The Diagnostic

The Money Scripts Diagnostic

Your relationship with money was decided before age 12.

Not by a financial advisor. By the arguments you overheard, the things your parents never said, and the beliefs you absorbed before you could question them. This diagnostic helps you see the scripts — and rewrite them.

8 Exercises Research-Backed Klontz Framework Action Plan
£9 £17 Launch Price
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INNER WORK CO

The Money Scripts
Diagnostic

8 Exercises • Klontz Research • Action Plan

Fill-in exercises
Scoring rubrics
Worked examples
Research citations
Reflection prompts
90-day action plan

8 Guided Exercises

Klontz Research-Based

Fill-In Diagnostic

Scoring Rubrics

90-Day Action Plan

You don't have a money problem.
You have a money story.

Budgets don't work when the problem isn't math. Financial advice doesn't stick when the block is emotional. This diagnostic uses published financial psychology research to help you identify the invisible beliefs driving your financial behaviour — and gives you a structured plan to change them.

The Science

The 4 money scripts

Dr Brad Klontz's research at Creighton University identified four core "money scripts" — unconscious beliefs about money formed in childhood that predict adult financial behaviours. Published in the Journal of Financial Therapy.

Most people run on a combination of these scripts without ever naming them. This diagnostic helps you identify your dominant scripts and trace them back to the experiences that created them.

Money Avoidance

Believing money is bad or that you don't deserve it. Leads to under-earning, financial neglect, and avoiding money conversations entirely.

Money Worship

Believing more money will solve everything. Leads to overspending, workaholism, and never feeling like you have enough.

Money Status

Tying your self-worth to your net worth. Leads to overspending to impress, debt, and financial anxiety masked by appearance.

Money Vigilance

Excessive watchfulness about money. Can be healthy — but often leads to anxiety, frugality that harms quality of life, and secrecy about finances.

What you'll discover: 8 exercises

Each exercise includes context, a fill-in framework, a worked example, and reflection prompts.

1

Your Earliest Money Memory

The first time money meant something to you. What you felt. What it taught you — whether anyone meant to teach you or not.

2

The Money Rules You Inherited

What your parents said about money, what they didn't say, and the silent rules you absorbed before you could question them.

3

Your Money Script Profile

Based on Klontz's four money scripts — avoidance, worship, status, vigilance — identify which ones run your financial behaviour.

4

The Spending Autopsy

Trace your last 30 days of spending. Not to judge it — to see it. Map each purchase to the emotional state behind it.

5

The Earning Ceiling

The number you secretly believe you deserve to earn. Where it came from. Why it's probably wrong.

6

Money Conversations You Avoid

The raise you didn't ask for. The debt you haven't mentioned. The invoice you undercharged. Name them.

7

Your Financial Identity Rewrite

Who you'd be if money wasn't a source of stress, shame, or avoidance. Write the new script.

8

The 90-Day Money Action Plan

Three concrete actions you'll take in the next 90 days to align your money behaviour with who you want to become.

Sample exercise preview

Here's a glimpse of Exercise 1.

Exercise 1 Your Earliest Money Memory

Why this matters: Research shows that early money experiences create neural pathways that influence financial decisions decades later. Your earliest memory about money reveals the emotional foundation your entire financial identity is built on.

Your prompt: Describe the first time you remember money being important. Who was there? What was said? What did you feel? What did you conclude about money from that moment?

The full exercise includes a worked example, a scoring rubric, and follow-up reflection prompts.

Every exercise follows this pattern: research context, guided prompt, worked example, reflection.

Is This For You?

This is for you if:

  • You earn enough but still feel anxious about money
  • You know your spending habits are irrational but can't seem to change them
  • You avoid looking at your bank balance, talking about money, or asking for what you're worth
  • You suspect your relationship with money is emotional, not mathematical

This is NOT for you if:

  • You're looking for a budgeting spreadsheet or financial planning tool
  • You want investment advice or debt management strategies
  • You're not willing to sit with uncomfortable truths about your past

Cheaper than one therapy session.
Deeper than any budgeting app.

Financial therapy

£80-£200

per session

This diagnostic

£9

8 exercises, keep forever

Get the Diagnostic — £9

Frequently asked questions

What format is this in? +

Digital PDF. 8 structured exercises with fill-in prompts, reflection space, and worked examples. Designed for printing and working through with a pen.

Is this therapy? +

No. This is a self-guided diagnostic tool based on published financial psychology research. If the exercises surface something that needs professional support, the toolkit includes guidance on when and how to seek it.

How long does it take to complete? +

Most people complete all 8 exercises in 2-3 focused sessions of about 45 minutes each. Some exercises — especially the Money Script Profile — benefit from sitting with them overnight before finishing.

I already know I'm bad with money. Will this help? +

This isn't about being 'good' or 'bad' with money. It's about understanding why you do what you do. The exercises don't judge your spending — they trace it back to beliefs you formed before you could drive. Understanding the pattern is how you change it.

Is the Klontz research legitimate? +

Yes. Dr Brad Klontz's money scripts framework is published in peer-reviewed journals including the Journal of Financial Therapy and the Journal of Financial Planning. The four money scripts have been validated across multiple studies.

How is this different from the workbook's money module? +

Module 11 of the workbook covers money in 5-6 exercises as part of the broader personal development system. This diagnostic goes much deeper — 8 exercises focused exclusively on your psychological relationship with money, grounded in Klontz's published research.

Go Deeper

Money is just one module.

The Personal Development Master Workbook covers money alongside 11 other modules — mindset, habits, time, relationships, career, and more. 65+ exercises for your whole life, not just your wallet.

See the Workbook — £37