A money coach who overcame burnout and anxiety says that mental wellbeing is a prerequisite for sound financial management, according to an interview published by the Guardian.
From Harvard to burnout
Shang Saavedra, 40, grew up in rural China before moving to Boston at the age of 10. She went on to attend Harvard, where she graduated and began earning a six-figure salary, investing at least $20,000 a year while living frugally. Despite meeting many markers of conventional success, business school, marriage, starting a family, she described being "crushed by the pressure of it all".
According to the Guardian interview, Saavedra said her parents held her to "a pretty impossible standard for education", and that the resulting anxieties strained her relationships and her marriage throughout her late twenties. She eventually left her corporate career and now works as a money coach.
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Wealth Is a Mindset
In her 2025 book, Wealth Is a Mindset, Saavedra sets out a philosophy rooted in the idea that cultivating a healthy, positive attitude toward money is a critical step to mastering personal finance. She told the Guardian: "Wealth comes from having a positive mindset around money. If you have a healthy mind that also leads you to having a better grasp on the executive functioning skills that are required to handle money well."
Saavedra said therapy helped her break thought patterns that prevented her from feeling successful, and that she manages symptoms of depression and anxiety with both medication and talk therapy. "I myself have experienced symptoms of depression and anxiety, and I think it's really important to get help, whether it be by medicine or by talk therapy or group therapy," she said, as reported by the Guardian.
How she works with clients on debt and saving
When working with clients, Saavedra said her first step is to establish a clear picture of income and outgoings, noting that "most people are not tracking" their spending. From that snapshot, she said she works backwards to identify money left over after basic needs are met, which can then be directed toward debt repayment or saving for an emergency fund.
She told the Guardian she asks clients to commit to putting a fixed sum toward a specific goal, whether becoming debt-free or building savings, for a period of three months. "Three months is a really good amount of time to start building habits," she said.
The cost of mental health treatment
When asked how clients can budget for therapy, Saavedra said she emphasises to people: "We only have one brain, and we only have one body." She noted that most health plans provide in-network coverage of mental health services, though finding an in-network provider can be a challenge. She also pointed to sliding scale fees offered by some psychologists, as well as grief counselling and trauma support available through churches and non-profit organisations.
Saavedra also highlighted the role of community support, saying that joining a group, she attends a mothers' group herself, can help people realise that "most people are struggling and you're not alone".
Changing motivations around money
Reflecting on her own relationship with money, Saavedra told the Guardian that her early motivation was simply to become wealthy, but that in her late twenties this shifted toward financial independence, specifically the freedom to spend more time with her children.
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