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Spending money shouldn’t make you feel bad. But if it does, read this comic

Ever regretted spending too much on dinner? Or ashamed about not being able to give a family member more financial support?

There’s a term for this feeling, says certified financial planner Lauryn Williams: financial guilt. And it can hold you back from taking steps to fix your finances — or enjoying the money you do have.

Narratives like “I should have known better” or “I shouldn’t be in this situation” don’t help, she says. “They don’t allow you to move forward because you feel so guilty.”

Williams, the founder of the financial planning firm Worth Winning, shares three kinds of financial guilt and how to address them.

This comic was reported by Marielle Segarra and written and illustrated by Abi Inman.

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The comic was edited by Malaka Gharib and CJ Riculan. The producer of the episode is Clare Marie Schneider. We’d love to hear from you. Leave us a voicemail at 202-216-9823, or email us at [email protected].

Listen to Life Kit on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and sign up for our newsletter. Follow us on Instagram: @nprlifekit.

Copyright 2026 NPR

Marielle Segarra is a reporter and the host of NPR's Life Kit, the award-winning podcast and radio show that shares trustworthy, nonjudgmental tips that help listeners navigate their lives.

Segarra joined NPR from Marketplace, where she helped people understand how the ins and outs of the economy are relevant to their lives. Over the years, she reported stories on Amazon's counterfeit problem, the lack of paid family leave in the U.S., the origin story of the song of the summer, the role of makeup during a pandemic, and the jarring experience of returning to an office in August 2020.

And as a podcast host, she talked about U.S. refugee policy, green energy, the war in Ukraine, the movie "Encanto," cauliflower smoothies, hairless cats, inflation, mental health, honoring her ancestors, sea glass hunting in Puerto Rico and a lot more.

Before Marketplace, Segarra worked at WHYY in Philadelphia. She has also taught audio journalism at Columbia University, and she coaches reporters and producers on how to write and deliver scripts that sound like them.

Segarra is a graduate of Brown University, where she studied nonfiction writing and British literature and spent a semester talking about Shakespeare and drinking tea in Edinburgh.

She has lived in New York for much of her life, but somehow still hasn't visited the Statue of Liberty.

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