I'm a Financial Planner: The Worst Financial Meltdown I've Seen (and What To Learn From It)
GOBankingRates spoke with Stoy Hall, certified financial planner (CFP) and CEO of Black Mammoth, to discuss the worst financial meltdown he's seen and what we can all learn from it as a result.
'The worst financial meltdowns I've witnessed in my career had almost nothing to do with the actual money,' said Hall.
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Instead, he said they were emotional breakdowns — internal explosions triggered by years of financial trauma, unrealistic expectations and a society that sells you 'get-rich-quick' like it's on clearance. Here's what happened.
According to Market Watch, 57% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck in 2025.
'One client, like many others I've worked with, came to me out of pure desperation,' Hall explained. They had been living paycheck to paycheck, drowning in credit card debt and decided they were finally 'ready' to change — but only if it happened fast.
Hall said they hired him, enrolled in courses and bought all the budgeting tools. Then came the test: An unexpected car repair.
'That single event shattered everything. They stopped following the plan,' the CFP said.
The client charged the repair to a high-interest card. Then they ghosted him and blamed the plan, not the behavior.
That meltdown? It wasn't about the car — it was about emotional instability around money.
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According to Hall, this is what people don't realize: Wealth isn't built in a straight line — it's built in the dark, behind the scenes, over time.
'If it took you 10, 20, 30 years to build bad habits, trauma, and debt… what makes you think you can reverse it in six weeks? That's delusional,' he said.
The first step in financial healing, Hall explained, isn't opening an app — it's digging into your first money memory. That moment in childhood — maybe it was scarcity, maybe it was watching your parents fight over bills, maybe it was being told 'we can't afford that' — that shaped your relationship with money today.
'Until you address that, you'll always self-sabotage,' Hall said. 'You'll think budgeting is punishment, investing is gambling and credit is survival.'
But true financial transformation starts with reprogramming your mindset, not downloading another budget template.
'And let me say this as plainly as I can: You are not the expert in your finances — yet,' said Hall.
He noted that if you had the tools and the emotional stability to manage your money correctly, you wouldn't be in crisis.
'That's not judgment — that's reality,' the CFP added.
The problem is, the people who need help the most often trust themselves the least and refuse to trust professionals. It's a paradox, said Hall.
Meanwhile, the wealthy — the truly wealthy — hire teams, strategists and advisors. They don't pretend to know it all. They focus on their zone of genius and trust others to help guide their path.
'But middle- and lower-income households? They'll burn through $10,000 trying to 'figure it out themselves' rather than paying $1,000 for a solid strategy,' Hall explained. 'That mindset is what keeps people broke, not just their income.'
Hall's biggest advice? Trust the process. Trust the professional. And most of all, give yourself grace while you rebuild.
'Financial freedom isn't a destination. It's a lifestyle. It's not something you get, it's something you grow into.'
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: I'm a Financial Planner: The Worst Financial Meltdown I've Seen (and What To Learn From It)
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