Money Troubles? Try Rehab

Oct. 6, 2008 — -- Thanks in part to the country's anemic economy, some consumers are finding themselves in need of a sort of money therapy. Now rehabilitation no longer focuses only on things like substance abuse and relationship troubles, for some patients it's literally all about the money.

Whether it's hoarding money because of fear or overextending finances because of spending, money troubles have plagued the average citizen and even the famous.

Country singer Wynonna Judd found herself in need of money aid after moving from a childhood of poverty to international superstardom.

"I literally went from the outhouse to the White House," she said. "I traveled, I took friends, I rented jets. I loved the great rock star lifestyle."

But a funny thing happened on the way to excess. Judd, who had earned millions as a performer, was going broke because of her spending.

"I had an Elvis complex. I had to buy Harleys and cars. I bought my Mom a bus," Judd said of how she was able to quickly spend so much money so fast.

Her financial woes became go bad that Judd turned to a one of a kind residential treatment center that treats money disorders called Onsite. Located in Nashville, Tenn., Onsite has a program designed to help people understand their relationship with money while teaching them financial planning.

The center treats gamblers, shopaholics, overspending and more.

"They drew my farm and they did every year, 2003, 2004, 2005 and they said, 'If you continue on the path you are, spending at the rate you are,' and they would clip off the land. And by the time we got to 2010 or something, I had no more land left," Judd said.

Judd worked with Dr. Ted Klontz, who runs the sort of money rehab that includes intense group counseling, role-playing and even a little generic financial advice.

Read an excerpt of Klontz's book, "The Financial Wisdom of Ebenezer Scrooge."

"It's anything that has to do with money, that's self-defeating that we try to stop but can't," Klontz said in explaining what a money disorder is.