According to Danitia (38), you cannot separate money from your mind. Because how you think, how you feel, how you are in life and how your childhood was, determines how you handle money. Are you an impulsive buyer or is your savings account stretched thin? Change is possible, Danitia says.
- 38 years
- Amsterdam
- Certified budget coach
- Dreaming of a house in Suriname
Money mindset
‘Before I started Budget with Danie, I worked in psychiatry. I did group therapy for people with borderline, narcissistic personalities and depression, and I helped homeless people with multiple issues become more self-sufficient. I know my heart is in helping people. That I can now do that in the area of money is fantastic to me. After all, money is much more of a psychological thing than people think. It can make you unhappy, of course, but it can also reveal ingrained patterns. For example, that you always buy something for yourself when you feel unhappy or have experienced something bad, or that you don’t dare to spend anything, because money was already a scarce commodity in your youth. It has been proven that your financial blueprint is created between the age of one and nine. After that, things change, but not much. So if there used to be bailiffs at the door, or the money was just sloshing against the skirting boards, that determines how you handle money later. Together with my clients I go back to that core, to be able to change things from there.
Financially free
‘I also know about myself what my pitfalls are when it comes to money. Thus, I find it difficult to determine when I am truly satisfied. When do I earn enough? When am I financially free enough? Here I am still searching and learning, I notice. Perhaps it is because I am only at the beginning of my financial journey as well. Investing I don’t actively do yet. I did invest through Peaks , that actually comes naturally. I prefer to have someone do it for me, so I can occupy myself with other things! Financial freedom for me is not having to worry about whether you can pay your bills. And that you no longer have big expense items, such as a mortgage, for example. And I would love to have a house in Suriname. A large part of my family lives there. The weather, the food, the culture, everything there is fantastic. I don’t know yet if I would want to live there permanently. But what I would like is to help people there set up their business by investing money. It’s such a shame when ideas and talent are lost if there’s not enough money. You see, I do end up helping people again.’
With money you make money
‘I used to handle money very differently. Like the clients I speak to, I lived from paycheck to paycheck. The money that came in went right out. I didn’t really save for the long term. I did save for a short-term vacation or something, but it stopped there. Now I have known for some time that money is not only a means of payment, but also a means by which you can create more money. I do see myself investing more in the future. Whether it’s in real estate, in crypto or perhaps in precious metals. But it’s still figuring it out. During my sessions, many clients are afraid to admit that they don’t know something. For example, they are lawyers, then you understand something like money, right? But then I reassure them: how can you have knowledge about something you never learned about? That gives so much peace of mind. It’s okay if you don’t know something, but that doesn’t mean you’re never going to learn it.’
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