In this episode of Sixty Plus Uncensored, host Seb Frey talks with Pericles Rellas, a money mindset and manifestation coach and the creator of the “financial thermostat” concept. For more than 20 years, Pericles has helped people understand and change their relationship with money. His central idea is that much of our financial behavior is driven by deeply ingrained beliefs, often formed in childhood, that quietly decide how much we earn, how much we keep, and how we feel about money. As Pericles sees it, a person’s relationship with money is often a mirror of how they see themselves and the world around them. For listeners approaching or living in retirement, the conversation is a practical look at how to let go of old money stories, get honest about spending, and build a calmer, more confident relationship with the wealth they’ve spent a lifetime building.
Mindset Is the Soil, Manifestation Is the Seed
Pericles describes himself as a money mindset and manifestation coach, and he uses a gardening image to explain how the two connect. Manifestation is like planting seeds for the things you want in life. Your mindset is the soil those seeds are planted in. If the soil is full of negative beliefs about money or about yourself, the seeds won’t grow, no matter how often you visualize what you want.
He describes two levels of mindset. The conscious level is what you deliberately think, like believing you can or can’t do something. Underneath that is a subconscious “background conversation” most people never notice. You might say you want more money, while a quiet voice adds, “Yeah, but you don’t deserve it,” or “It won’t work for you.” That background voice, Pericles says, is the poison in the soil, and it’s what keeps people stuck.
Seb connects this to psychologist Carol Dweck’s well-known research on fixed and growth mindsets, described in her book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. People with a fixed mindset believe their abilities and circumstances are set in stone, while people with a growth mindset believe they can learn, change, and improve. The question for many listeners is how to shift a pattern of thinking they may have carried for 60 or 70 years.
Where Money Beliefs Come From
Pericles shares a personal story that shows how early these beliefs can form. When he was seven years old, he and his mother were watching the TV show Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. At the end of the episode, she said she never wanted a lot of money because “you’ll lose your whole family.” That single comment, he explains, became a belief he carried for about 40 years: don’t make too much money, or you’ll lose the people you love. Without realizing it, he had set a ceiling on his own success.
Many of us have similar stories. Things we heard from parents, grandparents, or teachers about money, like “money is the root of all evil,” “rich people are greedy,” or “we can’t afford that,” can stick with us long after we’ve forgotten where they came from. Recognizing those stories is the first step to changing them.
The Four Steps to Resetting a Money Mindset
Out of that experience, Pericles developed a four-step process he uses with clients.
Step one is to notice and own the belief. You can’t change a pattern you don’t see. For Pericles, that meant recognizing, “I’ve had this conversation about money and family for 40 years,” and taking ownership of it.
Step two is to actively let it go. Pericles stresses doing this out loud, not just in your head. He compares it to someone at a recovery meeting standing up and naming their problem. You say something like, “I release this conversation,” and hand it over to God, the universe, or whatever feels right to you.
Step three is to create a new statement about who you want to be. Once the old belief has loosened its grip, you create a short, clear statement to replace it. His was, “Money flows to me easily and abundantly every single day.” For some clients, it’s as simple as, “I’m free.” You write it down and keep it where you’ll see it often: on your nightstand, your bathroom mirror, or your computer.
Step four is to watch for evidence of it in your life. Pericles began noticing money showing up in small ways, even a penny on the sidewalk. In one year, he says he picked up nearly $800 in “found money.” Each time, he treated it as proof that the new belief was taking hold.
He explains the process in two ways. From a spiritual or energetic point of view, he believes the feelings we focus on attract more of the same. From a brain science point of view, he points to the work of Dr. Joe Dispenza, author of Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself, and the idea that “neurons that fire together wire together.” Old beliefs are like a groove worn deep by water over decades. By interrupting the old thought and repeating the new one, you begin to build a new pathway that grows stronger over time. Seb notes that a training he took recommended writing a daily affirmation for at least 30 days to start building that new habit.
Contentment Comes Before More Money
One of the most important ideas in the conversation is that you can’t manifest your way out of a situation you hate. Pericles believes we attract what we focus on, so if all your attention goes to how much you dislike your job, your retirement, or your bank balance, that’s what you’ll keep experiencing. The starting point, he says, is gratitude and contentment with where you are right now, even if it isn’t where you want to be.
He also makes a point that surprises many people: money itself can’t buy security, love, joy, or happiness. He has worked with billionaires who were miserable and constantly looking for the next purchase to make them feel better, and with people who had very little money but felt deeply secure and fulfilled. Seb agrees, noting that in his travels he has often met people with very little who seemed far happier than many people with much more. Pericles describes money as a magnifier: if you’re unhappy, more money tends to magnify the unhappiness, and if you’re content, it magnifies the contentment.
Letting Go of Bitterness
Seb raises a challenge many listeners will recognize. Some people reach their 60s or 70s feeling bitter because life didn’t turn out as planned. A marriage disappointed them, an investment went bad, or their savings fell short. How do you climb out of that?
Pericles is clear that real grief and trauma need to be felt and worked through. The danger is when grief or bitterness becomes your identity. He frames it as a choice: you can be broke and bitter, or broke and happy, and it’s much easier to move out of a hard financial situation from a place of peace. His practical advice starts small. Notice when bitterness shows up. Name it, release it, and then deliberately do something that brings you joy, whether that’s making a cup of coffee, sitting outside, or taking a walk. He also suggests cutting back on “doom scrolling” and looking for the good around you instead. Most of all, he encourages people to be patient and kind with themselves when old patterns return.
If you’re working through your own fears about change at this stage of life, Letting Go of Fear and Embracing Change After 60 offers practical guidance for moving forward with greater confidence and peace of mind.
Building Awareness, One Small Habit at a Time
Seb points out that most of us spend much of our day on autopilot, which makes it hard to catch a negative thought in the moment. Pericles suggests treating awareness like a muscle you build gradually. Put small notes around your home that say “Be aware,” and use everyday routines as practice. When you brush your teeth, actually pay attention to how you’re doing it. Notice the drive to the store instead of arriving frustrated without knowing why. Seb mentions that he has a note on his own mirror that says “Be nice,” and Pericles agrees that small reminders like that are exactly the point. A phone reminder that prompts you to check in with yourself a few times a day can work too.
Know Where Your Money Is Going
When the conversation turns to practical money habits, Pericles gets very concrete. The first thing he asks every client to do is write down exactly how much money comes in each month and how much goes out, then look at the difference. He says nearly all of his clients are shocked by the gap between what they earn and what they spend, and many discover they’ve been quietly covering that gap with credit cards.
He believes most people have more of a spending problem than an income problem. Common leaks include forgotten subscriptions, unused gym memberships, and insurance policies that haven’t been shopped in years. He also suggests choosing store brands for items like over-the-counter medicine, which often contain the same active ingredients as name brands for far less. A free tool like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s spending tracker worksheet can make this first step easier.
Pericles also talks about the freedom that comes from giving up “looking good.” Many people spend money they don’t have to impress others. Letting go of that, he says, frees you to build the life you actually want, including the retirement you want, rather than the lifestyle you want other people to think you have.
Small expenses add up quickly in retirement, and 9 Money Leaks Quietly Draining Your Retirement (and How to Plug Them) walks through the most common ones and how to fix each.
Too Much House, Not Enough Cash
As a realtor, Seb sees a pattern often among older homeowners: a large family home worth a lot of money, but very little cash for day-to-day living or travel. Often, their identity is tied to the house or the neighborhood. Pericles is careful to note that he isn’t a financial advisor and doesn’t tell clients what to do with their money. Instead, he asks the questions that help them see their situation clearly. What does the house really cost each month in mortgage, insurance, utilities, and upkeep? What would happen if you sold it? Could you buy a smaller home outright and keep money in the bank? What would that lifestyle feel like?
Once people look at the actual numbers instead of avoiding them, he says, options appear that they had never considered before.
If you’re weighing that decision, The Financial Benefits of Downsizing in Retirement breaks down how much cash a smaller home can free up and what to consider first.
The Million-Dollar Exercise
Pericles shares an exercise he gives clients. Imagine someone hands you a million dollars, tax-free, today. What would you do with it? Almost everyone answers the same way: buy a house, quit a job, help family, take a trip, give to charity. Within a minute, they’ve spent it all. Then he gives them their real assignment: figure out what you would do to make that million dollars grow.
The exercise pushes people to learn the basics of stocks, funds, bonds, real estate, and other investments for themselves. Pericles doesn’t make referrals to financial advisors, but he encourages clients to understand enough to ask good questions. Handing your money to someone without understanding what they’re doing, he says, is like handing your newborn baby to a stranger. Most advisors are honest, but knowing the basics helps you stay in the driver’s seat.
What Is Your Financial Thermostat?
The idea Pericles is best known for is the financial thermostat. A thermostat does one job: it keeps your home at the temperature you set. Open a window on a cold day and the heat kicks on until the room is back to where it was. Pericles believes we each have a financial thermostat that works the same way. It regulates how much money we can earn, how much we can keep, and how we feel about money. If yours is set low, you may get a sudden windfall, but you’ll tend to drift back to where you started.
That, he says, explains the familiar stories of lottery winners and professional athletes who lose their fortunes, and of entrepreneurs who lose everything and quickly rebuild. The goal of his coaching is to reset all three settings: earning, keeping, and feeling at peace with money.
Your Money Story Isn’t Finished
What makes this conversation especially relevant for people over 60 is its hopeful message: the beliefs you’ve carried about money for decades are not a life sentence. By noticing old stories, letting them go, getting honest about your spending, and choosing contentment over comparison, you can build a healthier relationship with money at any age, and enjoy the wealth you’ve worked so hard to build. As Seb puts it at the end of the episode, anyone can be somewhere completely different in a surprisingly short time, based on what they believe is possible.
To learn more about Pericles Rellas and his free financial thermostat masterclass, visit his website. You can also find him on YouTube and TikTok.