I'm Natalie Lou and you're listening to the baggage reclaim sessions, a podcast about building,

growing and sustaining healthy and intimate relationships with yourself and those around you

by reclaiming yourself from your emotional baggage. Since 2005, I've been writing one of the

longest running self-help blogs in the world,

baggage reclaim. I'm a dating and relationship coach, and I'm also author of five books,

including Mr. Unavailable on the Foreback Girl and The Joy of Saying No.

Everything I share on the podcast will help you break the cycle by healing the past through

increasing emotional availability,

cutting back on people pleasing, creating healthier boundaries and ultimately owning who you are.

You don't have to settle for crumbs from yourself or others, and you can give and receive love, care,

trust and respect. Okay, let's do this. Hello, hello, hello. How are you doing? Happy New Year's

and welcome to 2025. Before I get into today's conversation, I want to say first of all,

thank you to everyone who sent well wishes for my surgery.

If you're listening to this episode, when it comes out, then I'm about a week into my recovery.

When I thought about which topic I wanted to start 2025 with on the podcast, I knew that it was going to be money.

Aside from the fact that it's a subject I fought a great deal about,

particularly over the last sort of year to 18 months,

I know that there are lots of people who grapple with anxiety about money,

who drive and push themselves,

you know, chasing certain ideas of success because of their relationship with money,

or who avoid being and doing certain things because of their relationship with money.

I also think that at this time of years, at the beginning of the year,

...