wellness will likely find this both validating and transformative.

[Jenn Vance · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book completely surprised me in the best way! Honestly a must-read for anyone tired of feeling shame and anxiety about money (literally all of us millennials out here).

[Jennifer Omholt · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Emotional Side of Money offers a thoughtful and compassionate exploration of the emotional relationship people have with money. Instead of concentrating primarily on financial tactics or budgeting systems, Tari Vickery examines the fears, beliefs, habits, and personal experiences that quietly shape the way we think about and handle money throughout our lives.

One of the book’s greatest strengths is how approachable and human it feels. Through a combination of personal reflections and stories gathered from others, the author brings emotional depth and real-world insight to a subject that is often discussed only in practical or analytical terms.

What I appreciated most was the book’s nonjudgmental tone. Vickery understands that financial well-being is deeply connected to emotional well-being, self-worth, and past experiences. The book encourages readers to look inward with honesty and compassion rather than shame or criticism.

This is a meaningful read for anyone who wants to better understand the emotional dynamics behind their financial decisions, whether they are facing financial stress or simply seeking a healthier and more mindful relationship with money.

[Theresa Donovan Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

If money matters make you cringe or if money works like a monkey wrench in the gears of an important relationship – partner, spouse, parent, kid, sibling, friend – stop your avoidance behavior and perk up. Tari Vickery's thoughtful, candid, kind advice, and the many real vignettes that illustrate that advice, may turn a key that opens a path to financial wellness. Through stories about her own experiences with money, good and bad, and stories shared with her by clients of her financial advisor practice, aspects of how money messes with our lives begin to be arrayed like mosaic pieces. Vickery makes clear that it is up to each of us to arrange those pieces so that money works as it was meant to -- as a tool in the pursuit of happiness, not an end or an obstacle to our joy. Most impressive to me was the author's emphasis on how attitudes about money affect generation upon generation in a family. I listened to the audio book, narrated by Vickery herself, and it was like having a good friend across the table from me. Somehow, her voice conveys compassion and a warm smile.

[Kevin McPhee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book shed a bright light on my relationship with money not only emotionally, but also how I got here today. The book is a refreshing look at how we relate to money and how we can change and adapt new behaviors to right any ship that may stray from a course of effective behavior with handling money and all factors that relate.

This book can help people identify patterns and how to take realistic measures that can work and produce better management of one's fiscal stability.

A home run hit indeed. Easy to read and understand the best practices for monetary success. Thanks for the guidance Tari.

[Cat · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Emotional Side of Money is a warm, thoughtful, and insightful guide to understanding the deeper emotional patterns behind financial behavior.

Tari K. Vickery explains how money habits are shaped by past experiences, beliefs, and emotions in a way that feels clear, supportive, and easy to connect with.

Overall, it’s a helpful and encouraging read that offers both awareness and practical direction for building a healthier relationship with money.

[Marissa DeCuir · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Emotional Side of Money completely changed the way I think about finances. This is not just a book about money advice. It's much more valuable than that. And Tari's guidance feels like it's coming from a friend. I really appreciate the clear and comforting way she explains things. The book helped me connect my financial habits (both the good and the bad) to my emotions and experiences, and it will truly impact my life and life choices for long to come.

[Kimberly Scullion · Rating 5 out of 5]

My dear friend has created a masterpiece we’ve all been patiently waiting for… and now it’s finally here! Holding this book in my hands feels like a soft cloud of security and self-forgiveness, filled with sage wisdom and insight I wish I’d had many years ago, but am so grateful to have now. I have no doubt this book has the power to truly change lives for the better.

[Angelle Barbazon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the kind of book readers will return to again and again. You'll discover something new each time depending on the season of life you're in or the challenges you're navigating. Every chapter offers fresh insight into your relationship with money and leaves you with plenty to reflect on!

[Julia M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love that this isn’t your typical “fix your finances” book. I found myself nodding along as I turned the pages, and by the end, I felt lighter, calmer and more empowered about money than ever before.

[Jackie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the kind of book you'll highlight, reread and recommend to everyone you know!

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone who obsessively checks their bank account, this book felt like a breath of fresh air. It calmed me in a way. This book is *so* powerful and surprisingly healing!

[Corrine Pritchett · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an eye-opening book! This book helped me have conversations about money that I've been avoiding for years.

[Books Forward · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've finally found a finance book that speaks to me. The author's tone is warm and compassionate, but also super practical and honest. She doesn't lecture or shame but shows you a better way forward. Usually I get overwhelmed with this kind of book, but I felt like the way she presented info helped to make sure I was absorbing things before moving on.