From Avoiding Bank Statements to Financial Therapy Pioneer: Bari Tessler's Journey

Bari Tessler is a financial therapist and pioneer in merging emotional literacy with financial literacy. We talk about her 26-year journey creating the Art of Money methodology. Bari shares how she went from throwing away bank statements in graduate school to falling in love with bookkeeping and developing a somatic-based approach to financial therapy.

We explore her current year-long sabbatical, the importance of adapting business models to different life phases, the practice of money dates with candles and chocolate, and why checking in with our bodies is essential to our relationship with money. This conversation offers both practical tools and deep wisdom about honoring our rhythms, redefining success, and bringing our whole selves to our finances.

Episode Highlights

Bari's identity as a highly sensitive person since childhood
How Bari has adapted her business model five different times over 24 years
The power of group work for unshaming money stories
The courage required to pivot when business models stop working
How Bari's father shaped her early relationship with work and money
The ritual of money dates: candles, chocolate, and celebrating small steps
Why 85-95% of money decisions are based on emotions
Money as a doorway to understanding relationships, intimacy, and worth

Meet our Guest

Bari Tessler, M.A. is a Financial Therapist and a pioneer in the Financial Therapy field. She has a Masters degree in Somatic Psychology from Naropa University, 1998. She then ran a bookkeeping business for therapists and artists. In 2001, she merged all her training and created a somatic-based Financial Therapy methodology that she has been teaching for 24 years. She is also the founder of The Art of Money, a financial therapy program and a Mentor Program for therapists, coaches and financial professionals.

Bari is the Author of two books: The Art of Money: A Life-Changing Guide to Financial Happiness and The Art of Money Workbook. Her work has been featured on Oprah.com, Inc.com, US News & World Report, Reuters Money, The Fiscal Times, USA Today, The Cut, Girlboss, Nerd Wallet, Real Simple, MindBodyGreen, and REDBOOK. She has also been featured on the cover of Experience Life and Mindful. Bari loves to read, dance and enjoy dark chocolate. She lives in Boulder, CO with her husband, son, many cats + a big puppy. You can find her here.

Resources

Website
Instagram
Cheers to 10 Years of Money Memoirs
"The Art of Money: A Life-Changing Guide to Financial Happiness" by Bari Tessler
"The Art of Money Workbook" by Bari Tessler

Rick Kahler on the importance of money emotions in financial planning

"Women Who Run with the Wolves" by Clarissa Pinkola Estés

Keywords

#FinancialTherapy #ArtOfMoney #SomaticFinance #MoneyDates #HighlySensitiveMoney #Sabbatical #EmotionalLiteracy #FinancialLiteracy #BusinessPivots #MoneyAndEmotion

Click here to watch our interview on Youtube

Diana Gisel Yañez is an Investment Advisor Representative of Natural Investments PBLLC. Natural Investments is an independent Registered Investment Advisor. All the Colors is not a registered entity and is not an affiliate or subsidiary of Natural Investments. See our Disclosures and Disclaimers and read our Form CRS.