As a woman, have you ever stopped to consider how your hormones impact how you manage your money? Before I became a money coach for women, my background was in women’s health. And yet, I’d never really thought about the idea that the way I handled my money was affected by my menstrual cycle.
But the more I learn about it, the more I realise that our hormones play a big part in how we manage our money.
As a Women’s Coach, I love how the one of many Women’s Powertypes support us to connect with our cycles. My clients gain so much clarity from seeing how their natural rhythms can be a source of power, rather than something to dread.
Of course, there will be instances where this doesn’t apply, and I’d be lying if I said nature was textbook — because it isn’t. If you’re pregnant, don’t have periods, are menopausal or using hormonal contraception you may not have the same experiences. But the concept of cycling can still apply to you.
If you can cast your mind back to your biology lessons at school, you’ll be familiar with at least the basics.
But let’s break it down.
Your Menstrual/Powertype Cycle
On average, a woman’s cycle lasts around 28 days. (Perimenopausal women or those with conditions like polycystic ovarian syndrome may find that their cycle is significantly longer than this.)
- Day 1 of your cycle starts with the follicular phase. At this stage, if you menstruate, you’re having your period. It’s a time when you’re potentially feeling at your worst; you don’t want to see people, you might even feel like it’s the end of the world. The follicular phase causes a big dip in your hormone levels, which is what triggers the bleeding. I don’t know about the people who market tampons and towels, but I don’t hear many of my clients feeling like they can cycle, climb mountains or go swimming at this point! This is the best phase for Sorceress energy; a time for reflection, resting and generally not pushing yourself too hard.
- Following your period, you might then start to feel more energetic and want to go out and see people again. This is Warrioress energy at her best! This phase is great for starting new things, putting in longer hours at work and partying into the small hours.
- Then around about 14 days into your cycle, you ovulate. With a surge of oestrogen, the selected egg is released into the fallopian tube, where if it meets a sperm, it is fertilised. Otherwise, it leaves the body with your next period. This is the Lover phase and is when you might feel more flirty, wear brighter clothes and perhaps even have some, *ahem*, sexy dream time!
- After the egg is released, the Corpus Luteum — a hormone-producing “yellow body” — is formed on your ovary from the remnants of the egg that was just released. It produces progesterone to make the womb more suitable for implantation of a fertilised egg. This is the luteal phase and when your Mother energy is most active. You’ll generally have more patience around this time.
- Then finally, right before your next period, you may experience breast pain, acne, feel bloated and get irritated by everything. This is the Queen phase and is what high levels of progesterone does to your body right before it plummets and the cycle begins again.
Top tip: if you have a smartphone, you can use an app like Flo to track these various aspects of your cycle especially if you don’t bleed – you’ll need to be super aware of how you are feeling.
How Does This Relate to Money?
While this isn’t a consensus, some research shows that our cycles can impact our spending choices. Take this finding from a recent questionnaire:
“From the questionnaire a strong factor emerged that related to impulsive spending and significant differences across the menstrual phase. Spending was less controlled, more impulsive and more excessive for women in the luteal phase, or the further on they were in their cycle, compared to the earlier, follicular phase.” Personality and Individual Differences by Professor Karen J Pine and Professor Ben (C) Fletcher
Other findings suggest that we’re more likely to spend money on beautification of ourselves during the pre-ovulation phase of the cycle, and more on food in the post ovulation phase of the cycle. Fascinating, right? Since our hormones have the power to affect our emotions, it stands to reason that they’ll also have an impact on our behaviour, including how we manage our finances.
From my experience, we all feel a difference throughout the month even if we’re not consciously aware of it.
Obviously, this can go both ways. If you’re feeling good you might want to spend money to celebrate that fact. But if you’re not feeling great, it’s possible you’ll buy things in an effort to make yourself feel good.
This is where having a strong “needs creed” that reflects every Powertype is so helpful, so that you avoid slipping into bad habits along the way. As a One of many coach I love using this tool with clients to help them identify their needs and make sure they’re being met. (If you’re not sure what your needs are, Jo shared a quick intro here.)
Your Cycle Can Affect Your Ability to Make Decisions
On the days when you feel like nobody loves you and everyone is out to get you, it’s perhaps not the best time to decide to learn how to invest your money in the stock market or start budgeting for the first time, particularly if money stresses you out.
On the other hand, the Sorceress phase might be perfect for you if you feel called to learn and journal during this part of your cycle.
During the midpoint of the cycle, some researchers found a really interesting shift in how women manage their investments .
“Despite large fluctuations in hormone levels, women are as technically rational in their choice behavior as their male counterparts at all phases of the menstrual cycle. However, women are more likely to choose risky options that can lead to potential losses while ovulating; during ovulation women are less loss averse than men and therefore more economically rational than men in this regard.” – The Impact of Menstrual Cycle Phase on Economic Choice and Rationality
Obviously, this connection with hormones and money may not affect everyone in the same way, which is why it’s definitely worth tracking what’s going on with your cycle so you can take advantage of it.
The Cycle Can Affect Your Ability to Focus
During perimenopause and the menopause, oestrogen levels are at their lowest; certainly not as high as they were during your fertile years. Some women experience brain fog and forgetfulness when going through perimenopause.
It’s worth thinking about how hormones can affect your ability to focus.
When it comes to our finances, putting as much as you can on automation can avoid costly mistakes such as forgetting to pay your credit card bill or leaving something important out of your budget.
Which powertype is good for which financial activity?
In much the same way as our work and life activities can be batched up into the different power types, so can money activities.
Here are my thoughts on what is best suited for each energy:
Sorceress
- Reading finance books
- Keeping a money journal of spending
- Researching investments
- Reflecting on the month and setting intentions for the month ahead
- Updating your vision board
Warrioress
- Taking action on what you’ve learnt – opening an investment account
- Starting a budget
Lover
- Having a money date with your partner (lover is good time for communication and persuasion)
Mother
- Setting up a savings account and putting money into it
- Reviewing your spending (mother has the greatest compassion!)
Queen
- Planning your monthly budget
- Completing tasks like getting a will done
- Culling unnecessary expenses
- Calling up companies to negotiate cheaper rates
- Asking for a raise
While not everyone will behave in a “textbook” way, it’s interesting how hormone levels can change and impact your behaviour. So it stands to reason that it will also affect how you manage your money. Because how we do money is how we do everything.
Bring some conscious awareness to your monthly cycles and use it as your superpower. The One of many tools of batching for energy matching and cycle tracking are great for bringing this into your life in a more consistent way.
Our menstrual cycle superpowers are definitely a cause for celebration!
About Nikki
The kind-hearted, wine-loving, adventure-seeking Maverick!
Dr Nikki is a One of Many Certified Coach and runs The Female Money Doctor community, helping women feel empowered and in control of their finances.
You can find her at https://thefemalemoneydoctor.com or email info@thefemalemoneydoctor.com for more information.
- Guest article: Do your hormones impact how you manage your money? - March 9, 2022
- Guest post: Powering up your money using the Sacred Money Archetypes - November 5, 2020
