‘Your Wallet’: Study, local experts say improving mental health will help finances

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — If you’re looking to make some money, try seeing a therapist.

According to a study recently published in the European Economic Review, there’s significant improvement to someone’s financial situation if they see a therapist. Men may expect a more than 12.4% increase in income just by consulting a therapist. Women saw an 8.1% increase

Several local experts tell Channel 8 there are resources available right here in Nebraska that could help you have a better relationship with your money.

“That therapy really really helps you personally, well then how do you relate that to finances?” said Jerry Szatko, CEO and founder of Unitifi.  

That’s the question Szatko and his team at Unitifi have been trying to figure out for nearly a decade. 

“The relationship is the key,” Szatko said.

Said Tim Kulhanek, a financial advisor at Stonebridge in Lincoln, “I think that’s why there’s more of an overlap between a mental health professional that can help you relax a bit and say, ‘It’s OK to spend your money, just do it in a responsible way.'” 

Szatko and Unitifi offer a 20-question assessment to anyone looking to better understand their relationship with their finances  

“So getting them to take the assessment, taking the assessment and then delivering that to the financial professional, and saying, ‘this is who I am, can you help me?'” said Szatko.  

Then financial professionals like Tim Kulhanek step in. They try to find the best plan based on your “relationship” with money.

“Being open and honest about what’s happened in your past is probably a big reason why you can kind of get rid of these things that are hindering you mentally, and all of a sudden you’re making substantially more money,” Kulhanek said.

For Szatko, he knows how important mental health is now. That’s why now is the time to take care of your mind, and your money in this post-Covid era.

“Nobody can say they’re the same as they were before the pandemic as they are now,” Szatko said. “So really trying to understand yourself better, and then how you can relate that to the professionals that can help you.”