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TheSeven Stages of Money Maturity by Kinder, George ( Author ) ON Mar-03-2008, Paperback
Discover a powerful new way to look at your money and your life.
Where do our attitudes about money come from--and how do they influence our lives? How can we approach financial issues with honesty and without fear?
In this groundbreaking book, renowned Buddhist teacher George Kinder, a Harvard-trained certified financial planner, demonstrates how we can literally transform our lives emotionally and financially by achieving "money maturity"--a full understanding of the spiritual and psychological issues surrounding our money lives.
Drawing on ancient Buddhist wisdom and his years of financial practice, Kinder has created a revolutionary program that guides us through the Seven Stages of a revolutionary journey--one designed to help us uncover the roots of our attitudes about money, and attain true peace, freedom, and security in our financial lives. Learn how to:
Understand feelings that impact taking financial action
Develop understanding and knowledge about money
Eliminate stress and anxiety around money
Let go of old patterns and painful habits
Approach money tasks with energy and optimism
Design a money life that is fulfilling both financially and spiritually
Filled with practical information, market-tested, wealth-building skills, personal success stories, and spiritual guidance, The Seven Stages of Money Maturity is an invaluable guide to a rich--and richly lived--life.
1. Innocence--The childhood state we are born in, devoid of any concept of money
2. Pain--The discovery that we have more money than some and less than others, and that work is necessary to make a living
3. Knowledge--The intellectual task of learning financial techniques such as saving, budgeting, and investing
4. Understanding--The emotional work done in coming to terms with feelings around money, such as greed, envy, and resentment (which are rooted in Pain)
5. Vigor--The energy (physical, emotional, and spiritual) that must be expended to reach financial goals
6. Vision--The direction of Vigor outward toward the health and welfare of communities, with or without profit motive
7. Aloha--The compassionate goodwill that allows one to use money to perform acts of kindness without expecting anything in return
Using THE SEVEN STAGES OF MONEY MATURITY, readers will understand each encounter with money as a step toward awakening; a lesson about the relationship they share with others as well as with the self.
Where do our attitudes about money come from--and how do they influence our lives? How can we approach financial issues with honesty and without fear?
In this groundbreaking book, renowned Buddhist teacher George Kinder, a Harvard-trained certified financial planner, demonstrates how we can literally transform our lives emotionally and financially by achieving "money maturity"--a full understanding of the spiritual and psychological issues surrounding our money lives.
Drawing on ancient Buddhist wisdom and his years of financial practice, Kinder has created a revolutionary program that guides us through the Seven Stages of a revolutionary journey--one designed to help us uncover the roots of our attitudes about money, and attain true peace, freedom, and security in our financial lives. Learn how to:
Understand feelings that impact taking financial action
Develop understanding and knowledge about money
Eliminate stress and anxiety around money
Let go of old patterns and painful habits
Approach money tasks with energy and optimism
Design a money life that is fulfilling both financially and spiritually
Filled with practical information, market-tested, wealth-building skills, personal success stories, and spiritual guidance, The Seven Stages of Money Maturity is an invaluable guide to a rich--and richly lived--life.
1. Innocence--The childhood state we are born in, devoid of any concept of money
2. Pain--The discovery that we have more money than some and less than others, and that work is necessary to make a living
3. Knowledge--The intellectual task of learning financial techniques such as saving, budgeting, and investing
4. Understanding--The emotional work done in coming to terms with feelings around money, such as greed, envy, and resentment (which are rooted in Pain)
5. Vigor--The energy (physical, emotional, and spiritual) that must be expended to reach financial goals
6. Vision--The direction of Vigor outward toward the health and welfare of communities, with or without profit motive
7. Aloha--The compassionate goodwill that allows one to use money to perform acts of kindness without expecting anything in return
Using THE SEVEN STAGES OF MONEY MATURITY, readers will understand each encounter with money as a step toward awakening; a lesson about the relationship they share with others as well as with the self.
384 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
155 people are currently reading
887 people want to read
About the author
George Kinder
16 books13 followersHarvard-educated George Kinder revolutionized financial advice for over 30 years by training over 3,500 professionals in 30 countries in the field of financial Life Planning. He founded the Kinder Institute of Life Planning in 2003 after 30 years as a practicing financial planner and tax advisor.
His books and trainings are all about Freedom. In his most recent book, A Golden Civilization and The Map of Mindfulness (currently available on Amazon), Kinder draws on 50 years as a mindfulness practitioner, over 30 years as a mindfulness teacher, and his experience training financial advisors globally to challenge the basic concepts of economics, our understanding of democracy, of space-time, and our own hearts. His objective is to bring greater levels of Freedom everywhere.
His three books on money, The Seven Stages of Money Maturity, Lighting the Torch, and Life Planning for You, are considered by many to be the seminal works in the burgeoning field of financial Life Planning. Almost twenty years after its publication, his classic The Seven Stages of Money Maturity was again featured by the Wall Street Journal. He has written one book on mindfulness, Transforming Suffering into Wisdom, as well as a book of photography and poetry, A Song for Hana.
Kinder currently resides in Massachusetts and spends several months per year in London and Hana, Hawaii. Now living out his own Life Plan, Kinder spends much of his free time delivering speeches on Life Planning, teaching meditation classes, and working on creative projects. During his "Covid Summer," Kinder wrote and recorded an album of Protest Songs with his daughter (available for streaming on Spotify and Apple Music), and has been working on his next book: a collection of poetry and photography about the present moment and inspired by time spent at his home on Spectacle Pond.
His books and trainings are all about Freedom. In his most recent book, A Golden Civilization and The Map of Mindfulness (currently available on Amazon), Kinder draws on 50 years as a mindfulness practitioner, over 30 years as a mindfulness teacher, and his experience training financial advisors globally to challenge the basic concepts of economics, our understanding of democracy, of space-time, and our own hearts. His objective is to bring greater levels of Freedom everywhere.
His three books on money, The Seven Stages of Money Maturity, Lighting the Torch, and Life Planning for You, are considered by many to be the seminal works in the burgeoning field of financial Life Planning. Almost twenty years after its publication, his classic The Seven Stages of Money Maturity was again featured by the Wall Street Journal. He has written one book on mindfulness, Transforming Suffering into Wisdom, as well as a book of photography and poetry, A Song for Hana.
Kinder currently resides in Massachusetts and spends several months per year in London and Hana, Hawaii. Now living out his own Life Plan, Kinder spends much of his free time delivering speeches on Life Planning, teaching meditation classes, and working on creative projects. During his "Covid Summer," Kinder wrote and recorded an album of Protest Songs with his daughter (available for streaming on Spotify and Apple Music), and has been working on his next book: a collection of poetry and photography about the present moment and inspired by time spent at his home on Spectacle Pond.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
November 2, 2008
Saying "this book really changed my life" is a pretty cheesy and cliche thing to do, but seriously. George Kinder is a Buddhist financial planner, and his tips on how to approach your financial life can seriously apply to ANY part of your life. Stuff like "Pain is our bell of awakening. Whenever Pain rings its bell, we face a choice. We can rush off after some old habit to cling to, like overspending. Or we can move forward into freedom and adulthood."
April 14, 2013
Excellent. This book transformed my way of thinking about money and work. There were some repetitive and cheesy sections but overall the book challenged me to examine unhealthy, painful stories about money.
May 21, 2019
May 2019
Another month, another book! I’m excited to share a new book this month and one that may consider to be a bit outside of the box. The lessons that can be learned from this book extend beyond money and into our broader lives. The book I’m featuring is:
Seven Stages of Money Maturity: Understanding the Spirit and Value of Money in Your Life
Who’s it for?
Anyone frustrated, overwhelmed, or otherwise disinterested in the role that money plays in their life. Most books and most financial planners approach money in terms of retirement and rates of return. While those are important, it misses the point that money is really just one of many tools you utilize to create a more fulfilling life.
Key Takeaways
I figured I’d give a quick overview of the Seven Stages and how I interpret them.
1) Innocence - The money scripts we learn as kids and cling to as adults. Something like hearing your parents say “we will never get out of credit card debt”. Our first experience with money often sticks with us
2) Pain - The point where real life kicks in. We realize that things cost money and we have to make choices. Often how we handle these moments is a direct result of these scripts we learn as kids
Most people loop in these stages in perpetuity. They experience pain when the credit card bill comes, then revert to innocence and tell themselves that “we will never get out of credit card debt”. Round and round they go.
In order to grow, you must move on to the next stages...
3) Knowledge - Knowledge is multi-faceted and is impermanent. It involves identifying your current resources, both your inner resources (grit, will) and outer resources (traditional assets). You must set goals of where you want to get to, and you must learn or enlist help to learn the skills to break out of the first two stages.
4) Understanding - Recognizing that these scripts exist in your life and that they are not necessarily true. Using your Knowledge to change the script.
5) Vigor - Getting to work. You have identified the future you want to build, you have the skills to maximize your available resources, and you now realize you don’t have to be given a script but you can create your own. This is where you turn dreams into reality.
6) Vision - You have broken free of Innocence and Pain, you have utilized your Knowledge, Understanding and Vigor to build your idea of success. This is the stage where you get to share your success with others. You can now give back and make positive change in your community.
7) Aloha - I love this term because you instantly think of being on the beach in Hawaii. This stage is that inner Aloha feeling, inner peace. You are no longer working for “the man”, you have a life on your own terms, you are free.
This book approaches money and planning in a way that will not be everyone’s cup of tea and that is one of the things I enjoyed most about it. I might even say that if it feels too wishy-washy to you, then you might be the type of person that has the most to gain from its message.
Another month, another book! I’m excited to share a new book this month and one that may consider to be a bit outside of the box. The lessons that can be learned from this book extend beyond money and into our broader lives. The book I’m featuring is:
Seven Stages of Money Maturity: Understanding the Spirit and Value of Money in Your Life
Who’s it for?
Anyone frustrated, overwhelmed, or otherwise disinterested in the role that money plays in their life. Most books and most financial planners approach money in terms of retirement and rates of return. While those are important, it misses the point that money is really just one of many tools you utilize to create a more fulfilling life.
Key Takeaways
I figured I’d give a quick overview of the Seven Stages and how I interpret them.
1) Innocence - The money scripts we learn as kids and cling to as adults. Something like hearing your parents say “we will never get out of credit card debt”. Our first experience with money often sticks with us
2) Pain - The point where real life kicks in. We realize that things cost money and we have to make choices. Often how we handle these moments is a direct result of these scripts we learn as kids
Most people loop in these stages in perpetuity. They experience pain when the credit card bill comes, then revert to innocence and tell themselves that “we will never get out of credit card debt”. Round and round they go.
In order to grow, you must move on to the next stages...
3) Knowledge - Knowledge is multi-faceted and is impermanent. It involves identifying your current resources, both your inner resources (grit, will) and outer resources (traditional assets). You must set goals of where you want to get to, and you must learn or enlist help to learn the skills to break out of the first two stages.
4) Understanding - Recognizing that these scripts exist in your life and that they are not necessarily true. Using your Knowledge to change the script.
5) Vigor - Getting to work. You have identified the future you want to build, you have the skills to maximize your available resources, and you now realize you don’t have to be given a script but you can create your own. This is where you turn dreams into reality.
6) Vision - You have broken free of Innocence and Pain, you have utilized your Knowledge, Understanding and Vigor to build your idea of success. This is the stage where you get to share your success with others. You can now give back and make positive change in your community.
7) Aloha - I love this term because you instantly think of being on the beach in Hawaii. This stage is that inner Aloha feeling, inner peace. You are no longer working for “the man”, you have a life on your own terms, you are free.
This book approaches money and planning in a way that will not be everyone’s cup of tea and that is one of the things I enjoyed most about it. I might even say that if it feels too wishy-washy to you, then you might be the type of person that has the most to gain from its message.
September 20, 2008
This book was a great one for healing wounds around money or just getting a handle on one's relationship with money. I am going to offer a coaching group on it starting in January. It might even help people make personal sense of what's happening with money globally.
October 5, 2025
George Kinder’s 'The Seven Stages of Money Maturity' reframes money not as a tool of control but as a mirror of our inner world. He argues that our financial behaviors are shaped by the emotional imprints of childhood — innocence, pain, and fear — and that maturity emerges when we cultivate knowledge, understanding, and vigor to transform those patterns into vision and mission. Through client stories, Buddhist principles, and practical financial insights, Kinder builds a bridge between emotional healing and financial literacy.
Reading this book felt like holding up a mirror. I realized how deeply my investment choices reflect my upbringing and insecurities. For much of my life, I treated money as a scorecard — proof of intelligence, worth, and progress. Growing up as a diligent student who met expectations but never stood out, I equated achievement with validation. Moving to the U.S. magnified this gap: the differences in economic background, communication style, and career mobility turned earning and investing into a personal test of adequacy.
Kinder’s framework helped me reinterpret this drive. Instead of chasing outperformance as self-worth, I now see money as a conduit of energy — a reflection of how I engage with the world and add value to it. His work complements books like 'Investing for Dummies' by Eric Tyson, which offers the “how,” while Kinder provides the “why.” Together, they invite a more holistic view: that financial success and emotional maturity are not separate pursuits, but two paths converging toward a life of purpose.
Reading this book felt like holding up a mirror. I realized how deeply my investment choices reflect my upbringing and insecurities. For much of my life, I treated money as a scorecard — proof of intelligence, worth, and progress. Growing up as a diligent student who met expectations but never stood out, I equated achievement with validation. Moving to the U.S. magnified this gap: the differences in economic background, communication style, and career mobility turned earning and investing into a personal test of adequacy.
Kinder’s framework helped me reinterpret this drive. Instead of chasing outperformance as self-worth, I now see money as a conduit of energy — a reflection of how I engage with the world and add value to it. His work complements books like 'Investing for Dummies' by Eric Tyson, which offers the “how,” while Kinder provides the “why.” Together, they invite a more holistic view: that financial success and emotional maturity are not separate pursuits, but two paths converging toward a life of purpose.
May 25, 2021
3ish
The book is a little dated, published around 2000.
I will say it is one of the more eclectic personal finance books.
The author mixes in literature and meditation.
2 points of contention:
1. The book is fluffy as hell. It needs to lose a minimum of 100 pages, probably 150.
2. While there are dozens of anecdotes from clients, the book is built on 3 specifically. He begins each chapter with a snippet from their story. But from there the chapter rolls on, it's easy to forget what's happening with them. I'd rather they each have their own full chapter.
Overall it's alright. Nothing groundbreaking but not a terrible read.
The book is a little dated, published around 2000.
I will say it is one of the more eclectic personal finance books.
The author mixes in literature and meditation.
2 points of contention:
1. The book is fluffy as hell. It needs to lose a minimum of 100 pages, probably 150.
2. While there are dozens of anecdotes from clients, the book is built on 3 specifically. He begins each chapter with a snippet from their story. But from there the chapter rolls on, it's easy to forget what's happening with them. I'd rather they each have their own full chapter.
Overall it's alright. Nothing groundbreaking but not a terrible read.
March 11, 2020
Kinder presents a robust program of one's development in relation to money. I find myself now able to view money as a neutral entity in our world, and the potential for greater well being, rather than as evil incarnate, as I once characterized money.
I'll now approach Charles Eisenstein's Sacred Economics and Riane Eisler's Caring Economics to continue on this path toward understanding the flows of value within and without me.
I'll now approach Charles Eisenstein's Sacred Economics and Riane Eisler's Caring Economics to continue on this path toward understanding the flows of value within and without me.
August 25, 2023
Great resource, but dated. I enjoyed reading this book. the personal stories the author shared throughout helped to relate to each of the stages being discussed. i do think it could've been a bit shorter, and it needs to be updated and reprinted. knowing that the industry is often changing, maybe he should've left out the specifics of part 4 or planned to update the book regularly to keep up with the industry.
October 14, 2024
A transformative guide to understanding the emotional and psychological aspects of wealth. It blends financial wisdom with personal growth, offering practical insights for achieving both financial success and life fulfillment. The stages Kinder outlines help readers build a healthy relationship with money, from fear and survival to freedom and purpose. A must-read for anyone seeking not just financial literacy but also emotional clarity around money.
September 15, 2020
Excellent book. Sparked my interest in blending money with the purpose of money ie Financial Coaching. I love books that focus on the interaction between money and spirituality. George Kinder speaks my language.
April 26, 2021
He uses Buddhists principles to teach about the seven stages of financial maturity. It kept me engaged in the sense that it gave basic information, a twist. The last two chapters regarding Vigor, Aloha and budgeting were good.
January 28, 2022
I love books about money. I have read dozens. I'm always looking for a new angle or take on the topic. This book did not make the cut. It is very abstract and spent lots of time talking about Buddhist ideas. It was definitely unique but not in a good way. At least not for me.
June 19, 2024
A tour of the psychology of money on our childhood, adult life, and life transitions
July 22, 2008
I gave this book 5 stars even though some of it felt like a slog. 5 stars to me means potentially life changing in a positive way. There are sentences for example like 'whenever you find yourself acting thoughtlessly around money, don't let yourself get away with it.'(not an exact quote)
And if the way you are with one thing is the way you are with everything, I feel like my ability to stick to a plan (budget/diet/schedule) for any useful length of time is increasing (maybe because of meditations?). Enough about me.
This book uses a lot of ideas from Buddhism (which strikes me as very psychological) and exemplar stories carried through the book to help you uncover your own goals for freedom. Money will serve those goals. Without them, you would just end up greedy.
Chapter 11 (ironic) has great information about investing.
And if the way you are with one thing is the way you are with everything, I feel like my ability to stick to a plan (budget/diet/schedule) for any useful length of time is increasing (maybe because of meditations?). Enough about me.
This book uses a lot of ideas from Buddhism (which strikes me as very psychological) and exemplar stories carried through the book to help you uncover your own goals for freedom. Money will serve those goals. Without them, you would just end up greedy.
Chapter 11 (ironic) has great information about investing.
January 5, 2008
It's one of those 7's things, using a buddhist/eastern philosophy perspective. Kinder does a good job of threading client stories throughout the book, which helps make it less preachy. Kinder successfully ties in the ideas of innocence and increasing enlightenment to how one deals with money issues. In the personal histories that he relates, some money issues are related to distrust of money, overspending, and control/communication. I found some his tools useful for drawing up a list of goals.
July 9, 2014
I've never read a money book where the author includes poetry and meditation exercises. It was one of the most intelligent and approachable books about money I've ever read, and a must-read for anyone interested in looking deeper into their relationship with money.
October 28, 2007
Yep. Now I'm a mature money-er. I read this book as summer reading... now THAT'S good.
February 2, 2008
loved it.
April 9, 2016
Interesting to see the ways people avoid money issues. I left this book in another town and wish to review it. Kinder follows the seven chakras to help us understand our money issues.
May 30, 2019
It was an average read, good in some part, but also a lot of fluff.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews