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10 Self-Love acts your money will smile about

10 Self-Love acts your money will smile about

by | Feb 14, 2023 | financial wellness

What does self-love look like when it comes to money?

 

Happy Galentine Day Beautiful!

Defining Self-Love:

Self-love is an internal behavior as a result of our beliefs, thoughts, and feelings toward ourselves. It is knowing our worth, valuing and respecting ourselves. Self-love is the cornerstone of building a healthy relationship with our money.

The difference between Self-Love and Self-care:

I believe many people actually get these two mixed up, or use them interchangeably. Self-Care is the external things we do to take care of our physical, mental, emotional, spiritual and social needs/health. Self-Care is the fun stuff! It’s buying those flowers, getting a massage, that mani-pedi, lighting those candles and taking a lavender bubble bath, it’s your downward dogs and quiet meditation, it’s taking time to journal your thoughts, or taking that mental-health day and going hiking. We’ve become good at self-care because it’s popular and trending.

But self-love takes a little more work. It requires us to be introspective and dig into who we are, and why we do the things we do.

When it comes to money, it goes back to understanding your money story. You may need to get a little help with this. Often times things that affect our financial behavior, have nothing to do with money.

A few ways a lack of financial Self-Love shows up in our lives:

• We live beyond our means – this is a way of life, not just a season; we’re constantly spending more than we are making. When we do this, there is no room for savings.
• Debt is our lifestyle – our credit cards are always maxed out. Because of our debt, we will not be able to experience financial freedom.
• We choose to not be aware of our financial situation – we walk around with our heads in the sand about our money; we don’t want to look at our bills, we have no idea what’s going on with our bank accounts, and we basically don’t know where we stand financially.
• We have no financial boundaries – we allow other people to spend our money, and have access to our money when we really don’t want them to, or can’t afford for them to, but we don’t know how to tell them no.
• We don’t believe that we are worthy of having a better life, or the life we desire, so we do things like self-sabotage and/or play small.

Can I tell you that all of the above behaviors can be changed? There was a time in my life when I did not show financial love to myself in several ways. So, I know it’s possible to change.

Start by forgiving yourself. This didn’t start yesterday, it probably took a while to here, so it may take a while to undo. Be patient with yourself, get help if you need it, and start to create new and healthy money habits.

10 Ways to show financial Self-Love:

1. The number one thing we can do is “Pay ourselves first!”

2. Protect ourselves and our assets – check with an insurance agent, and estate planning attorney regarding life and other insurance needs, and the four basic estate planning documents: will, trust, durable power of attorney, and a healthcare directive.

3. Invest in ourselves – learn something new about money.

4. Set financial boundaries for ourselves and others – we must learn to tell ourselves “no” to things we don’t need or really want, and can’t afford, and keep others from going in our pockets/bank accounts, like it’s a joint account and they put money in it.

5. Know our worth

6. We must notice our emotions around money, and pay attention to our money habits, patterns, and triggers.

7. If there is any debt, create a debt reduction plan to pay down, and off debt.

8. Being generous blesses us – give to a cause that you care about.

9. Have annual financial check-ups – just as we get our annual medical check-ups, we should do an annual check-up of our finances: review your retirement accounts, credit reports, subscriptions and utility bills to see if there are any promotions or discounts available.

10. Celebrate your wins, no matter how big or small. Be proud of your achievements, and the steps you have made toward showing yourself some financial self-love.

 

Embrace Your Journey!

 

Warmly

Your sister

Kim
Financial Wellness and Your Money Journey

Financial Wellness and Your Money Journey

by | Jan 30, 2023 | financial wellness

Financial Wellness is the starting point for building Wealth

 

Hello Beautiful!

 

What is financial wellness:

How does financial wellness impact our money journey?  Financial wellness is our overall financial health and well-being. It is our thoughts around money, our relationship with money, our money behavior, our ability to make sound financial decisions, and our knowledge about money. Financial wellness is being “comfortable” with our financial position, and where we are in our money journey.

Factors that influence financial wellness:

• Our mindset about money – this is what drives our internal money story. Our money mindset is shaped in the early years of our lives. It’s what we learned about money growing up, our values, the messages we received – directly and indirectly; what we learned in our families, our religious beliefs, what we saw in our communities and the world around us, including, with no surprise, the media. All of these influence our thoughts, attitudes, and beliefs around money. What we believe about money will either drive us, or get in our way; it governs our actions. And it is from this place that our relationship with money is formed.

• Our relationship with money – this is our comfort level with money; it’s how we are navigating our money journey. Are we tiptoeing around it, are we avoiding the relationship all together, are we reckless, or do we have a good command over our money?

• Our money habits & behavior – this is what we do with our money every day. It is the choices and decisions we make. It is how we manage our money; our money practices. This is how our mindset about money presents in our lives. It is how we move.

• Our knowledge about money – how much do you know about money? No judgement. It’s just a question for you.

Why financial wellness is important to our money journey:

When we understand our money story, and can identify our beliefs, thoughts, and values around money, we can move differently and with a different intention; we will behave differently.

The results:
1. We can have a better relationship with our money.
2. We will be able to take better control of our money.
3. We can work towards being in a position to create and build wealth by achieving the 5 Money Goals.

Sharing my journey to financial wellness in hopes that you will be encouraged:

As I shared a little bit in my About Page, my money journey has not been easy. I had to undo a lot of negative behaviors, and beliefs; my money mindset was in shambles. I actually got a lot of mixed messages about money. What I heard, or thought I heard in church completely confused me, and I thought it was a sin to be rich/wealthy; then I learned the truth for myself.

When I was really young, I pretty much lived with my grandparents, and I remember my grandmother always saying, “Lawd, I don’t know how I’m gone’ make it.” This was a regular refrain from her. And to counter that, I had my grandfather who taught me the importance of savings. I remember when I was a kid, he took me to the bank to open up a Christmas club savings account – they don’t have those any more. I was so excited! I really loved putting my little money in that account.

Fast-forward, as a teenager, my mother taught me how to survive, and I continued that survival mentality into adulthood. It served me as a young single mom, but left some scars. I will never forget as long as I live, being on welfare with two kids and getting $682/month. I was just existing – financially. I knew I didn’t want that for me and my children.

I had to work hard to unravel my thinking around money, and how I felt about myself. I had to move beyond my scarcity mentality. My financial wellness was not.

How I changed the trajectory of my financial wellness:

Since I have always had a passion for personal finance and investing, that’s where I started. Because of my passion, it was actually easy to fix the tangible.
• I focused on better money management – I would budget down to the penny.
• I learned everything I could about investing, and personal finance.
• I got a good job making relatively good money, and made smart decisions about what I did with it – that was key.
• If I am honest, though so much better, and decades later, I am still faced at times with money mindset challenges.

I’ll share a very recent story:
Every year I save all bills that have a “K” in the serial number, and I save all change. I use this money towards something I may want, or lately, it’s been the plan to do something nice for myself on my birthday. However, when my birthday comes, I struggle to spend the money. This past birthday I had saved over $850 in change and “K” bills, and I had a hard time doing something nice for me. To be fair, there isn’t much I want; I enjoy experiences more than things. In the end, I put the money in my savings account. That may sound great, but it allows me to see that I still have to work on my money mindset, and that this is a journey.

Whatever your financial wellness picture looks like, and wherever you are in your journey, it’s never too late, and always worth the effort to get to the financial position you are comfortable with.

Embrace your journey!

Warmly,

your sister

Kim
How to create financial goals that you will achieve

How to create financial goals that you will achieve

by | Jan 23, 2023 | financial wellness

Tips for creating  financial goals that you can crush

 

Hello Beautiful!

Let’s crush our 2023 financial goals

 

I don’t want you to just achieve your financial goals this year, I want you to crush them!

Creating financial goals that you will achieve goes a little deeper than making a list of things you want to accomplish.

While we are still in the month of January, it’s not too late to think about creating financial goals, if you have not already done so.
So, how do you create financial goals that you will actually achieve?

I got you!

But wait, can you believe that January is almost over! It went by so fast. Well, let’s get started.

Every year around this time people make New Year resolutions, and set goals that they don’t keep. I know, I’ve been that person. There have been times when I have completely forgotten about them by March, and other times where I have accomplished a few, but not all, and there were times when I nailed it!

How does that happen? You, achieving your financial goals.

I love the scripture, Habakkuk 2:2, “Write the vision an make it plain on tablets,…”

I can’t stress how important the act of writing out your financial goals will be to your success. Many people want to skip this step, but right there, that should send an alarm – are you really ready to achieve your goals? Or are you just dreaming? Let me say this, without putting it in writing, without a plan that you intend to work, it’s just a wish and a dream. That won’t get you what you want. I will share with you the process I will be using on my journey.
First, let’s talk about a goal setting strategy that’s quite popular – S.M.A.R.T. goals. I’m sure many of you have heard of this acronym, but I’ll review.

S.M.A.R.T. Goals:
• S – Your goals must be Specific. You need to be able to identify it.
• M – Your goals must be Measurable. You must be able to track your progress.
• A – Your goals must be Attainable. Okay, you gotta be realistic, is it something you can really do? Yes, you may have to work hard.
• R – Your goals must be Relevant. Does it mean enough to you to work for it? Is it important to you?
• T – Your goals must be Time-Bound. You have to set a date for when you will achieve your goals. However, this should stress you out.

Establishing SMART goals will make your process more quantifiable. Next, let’s talk about the process.

10 Steps for writing out your financial goals:
1. Identify your goals. What will they be?
2. Write everything down. I can’t stress this step enough.
3. Prioritize each goal: Which one to do first? Which is more important?
4. List what your objectives will be. How will you accomplish your goals?
5. Determine the methods you will use. This is your action plan; the steps you will take.
6. Establish a date to achieve our goals, including a timeline with checkpoints/benchmarks (these identify tasks you should complete at designated points, on the way to the finish).
7. Develop a “Backwards Plan,” including your benchmarks. (Something I learned in the military).
8. Calculate the cost – time, money, resources, family, sacrifices, etc. What is it really costing you?
9. Work your plan!!! Note – many people won’t do this, and wonder what’s wrong with the plan. Hm…
10. Last, and incredibly important – Have Faith & Believe!!!

Now after all that, you still may not achieve your financial goals.  You say, “what?!”
So, what will it take for you to actually achieve your financial goals for 2023?

5 valuable elements that will get you to the finish line, and make it possible for you to actually achieve your financial goals:
1. Values – Your goals have to line up with your values – what’s important to you, and for your family. It cannot be counterproductive to your big picture financial plan.
2. Your “Why” – This is your reason you are doing what you are doing; it is your motivation. Your “why” has to be STRONG enough to compel you to action.
3. Focus – You will need to have visual reminders of your goals. This is why vision boards are so popular. But you know, a post-it will do, a 3X5 card, stick it on your bathroom mirror, or the inside of your front door, somewhere you will see it daily, and are reminded.
4. Accountability – Have someone that you can share your goals with; someone that will hold you accountable, and that you can check in with, someone who can encourage you, be your cheerleader, and get you back on track when you’re not doing anything.
5. Commitment – Here is where the heart check and gut check comes in, is your goal something you just want, or are you willing to do what it takes to accomplish the goal? There is a big difference between being committed to doing something and just wanting it. When you are committed you are willing to do what is necessary to achieve your goal; you are willing to put in the work, and make the sacrifice. Without the commitment, it’s just a want that is no more than a wish.

I hope you are ready to crush your 2023 financial goals, because I am.
Embrace the journey!

Warmly,
Your sister

Kim