We were lucky to catch up with Tammy Shweiger recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Tammy, thanks for joining us today. What was the most important lesson/experience you had in a job that has helped you in your professional career?

Straight out of school my first professional role was as an auditor of a big four accounting firm. The client/auditor relationship is inherently riddled with tension—an auditor is typically viewed as an unwelcome visitor, creating what the client sees as unnecessary work. My role was to look for mistakes and ask lots of questions about how and why people do their jobs.

To be effective in this position, I had to create rapport and find common ground quickly. I began every interaction with personal connection—asking folks about their family and how they liked to spend their time outside of the office. Pursuing authentic and meaningful conversation does come naturally to me, but learning how to do that in a high stress corporate environment was a new important experience.

This skill-set became invaluable to me in every position I held going forward—I was brought in to lead an accounting team that had just learned they were losing their jobs in a year’s time due to relocation. In another role, I joined a department that was transitioning from a small start-up culture to becoming a subsidiary of two large public companies. In both cases I was again initially seen as an unwelcome visitor. My colleagues were experiencing financial uncertainty and corporate culture shock. My ability to approach them with empathy and care diffused tension and enabled me to be effective in my role.

As a coach I continue to call upon what I learned in that first professional role. Building trust, and being attune to what matters most to my clients is a crucial component of my Mindful Money work. Conversations about money require deep vulnerability. My intention is to hold space for my clients to express themselves fully without fear of judgment.

Tammy, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Money Coaching is a fairly new field, combining the financial services field and the field of psychology. With my CPA, ten years of accounting experience, and my training as a yoga teacher, I bring a unique combination of skills to my work. I weave the wisdom of yoga into my clients’ financial healing. Just like everyone’s body is different, so is everyone’s financial situation. If I demonstrate a challenging yoga pose in class, I will also show a few modifications to the pose, because not everyone has been practicing yoga for the same amount of time, and even people who have practiced for decades find that some poses do not feel good in their body. In the same way, everyone’s financial journey is unique.

As a Mindful Money Coach, I view myself as a guide. What brings someone joy and peace is for them to discover. I remind my clients to decide what feels safe, what feels helpful, and to leave behind what doesn’t. I approach personal finance holistically, helping people achieve control over their money habits by addressing the behavioral and emotional side of money, in addition to the technical skills needed for financial peace of mind. Money is hard to talk about, and none of us are born with financial literacy. There is a release that comes when we are able to accept there is nothing wrong with us. Money is hard because we are human. With that self-compassion, real change can come.

The part of my job I am most proud of is successfully holding space for my clients to be the truest and most vulnerable version of themselves. From this place of honest introspection comes the power to make incredible strides. Witnessing this transformation is the greatest privilege of my work.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

It’s hard growing a business in a specialty that a lot of people don’t know exists. What keeps me going when I am met with rejection or doubt, is the knowledge that I am meant to do this work, and the certainty that the world needs financial healing. It is my mission to facilitate difficult conversations about money, and guide people to find their financial joy and peace.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I had to unlearn the belief that success is linear. Growing up in my family, getting excellent grades and choosing a secure profession was of the utmost importance. I focused all my energy on fulfilling the expectations my parents had of me. I got very good grades, graduated with a B.S. and an M.S. in accounting, got my CPA, and start working for a public firm. This path was clearly laid out for me from the moment I declared my major.

When I released myself from expectations and formal measurements, I began to feel free for the first time in decades. I gave myself permission to reconnect with childlike curiosity and play. This openness led me to pursue new (and sometimes scary) things. I took a creative writing class (where I read my work aloud to strangers), and a painting class. I also decided to enroll in a yoga teacher training program. Teaching my first yoga class was VERY far outside of my comfort zone. Planting these seeds of exploration, and looking at wellness through a new lens led me to discover Mindful Money Coaching—my passion and purpose.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://tammyshweiger.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/moneycoachtammy/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tammy-shweiger-cpa-ryt-certified-money-coach-cmc-%C2%AE-b4998727/

Image Credits
Michael Simonetti