U.S. President Donald Trump gets a lot of the blame for what’s going wrong financially in 2025, but the real problem is a lack of control over our finances and our lives.
“I think the illusion we are in control has been peeled away to an unprecedented degree, and it’s in our faces all of the time,” financial planner Natasha Knox said in a recent interview.
Ms. Knox is particularly attuned to the financial stress people are feeling because she incorporates financial therapy into her practice. Lately she’s seen an unprecedented number of people who are going through layoffs and other types of upheaval. They’re worried about jobs, careers, investments, mortgages and more.
Client stress trickles down. Ms. Knox sees her own therapist to stay centred, and she talks to a friend who is also a planner.
“Me, I’m not a rock,” she said. “It takes a lot of emotional energy to be there for people.”
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Ms. Knox is a certified financial planner, or CFP, and she also holds the certified financial behaviour specialist designation, or FBS. Through her company, B.C.-based Alaphia Financial Wellness, she offers a mix of planning, coaching, education and financial therapy.
Clients have the opportunity to talk about whatever dreaded situation is ratting around in their heads, she said. Conversations from there may flow along the lines of what might be done in case these threats actually materialize.
“The focus is on what is in your control. Like, what things you need to be doing if you’re afraid for your job. What kind of proactive things are you doing to shore up your career so you can pivot?”
From there comes a focus on basics such as emergency funds: “Also, if you’re really afraid about your job, this is not the year for a major reno.”
A recent column looked at the stress retirees are feeling as a result of stock market declines. Ms. Knox said she’s hearing some concern about investments from her clients, but in the context of job security and other challenges.
For example, she works with lots of people in the tech sector, where disruption was happening even before Mr. Trump’s trade war.
“There are changes at big companies – entire departments are getting stripped of jobs. There’s existential angst over issues like: ‘How are we adapting to AI?’”
The 2008-09 global financial crisis is an obvious point of comparison for the disruption caused by U.S. tariffs. Ms. Knox was early in her career back then and recalls people worrying mainly about their investments. Stock market declines back then were brutal – worse than anything we’ve seen in 2025.
Ms. Knox said people today are worried about what’s going on with their finances and the broader world. The resulting stress weighs on people in ways that can lead to bad financial decisions.
“Even some of the most steady people are, for different reasons, falling susceptible to market timing and other incorrect investment behaviours.”
Market timing in the current context means selling investments to avoid losses to come. Even if you guess the right time to get out of stocks, you have to correctly time your re-entry into the market. Few can pull off both moves in a way that beats simply staying invested in a diversified portfolio of stocks and bonds for the long term.
Ms. Knox works as a fee-for-service planner, which means she isn’t compensated through the sale or management of investments. Clients pay a one-time set-up fee and then hourly or monthly subscription fees.
Cheaper DIY planning is available – a recent column looked at a few made-in-Canada examples. But while DIY planning software is helpful, it spits out numbers only. No one asks you to speak your fears so they can be addressed in a direct and compassionate way.
For example, Ms. Knox pays a lot of attention to the words she uses with clients. You won’t find her using the term “catastrophe,” in her case.
“I’m being very cautious about my language. I’m just trying to get people to start to calm down.”
Are you a young Canadian with money on your mind? To set yourself up for success and steer clear of costly mistakes, listen to our award-winning Stress Test podcast.
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