Testimonial
I must also thank Denise Hughes, a financial counselor in San Carlos, Ca, who befriended me and who spent untold hours sharing with me her knowledge of the psychology of money, both for the Love and Money column I write and in particular this book. Her generosity, humor, and ability to describe how our noggins operate has greatly benefited this book and allowed me to better understand how money flows through all our lives directly and unconsciously.”
I was in transition, newly retired, newly re-married + had overwhelming anxiety about money. All the time. I worried about money at the beginning of the month. During the month. And at the end of the month.
I never felt I had enough, even though I have a decent portfolio. I scrimped and worried. I wanted to contribute to my new life + didn’t know how much I needed to live on, how much to share + I was scared to look at it all. Big gulp, big breath, lots of tears. My journey with Denise has been transformative. With great compassion, tenderness + humor, the roots of my anxiety was uncovered + understood. I shifted from overwhelming anxiety, sleepless nights, and constant stress to a place of peace, control, confidence and now me + money are pretty good friends. I rarely worry about money anymore. I have enough in my life, money + love + so much more. All this happened over 6 sessions with Denise. I wouldn’t have believed this shift was possible for me, if I didn’t experience it firsthand.”
I am grateful to Denise who coached me with patience, care and insights. She gently showed me how to find peace with money. It was hard work and I got off track many times but Denise stood by me and helped me pick myself up and start over. A few years ago, I was a single mom with $70k+ debt making $30k a year and now I am down to $14k debt and made over $75k last year. I would not be where I am now without her help. Thank you Denise. You are a god send.”
Before we started working with Denise, our money lives were separate and pretty fraught with tension. We were raised with different attitudes about money. Both of us had a fair amount of shame and we thought we’d never be able to “share” money in a way that felt like we were really together. In working with Denise, the top three things that brought us together around money was 1) Denise’s skillful questions of inquiry, gentle reflections and guidance in helping us to have necessary conversations. This helped us open up about our fears and needs. 2) As we became more open with one another around money, it helped the rest of our relationship improve too and we finally got legally married. 3) We are in a place we’ve never imagined, sharing finances, working with a system and using each of our strengths in service of our financial health! We’ve paid down $10,000 in credit card debt and we are not adding to it. We have a spending plan and stick to it without feeling constrained!”
Denise is an amazing innovator and leader in her field. She is the best when it comes to understanding people, how to make money a source of wellbeing and fulfillment, whether you have too much and need help managing it, or too little and need help growing it. She gets it and has been a blessing for me personally! She is a Life and game changer! I can personally give her the highest recommendation from our work together over the past ten years.”
Denise provided me with the practical stuff of money management – I need that part. But, then she went on to address who I am and who I want to be and where I want to go. With her help, I was able to state my values (without fear of judgement). Did you know, I was clueless on what I really value? Whoa.
She shared her knowledge, experience and positive energy with a tenderness matched with a firm resolve to address what’s really going on in my head and chest. I’m not perfect with my money – but with this training a huge amount of anxiety was lifted and the rest can be managed.”
There is something truly magical about Denise. I invited her to speak at my women’s life coaching meetup. She has such an effervescent, warm, inviting manner about her- she is completely captivating. All of my guests couldn’t say enough about her. Denise makes the topic of money into a sacred conversation. She brings so much wisdom, spirituality and depth when she teaches, and her information is so relevant and useful. Denise has a way of making her audience and her clients feel so safe and cared for while talking about the very vulnerable subject of our personal finances. I recommend her highly as a speaker, as a money coach, and author of the book Earn, Save, Spend, Give. Denise is amazing!”
My husband and I first met Denise Hughes a year ago through a referral via a friend. We had great credit, but difficulty communicating with one another regarding our finances and achieving successful goals. Denise worked with us to set up a plan to help guide us together toward a more effective direction. Working with her was very “Eye Opening.” My husband and I learned how our spending habits differed, as well as how to hone them to achieve goals. Today, my husband and I pay our bills together. We are focused. We talk instead of argue. The additional end result is harmony between my husband and me, less stress and arguing. Denise possesses expertise in financial counseling encompassed with compassion for the clients that she is working. She is worth every hour, and every dollar you spend with her; it is an investment in your financial future with yourself and your spouse.”
Denise has been a tremendous blessing in my life and in my family's life. Because of my on going work with her my relationship to money is now healthier and more mature. I no longer see money as an obstacle, but rather as an energy I can work with that enables me to do more of what I love. Through the process of inquiry, Denise has helped me to tap into the wisdom of my heart, and I am learning to align the flow of money in my life with my deepest values. I love my spreadsheet and use it as a playground for what I want to create in my life. I am so grateful to have such a conscious and spiritually attuned money coach in my life.
I was in a pretty fragile state when I met Denise. I had a large amount of unaccomplished dreams and an uncertain future. The first thing that Denise did with me was to help me pinpoint where my financial habits came from. The second thing she helped me with was, disappearing the guilt I felt around my situation and finding a strategy to move forward. Within a matter of weeks, my life started to open up in an extremely positive and magical way. I went from doing a side job that I detested to doing more of my dream work. I really could not have done all this without the support that Denise provided for me. Her way of working is gentle, tender and loving. She has incredible strength and power without using force. She really has been an angel and blessing for me.”
You have no idea how much you helped Cameron and I. Things for us are very different now. I am going to school full time, working towards a degree in Finance at San Jose State University. Cameron had been working full time, but is currently taking a break from work to recover from major back surgery. We never would have been able to survive our temporarily downgraded lifestyle without the skills we learned from our sessions with you.”
When we first started with Denise, we were using credit cards to finance our everyday expenses as well as periodic expenses like property taxes. We were stressed out, wanted a very different financial picture than what we had and didn’t know how to go about creating it. Denise helped us in two big ways. She helped us gain control of our finances while helping us to change our money mindsets. We make good spending choices today based on our values and priorities. We no longer use credit cards. We talk about money, before we argued about money. We are on our way to being debt free! Today, we have more peace in our lives around finances than we’ve ever had.”
