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Do you shop when you get depressed or bored? Buy things because you “deserve” them? Pick up little things for your kids or other family members, but feel guilty buying yourself something because you know you “shouldn’t” be spending the money?

If any of those questions ring a bell for you, take a step back and try to figure out how you relate to money. How is your relationship with money? Do you have a healthy one, or is it a little dysfunctional? Sometimes I think we just need to break up with money, or at the very least, get couples counseling with it.

Chances are that if your finances aren’t in the shape you’d like them to be, or you’re in debt and can’t seem to get out no matter how hard you try, that your emotions have something to do with it. Sometimes how we feel about money is the most important thing, since our feelings influence our actions. Exploring our feelings and beliefs about money can change the way we interact with it. It can turn a cycle of living paycheck-to-paycheck into one of a fully funded emergency fund.