Financial Wellness for Chronic Medical Conditions
Understanding your relationship with money and building practical strategies that work with your chronic illness reality.
Webinar Recording
About This Workshop
I hear this all the time from my patients managing chronic health conditions: the financial stress feels just as overwhelming as the physical symptoms—but no one really talks about it.
You might be avoiding opening medical bills because the anxiety is too much. Or you're feeling shame about needing financial assistance when you "should" be able to handle it yourself. Maybe you've realized that thinking about money when you're exhausted, in pain, or lonely leads to decisions you regret later, but you don't know how to break that pattern.
Here's what we've learned through financial therapy research: your relationship with money is shaped by your personal history, lived experiences, and yes—even trauma. And when you're managing chronic illness, financial stress isn't just about numbers on a page. It's about systemic barriers, hidden costs that healthy people never think about, and emotions that are completely valid even when they feel overwhelming.
Join Megan Stevenson, LCSW, CFSW and Destiny Davis, LPC, CRC for a conversation about building financial wellness practices that work with your chronic illness experience—and how to create a values-based relationship with money that supports your actual life, not some idealized version of it.
Location: Zoom Webinar Recording
What We'll Cover:
Your Money Emotions & Story: Learn to recognize and name the feelings that come up around finances—from anxiety and shame to hope and confidence. Explore how your childhood, lived experiences, and trauma shape your relationship with money, and why understanding this matters.
Common Money Behaviors: Identify patterns like impulsivity, compulsive spending, avoidance, and denial. Discover how these behaviors might be protecting you from difficult emotions rather than being character flaws.
Building Your Budgeting Practice: Find a budgeting system that works for your energy levels—whether that's a spreadsheet, apps like YNAB or Monarch, or simple pen and paper. Learn value-based budgeting that aligns spending with what matters most to you.
Maximizing Insurance Benefits: Understand your copay, deductible, and out-of-pocket maximum. Discover free services through your insurance like financial coaching, Employee Assistance Programs, and chronic disease management programs. Learn about HSA vs FSA and medication assistance programs.
Offsetting Medical Costs: Compare pharmacy prices and learn about Cost Plus Drugs. Always check medical bills for errors and understand how to document conversations with billing offices. Explore hospital financial assistance programs and specialty medication copay cards.
Planning Ahead: Set short-term goals (paying off debt, building emergency fund) and long-term goals that reflect your values. Adjust standard financial advice to fit your medical reality—like customizing emergency fund targets based on your condition.
Practical Daily Strategies: Use the H.A.L.T. + P framework (Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired, Pain) before making financial decisions. Schedule regular "money dates" with yourself or your partner. Take 5-minute actions to build confidence, like resetting a password or opening one statement.
This Workshop Is For You If:
You feel stress, shame, or anxiety when thinking about medical bills
You're not sure where your money goes each month (and feel guilty about needing help)
You avoid opening financial statements or checking your bank account
You want to feel more confident advocating for financial assistance or payment plans
You're curious about the emotional side of money management
You're ready to take small, manageable steps toward financial wellness
About Megan:
Megan Stevenson, LCSW, CFSW is a licensed clinical social worker and certified financial social worker from Indiana who specializes in the intersection of chronic illness, medical trauma, and financial wellbeing. With both personal and professional experience navigating chronic conditions, Megan understands how a medical diagnosis can intensify or create new financial challenges—and how overwhelming it feels when those two worlds collide. She's passionate about helping people create meaningful and lasting change by addressing both the emotional and practical sides of money management.
Megan's approach is eclectic, meeting you where you're at and using a mix of therapeutic modalities based on your individual needs—including Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), EMDR, motivational interviewing, and solution-focused therapy. Whether you're trying to navigate a new diagnosis, come to terms with negative experiences within the healthcare system, cope with money anxiety, or grieve losses you've endured, Megan is here to walk alongside you.
In this workshop, she'll share practical strategies for building a financial wellness practice that acknowledges your real-world constraints while helping you move toward financial confidence—one small step at a time.
Learn more about Megan’s work at Curiosity Counseling LLC.
What's Included:
Recorded workshop with Megan Stevenson, LCSW, CFSW & Destiny Davis, LPC, CRC, and host of The Chronic Illness Therapists Podcast
Megan’s Workbook
Replay available for 90 Days
We don’t believe in exclusivity or false strategies to make you buy a workshop (like “limited spots” blah blah). All are welcome. Please join us and invite your friends and loved ones!
Cost $27 USD
If you're part of our Welcome To The Waiting Room community - this workshop comes free with your membership!
Email destiny@destinywinters.com if you have any issues!
Accessibility Notes:
Live captions provided
Workshop recordings include transcripts
FAQs:
-
Megan Stevenson, LCSW, CFSW is a licensed clinical social worker and certified financial social worker specializing in the intersection of chronic illness and financial wellbeing. She helps clients navigate the emotional and practical challenges of managing money while living with chronic medical conditions, medical trauma, and financial stress. Megan supports people in building sustainable financial practices that acknowledge real-world constraints—including healthcare costs, reduced work capacity, and systemic barriers—while developing confidence and meaningful strategies for financial wellness.
-
No, this workshop is not therapy or a prescription of any kind. While Megan and Destiny are both licensed and certified professionals, this educational webinar is designed to provide practical information about financial wellness for chronic medical conditions. It offers general information to support your wellbeing, but it is not a substitute for personalized mental health treatment or medical care. If you're seeking therapy or individual support, we're happy to connect you with referral resources.
-
Just bring something to take notes with :) No equipment is needed for this workshop!
-
Yes! The recording will be available for 90 days after the workshop, unless you're in the Welcome To The Waiting Room monthly membership, in which case you can access the recording for as long as you're a member.
Please consider your privacy comfort levels when attending. While we love authentic and genuine engagement/conversation with participants, we want you to feel respected. Feel free to turn your cameras off and change your name before entering. This recording will be available to the public and for sale in the future.
-
The workshop runs for 60 minutes. We encourage you to take as many breaks as you need or to listen while doing another task. We honor your need to step away when needed.
-
While this workshop was designed with chronic illness in mind, it's also valuable for anyone looking to understand the emotional and behavioral side of money management or seeking a more compassionate and sustainable approach to their finances. The tools and strategies we share can benefit anyone who feels overwhelmed by traditional budgeting advice, experiences anxiety or shame around money, wants to navigate insurance benefits more effectively, or is looking to build financial practices that actually support their well-being and align with their values.
Questions?
See our FAQs with more info here!
We're here to help make this experience accessible and valuable for you. Contact us at destiny@destinywinters.com with any questions or accommodation requests.
Your sustainable path to managing your health is one step at a time.
*A note about recordings: While the live session offers the best opportunity for interaction and community support, we understand that health can be unpredictable. Your registration includes access to the recording for 90 days post-workshop.*