Abundant Practice Podcast Episode #731: Creating Stability In Uncertain Times

Host: Allison Puryear
Guest: Linzy Bonham (MoneyNutsAndBolts.com)
Date: February 11, 2026

Episode Overview

In this episode, Allison Puryear welcomes returning guest Linzy Bonham to discuss how therapists can create stability and peace of mind amid turbulent economic and political times. With many practitioners worried about declining referrals and financial unpredictability, Allison and Linzy offer both emotional and practical strategies to help therapists stabilize their private practices and manage money with greater intention and clarity.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Recognizing Money Anxiety and Its Patterns

• Common Therapist Responses to Financial Stress
  Linzy explains how uncertainty can push therapists toward “hypervigilance” (constantly checking accounts) or “avoidance” (avoiding finances altogether).

  • Quote:

    “It's like head in the sand—we're avoiding, we're in hypoarousal. Maybe we're just like, don't look at it, can't look at it... The other way is like hyperfixated—look at it all the time. Did my bank account change? What's happening?”
    – Linzy Bonham (03:08)

• Linking Emotional Regulation to Financial Clarity
  Linzy urges listeners to first notice their internal state and identify the stories running in their heads about money—often inherited or shaped by past experiences.

• Practical Tip #: Journaling for Money Clarity
  Linzy recommends prompts like “What are my beliefs about why money is hard right now?” and “What do I believe about what's happening?” as starting points for deeper understanding and eventual change.

  • Quote:

    “Just by naming it, helps to soften it...And some of it will be stuff that...is hitting some really deep stuff for me.”
    – Linzy Bonham (06:35)

2. Business Triggers & Economic Shifts in Therapy Practice

• Owning a Business Brings Up “All Your Stuff”
  Allison and Linzy discuss how shifts in the therapy market—like fewer referrals and the rise of tech platforms—cause old insecurities to resurface for even seasoned practitioners.
• Referrals Down? Time to Re-evaluate Marketing
  Linzy stresses that the first step after noticing anxiety is to clearly identify what has changed: lower referrals, fewer new clients, or something else. Then, problem-solve “with [your] beautiful full brains.”

3. Money Management: Building True Clarity

• The Power of Clarity
  Linzy repeatedly mentions “clarity” as her top value for therapists around money. Clarity is knowing exactly what money comes in and out.

• Understanding Your Numbers
  Track income and expenses to identify if lower income or overspending is causing financial stress. Analyze trends instead of guessing.

  • Quote:

    “There’s always two sets of numbers. There’s always the money coming in and the money going out...When money gets tighter, we do have to be more mindful and present and intentional.”
    – Linzy Bonham (10:00-11:35)

• Evaluating Expenses (Without Scarcity or Shame)
  Linzy suggests reviewing both business and personal expenses to see what truly aligns with your values, and what can be paused or reduced during lean times.

  • Subscriptions and professional memberships are common “levers” that can be adjusted episodically.
  • Help at home (like cleaning or childcare) might be something to reduce temporarily, but only if it doesn’t undermine your ability to earn or function.
  • Quote:

    “Most of us have things like that in our life...You need to know what those levers are, like I often think about money as, like, two levers: there’s the make more lever, there’s the spend less lever.”
    – Linzy Bonham (12:25)

4. Specific, Practical Strategies

• The Value of Printing Bank Statements
  Allison shares her Gen X habit of “printing out bank statements” to review, mark up, and highlight where money is going—an exercise Linzy strongly affirms.

  • Quote (Workshop Exercise):

    “Print your business bank statement from last month and your business credit card...go through and just look at everything one line at a time...it can be a somatic exercise to be curious about, like...when you look at this line, do you feel expansion?...Or do you feel like, ugh, that’s not really worth it?”
    – Linzy Bonham (14:03)

• Addressing Shame Around Unused Subscriptions
  Allison shares that guilt about unused programs propelled her to use them—turning “a waste of money” into profit. Linzy highlights how professional development spending can be a positive lever when acted upon.

5. Investing and the Myth of the “Magic Bullet”

• No Single Solution Will Fix Everything
  There are no “magic bullets” in business or clinical work; it’s the sum total of consistent actions that build results.

  • Quote:

    “There is no magic bullet, clinically or in business. There’s no one thing you’re missing that you just need to pay $99 for this month...It’s an interwoven kind of tapestry.”
    – Allison Puryear (18:41)

• Beating Shiny Object Syndrome
  Linzy and Allison caution against accumulating courses, software, or memberships out of anxiety, rather than strategic necessity.

6. Political Uncertainty and the Power of Money as Agency

• Money as Power for Change
  Linzy connects therapists’ feelings of helplessness in today’s political climate to actionable choices:

  • Use financial contributions as a way to support causes, organizations, or individuals who align with your values.
  • Acknowledge and wield the privilege and power inherent in having money.
  • Quote:

    “If you don’t own that [power], it’s like, you don’t own your privilege. You’re wasting it. And money is part of that.”
    – Linzy Bonham (21:38)

• Modeling Intentional Giving for Children
  Allison describes her family's weekly habit of choosing a charity, helping her kids understand the impact of even small financial gifts.

7. End-of-Conversation Highlights

• Intentional Spending Is Key
  Every dollar spent is a choice; clarity and intentionality should guide those choices—whether it’s investing in help, a cause, or a tool for your practice.
• First Steps for Listeners
  Set aside time, print out bank statements, review expenses, and check in emotionally and logically with your money stories and reality.

Notable Quotes and Moments

• On identifying your money narrative:

  “What are my thoughts about money right now?...Am I going into more of like that hopeless kind of state? Stop first and be curious about what you are working with.”
  – Linzy Bonham (04:40)

• On clarity and strategic choices:

  “You might identify, just in doing that, several hundred dollars of savings per month that then is money that can now come home to you.”
  – Linzy Bonham (13:20)

• On the myth of an all-in-one business solution:

  “No purchase solves everything...the most important part is actually doing those things.”
  – Linzy Bonham (19:14)

• On using money for social change:

  “Money is really powerful...How can you also take this money that you’re earning and do something that feels really powerful with it?”
  – Linzy Bonham (20:18)

Timestamps of Key Segments

• 03:00: Recognizing and naming financial anxiety in therapists
• 06:35: Journaling to unearth and soften money stories
• 08:06: Shifts in the therapy landscape & re-igniting marketing efforts
• 10:00: Linzy’s “clarity” principle for business finances
• 13:46: Practical exercise for reviewing bank statements for emotional cues
• 18:41: “No magic bullet” discussion about business and clinical work
• 20:18: Channeling financial resources toward causes you care about
• 23:33: Modeling generosity and intentional spending for kids

Action Steps for Listeners

• Schedule dedicated time to sit with your feelings and review your money stories.
• Print and review your recent business and personal bank statements—mark what feels aligned and what doesn’t.
• Identify where you can reduce expenses or leverage resources more effectively.
• Consider the power of intentional giving or reallocation of personal spending for greater impact.
• Remember: Clarity and action are more effective than avoidance or anxious busy-work.

Closing Note

With warmth and candor, Allison and Linzy guide listeners away from panic and paralysis, reminding therapists that the path to stability is paved with honest reflection, practical review, and intentional action—externally with money, and internally with self-awareness.

Share this episode with a therapist friend who could use a little clarity and support—because these are steps that get easier, and more effective, when taken together.