Charlotte Church just got real about the “fear” of money so many of us have

Charlotte Church just explained how taking control of her finances stopped her from having a “fear” of money. 

As we continue to simultaneously navigate a pandemic and the biggest recession on record, it’s clear that we need to start being honest in conversations around money. Traditionally, it’s a topic shrouded in shame, jargon and secrecy. But it’s time to break that stigma (in fact, it’s long overdue). That’s why Stylist tuned into SmartPurse’s Money Rally this weekend: an online event running video conversations on women’s personal finances. 

In the first discussion, SmartPurse co-founder Jude Kelly talked money with women in the entertainment industry who grew up in working-class families: actor Alison Steadman, singer Charlotte Church and actor Shobna Gulati. Although each speaker had a different experience with money, their collaborative aim was to break the shame surrounding conversations around it. 

And Church, who of course started to earn big amounts of money from a young age after becoming a teenage star, said something very thought-provoking about her relationship with money.  

The singer talked about recently taking more control of her money by starting to invest it in things she genuinely cares about (like her small education charity The Awen Project). Up until then, although she’d known she was financially secure, she felt like she was removed from her earnings. And she admitted to a “deeply-rooted” view of money being “a dirty word” adding a certain layer of “fear” to her relationship with her finances. 

“I think a part that’s just come to me, which I think is really deeply-rooted actually, is this idea that money is dirty,” Church said. “That money is this negative thing and it’s sort of corrupt. For a lot of people, it’s almost seen as a dirty word, a terrible force. I think in part that probably adds to our fear about it.”

She explained how learning to make choices about her finances helps her feel more in control, saying: “I think that seeing it […] that it’s quite neutral, actually. It isn’t either good or bad, it’s this neutral thing that is to be moulded and manipulated.”

Church further explained: “Once you eradicate the fear, blow away the myths […] that surround it – that it’s this incredibly complex ‘Oh I was terrible at maths at school’ or whatever it might be – just see it as this flowing energy course that you can manipulate and work with.”

Of course, Church has a lot more money to take control of than the average woman. But, regardless of how much you earn or have saved, tackling this fear that so many of us experience when it comes to money can help us have a better relationship with our finances. 

Speak to a Financial Conduct Authority registered financial adviser before taking financial advice, and think carefully before making any decision.

Images: Getty

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