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The Money Blog

Money, financial wellbeing and the agency to shape your future.

Financial wellbeing is about more than how much you earn, save or invest. It’s about understanding your financial life — and having the knowledge, confidence and agency to make informed choices about what happens next.

Here I explore money from different angles: financial literacy and investing, behaviour and psychology, confidence and decision-making, the systems and circumstances that shape our financial lives, and what all of this means for our lives now and in the future.

You’ll find my writing, research, practical ideas and conversations from podcasts I’ve been invited to join — all exploring how a better understanding of money can give us greater agency over our choices, our opportunities and our future.

Woman reflecting on her relationship with money and creating a sense of calm financial control.
Attachment, Emotion and Money: How Early Relationships Shape Financial Behaviour attachment theory and money behavioural finance behavioural science and money calm and confident with money conscious spending starter kit emotional relationship with money emotional spending empowered money club empowered money reset financial awareness financial behaviour financial confidence financial resilience financial wellbeing how emotions affect money decisions married women and money money and mental health money anxiety money habits money mindset money psychology psychology behind money habits research-backed financial wellbeing sarah mccalden schema therapy self-efficacy Oct 24, 2025

Money is never just about money. Beneath every decision, every spreadsheet, and every moment of avoidance or over-control lies an emotional story. Those stories were not formed when we first started e...

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A middle aged woman in a white blouse and yellow skirt. She is relaxed, hands in pockets and leaning against the wall. Long light brown hair, with sunglasses and a hat on.
What Really Drives Women’s Financial Behaviour (and Why Awareness Is the First Step) emotional relationship with money financial habits and awareness financial psychology financial wellbeing for women financial wellness research money confidence for women money mindset women’s financial behaviour Oct 15, 2025

Over the past few months, I’ve been working with researchers at Newcastle University Business School to explore what really drives women’s financial behaviour, and what helps create lasting financial ...

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Meet Sarah
Sarah McCalden

Sarah McCalden

Coach, Mentor, Trainer, Author

Hi, I’m Sarah. I’m an award-winning coach, mentor, trainer and author working at the intersection of money, financial wellbeing, behaviour and personal development. I’ve also had a fairly unconventional life. I’ve lived on three continents, recovered from a life-threatening drug addiction, run marathons and ultramarathons, built a multiple six-figure income, learned how to invest, become an international bestselling author — and experienced plenty of ups, downs and reinventions along the way. Those experiences have shaped the way I think about money. Because financial wellbeing isn’t simply about knowing what to do with your money. Knowledge matters, but so do our beliefs, behaviours, confidence, circumstances and the choices available to us. That’s why much of my work now explores the relationship between money and agency: our ability to understand our options, make informed decisions and have greater influence over the direction of our lives. Through my writing, research, programmes and conversations, I bring together financial education, psychology, behaviour and lived experience to make complex ideas about money practical and relevant to everyday life. I’m interested in helping people not simply know more about money, but understand themselves better in relation to it — so they can make, manage and invest their money with greater confidence and create more choice in their lives. Ultimately, financial wellbeing isn’t just about having more money. It’s about having more agency over what happens next.

 Money is about more than money.

Join my newsletter for thoughtful, practical perspectives on money, financial wellbeing and the choices we make — drawing on research, real life and the conversations we often don’t have about our finances.

I’ll share ideas to help you understand your money differently, make more informed decisions and build greater financial agency in your life.

No noise. No judgement. Just useful ideas and conversations to help you think differently about money — and what it makes possible.

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