“You do not need to be at a certain income level or have everything figured out before you begin working toward your financial goals. Taking those first steps is what matters most.”
Haley Armstrong
Wealth means something different to everyone. It can look like rows of canned fish on the shelf for sharing during the cold winter months. It can mean the ability to send money to family members who live far away. It might look like building up savings to pass along to future generations.
For Haley Armstrong, growing up in Craig taught her that wealth looks like the ability to look after one another. “People in the village step up when someone needs help. That sense of care for one another is a big part of why community is such a core value for me,” she says.
In Haley’s experience, though, it can be challenging to balance this view of wealth with the demands of living in a consumer-driven society that teaches us to tie our worth to what we own. When we equate our self worth to this definition of wealth – focusing on the money we have as an indicator of our success – it can lead us to make decisions that are based out of fear or don’t align with the core of who we are. “I knew my purchasing power didn’t measure my value in society… but it was a challenge to remember that,” she shares.
While Haley has always been aware of how our upbringings and values shape our relationship to money, it wasn’t until she started her work as Spruce Root’s Financial Wellness Program Manager that she began to really examine where her own beliefs about money come from. In Haley’s experience, interrogating one’s money mindset is a process that takes constant reflection and honesty. It can be hard to change the patterns that are ingrained within ourselves that determine our relationships with money. But when we do, it can lead to powerful results.
In her role, Haley works with people across Southeast Alaska to support financial decisions that align with how people live, what they value, and how they personally define wealth. In her financial wellness workshops and personalized coaching sessions, Haley leads with a “progress over perfection” mentality, understanding that small changes in our habits and routines build momentum.
This view of financial wellness recognizes that we often carry trauma around our relationships with money. We may also experience setbacks and challenges to our financial situations from factors both within and outside of our control. Navigating these challenges is something Haley has experienced personally when she recently found herself in unexpected debt.
“It’s tough when you’re in it. For me, there were moments when I thought, ‘I’m already broke, so why not spend more money?’ But once you take the time to make a plan, and you start seeing little wins, it’s incredibly motivating. It’s the same kind of momentum you get when you start eating better and notice you have more energy, or when you get back into exercising and can run a little farther than last week. Those moments matter. I try to celebrate those wins with clients because I know how powerful they are, and I’ve experienced it myself.”
These moments are a reminder that financial wellness isn’t a destination to arrive at, but a muscle to grow and flex when making decisions in all aspects of your life. “You do not need to be at a certain income level or have everything figured out before you begin working toward your financial goals,” Haley emphasizes. “Taking those first steps is what matters most.”
In Haley’s case, this means choosing financial goals that help her stay connected and dependable to her community, like saving up for homeownership and building an emergency fund to help herself and share with others when they need it.
Interested in taking steps to align your financial decisions with your values? Spruce Root offers financial wellness programming and personalized coaching for folks at any stage of their financial wellness journey. Find more details about upcoming workshops and sign up for 1:1 coaching here.