by Elisabeth Donati | Jan 3, 2017 | Financial Articles for Adults/Couples, Financial Education Articles for Women, WEALTHwork™
Yup…it’s yet another New Year to ponder. I wanted to wait until you got most of the “Make this year your best year ever” emails before I sent this one out. I’m sure you’ve rolled your eyes several times already so I thought perhaps I’d give you a few completely unique tips to apply to your financial life.
These are some of the questions the financial gurus often ask you to ponder:
- Where are you now?
- Where do you want to be next year at this time?
- What’s it going to take?
- Are you ready to commit to making it happen?
The following 5 steps, however, as a bit different. Why? Because your financial situation is as much an inside job as it is learning and applying new financial habits in your life. Just as the quality of the apples on an apple tree has to do with the health of the tree’s roots, the quality of your external financial situation has everything to do with your mental financial roots (aka, belief systems).
If you’re one of the many people in the United States who need a financial makeover, here are five very effective, though unusual, steps you can take to start you down a happier, more prosperous road through 2017.
Step One:
Begin each day with gratitude. Take two minutes first thing in the morning, over your coffee, tea, green drink, smoothie or hot chocolate, to experience gratitude for things in your life: your situation, your family, your experiences, your opportunities to learn, your health, your partner, your toothbrush. Whatever it is…just think about, and FEEL, grateful for as many things in your life as you can in two minutes. To add an additional level of awareness to this process, keep a gratitude journal by your bed or on your kitchen table…whatever is easiest to turn into a habit and write in it every day…if even just for a minute.
Note: If a fancy journal makes it easier for you to write, simply type ‘gratitude journal’ into Amazon and take your pick!
Step Two:
Start keeping a money journal. Not just for spending but for anything and everything related to money: saving money, investing money, expenses, purchases, why/when you use cash vs debit card vs credit card, thoughts you have about money (THIS is a biggy). This money journal doesn’t have to be fancy or laid out in any particular way, just start writing your money activities down…all of them! It’s only when we are aware of what we’re doing or thinking that we can then set out to modify what we’re doing or thinking in order to bring us a different financial experience.
Note: It usually takes at least two normal weeks (i.e., no company, holidays, vacations, etc.) before you start seeing your spending patterns. You know, the ones you need to change. If you really want to make some changes, keep the journal for a least a month. And if you REALLY, REALLY want to change, keep the journal going always.
Step Three:
Figure out how staying in your current financial position serves you. You heard me correctly…why might you not want to change? There is a saying that goes like this:
“People don’t change until the pain of change is less than the pain of staying the same.”
Believe it or not, many human beings don’t really WANT to change because to change often requires compromises, effort, letting go of some things, etc. and for whatever reason, some people are unwilling to change even though they give lip-service to wanting a different life.
Human beings hold very deep-seated beliefs when it comes to money (and everything else for that matter) and those beliefs literally control everything we do in regard to money. When you can’t seem to change what you’re doing, figuring out what keeps you stuck where you are is a very good thing indeed.
Doing daily introspective work using a journal, talking to a best friend or even hiring a money coach can help you sort out what’s at the heart of your money issues.
Note: Even if don’t have money issues, you do have money beliefs that are important that you understand. You never know when a negative belief might just rear its ugly head and cause problems for you.
Step Four:
Figure out how improving your financial situation would change your life. Make a list of how things are now and how they would be if you made, or had, more money.
Now, ask yourself this profound question:
“Can I change how I think and feel to experience the life I want this very instant?”
I know it seems like a strange question, but the fact is, you CAN change your experience of life in a heartbeat of a second…if you can learn how to change your MIND about your experience.
Here’s a great book that I highly recommend…The Untethered Soul by Michael Singer. It’s not about money…it’s about something a whole lot deeper. And when you can see life at a deeper, and different, level, you begin to look at everything differently…especially money!
You see, I have been involved with money and people (most of them little, but still) since 2002. I have noticed that money makes people crazy in so many ways. I have noticed that there are people WITH money who are always upset about their financial situation and people with a lot less money who seem sane, happy and satisfied.
Learning to look at money, your life, and life in general a little bit differently can go a long way toward bringing you a little bit of peace around your money situation. Just something to think about…
Step Five:
Figure out how to make doing your money differently a PRIORITY, because if you don’t, you will never change your financial situation.
The fact is, unless something is a priority to you, you just won’t focus on it. You won’t pay attention to it. You won’t do what you need to do in order to get where you say you want to go.
Think about all of the things you do each day…the things you always do no matter what. Why do you do these things? Exactly…because they are a priority to you.
Developing new money habits is one of the requirements for having a new, and improved, financial life. And as soon as you make improving your financial situation a priority, you’ll make developing new money habits a priority and you’ll be off and running.
In summary…I’d venture to say that this list of five steps is probably a little different than other articles you’ve read. While the other lists give you a lot of great financial to-dos, it doesn’t help you develop the neccessary foundation for change if you’re truly tired of your current financial situation and would like to have 2017 be different.
If you’re ready to make a change, you have options:
- Start reading books about money. Any and all books, especially books about belief systems such as The Secrets of the Millionaire Mind by T. Harv Eker. Just visit your local library and start checking out financial books. Would will be surprised at how quickly you start to figure out what you need to do.
- Next, start attending any and all local workshops, seminars or other group events you can attend. You might only pick up one little tidbit, however, those tidbits will add up to a great education quicker than you think.
- Lastly, consider hiring a money coach. Yours truly is available and happy to help you make the necessary changes and take the needed steps to get you moving toward your financial goals. Just give me a call at 805-957-1024 or send me an email at Elisabeth@innerwealthpublishing.com. It would be an honor to assist you!
Happy New Year!
by Elisabeth Donati | Feb 11, 2016 | Financial Literacy Principles, Money and Women, Uncategorized
Here’s a financial tale for your enjoyment…
“Once upon a time there was a beautiful and popular girl who grew up in the world’s most perfect little family. Everyone loved each other, spoke nicely and supportively to each other and everyone went to bed happy and joyful every night.
The girl learned everything she needed to know in order to grow into a stunning (aren’t they always?) young woman who graduated with honors from the most prestigious university in the country with the most amazing job offer of $100,000 to start along with plenty of yummy benefits.
On the first day of her fabulous new (and first and only) job, she met the man of her dreams (of course). He was not only to-die-for handsome but romantic in every way.
He swooped her off of her feet, they fell helplessly in love and had the most exciting, beautiful and memorable fairy tale wedding in the world. Their honeymoon was exquisite…a month-long cruise to every island in the Caribbean.
After their perfect honeymoon, she went back to her satisfying career and worked for five more years, getting promotions and huge raises every year.
Finally, the couple decided to have two perfect children, a sweet and charming girl and a handsome, intelligent boy, each gifted and never a behavioral problem ever.
The perfect couple lived with their perfect children in a perfectly safe housing development with a view of the mountains on one side and a view toward the ocean from the other side.
The couple saved and invested ten percent of their income from their very first paychecks, never had a single emergency and even had enough put away to pay for their two children to attend the finest universities money could buy.
They never got into any debt and when they were 55 years old, they both retired and lived out their lives happily ever after.”
STOP! WAIT! This isn’t how your life turned out? Mine either!
Let me guess what DID happen…
- At some point, you couldn’t afford your expenses (or you just had to have those new shoes, the matching handbag and the perfect coat), so you borrowed some money to get by (i.e., you used your credit card). Then you couldn’t pay the loan or credit card back and the digging began. As the debt mounted, so did your stress levels and your ability to deal with money at all, or your children, or…
- Or you have just struggled to make enough money to pay your basic expenses and have felt there was never enough to start saving and investing. Many women feel this way, until they learn what we teach at Celebrating Women & Wealth.
- Or you got divorced and got the children but no alimony or child support.
- Or…there are a zillion other reasons why you are struggling financially. We feel your pain!
Please know that you’re not alone. There are more women in the U.S. (and world) who are struggling financially than most people realize.
Here are some interesting financial studies and findings…
According to a study on InsuranceNewsNet.com by the financial education company called Financial finesse:
- In every age group, women were more likely than men to report significantly higher levels of financial stress
- Women under 30 are nearly twice as likely as men to report feeling “overwhelming” or “high” financial stress levels.
- Middle- and low- income mothers are reporting the greatest financial stress of all the market segments studied.
- Men just seem to have an easier time of it. Among those with annual household incomes of under $60,000, men were twice as likely as women to report “no financial stress” (19% versus 7%), according to the study. The same trend appeared among those under age 30, where 26% of men reported having no financial stress, while only 9% of women said the same.
- Stress levels can change over time, especially with the help of education. The Financial Finesse study noted that 66% of all users of its financial education programs were women, and those women “appear to be taking steps to improve their finances.
- The presence of minor children in the household impacts women’s stress levels. For example, 10% of women with minor children reported overwhelming stress compared to only 3% of those without minor children.”We know that women often experience high levels of stress before retirement as they juggle both professional and family responsibilities (and) that the stress women feel often carries over into retirement,” said Elaine Sarsynski in commenting on the study.
The financial company Prudential reported:
- Forty-four percent of women are primary breadwinners in their households.
- Household income, personal circumstances and a host of other factors affect women’s stress levels and financial choices. For instance, 31% of women in the Prudential study said that not having enough disposable income was their top financial planning hurdle. They also complained of lack time to spend on financial planning and difficulty understanding financial jargon. married women now say they “take control” of financial and retirement planning and manage it themselves, up from 14% in 2006. Despite that, many women continue to feel more stress in financial matters than do men, although some are making strides.
- In the Prudential study, researchers found a worrisome retirement trend, however. Only 33% of the women said they were on track or ahead of schedule in planning or saving for retirement — down from 46% in 2008, although up from 24% in 2012.
- It appears that women’s top long-term financial goal is “having enough money to maintain their lifestyle in retirement,” Prudential researchers found. That’s followed by “not becoming a financial burden to loved ones” and “having enough money to pay for health care costs.”
These similarities in findings between the two studies occurred even though the foci of the studies differed: The Financial Finesse study looked at financial issues, while a MassMutual study looked at retirement issues.
As you see, women really are struggling all over the US. You definitely aren’t alone and not feeling alone is a great first step to finding solutions to your financial challenges.
If you’re want to learn more, and you’re ready to do money differently, click the link on the bottom right and schedule your free 30 minute consultation. It may be the most important decision you make today. We really want to help.
by Elisabeth Donati | Feb 3, 2016 | Adult Financial Education, Money and Women, Uncategorized
If you think that you can’t succeed in their world and you’ll never have the money or life that you might wish for yourself, think again. Here’s some great information for you to ponder…
The USA has been ranked the top place in the world for female entrepreneurs.(1)
Many women have decided that working for someone else just isn’t right for them. The fast paced office environment can cause early burnout so women choose to focus their efforts on their own businesses.
Here are 25 amazingly successful women who have worked their way from rags to riches. 
- Jennifer Hyman—Rent the Runway. She saw an opportunity to build a company based around renting designer clothing to brides and the bridal party, in New York City. Jennifer feels that it’s important to love what you do as you spend most of your time at work. She recommends that you have passion for what you do and to not focus on negativity.
- Julia Hu—Lark Industries. Julia saw a need for a silent vibrating alarm when her partner’s erratic schedule and alarms would wake her up. Today her company offers a band-like alarm clock and various wellness apps for the smart phone. Julia says that failure is normal and expected, and to keep pushing yourself to keep going.
- Alexa von Tobel—LearnVest. Alexa came from a family of entrepreneurs so it was normal for her to take that route too. She realized that there was no online resource to help people with basic financial help. She recommends that women begin with an idea that they love, as that’s what they’re going to have to devote the rest of their lives in doing.
- Lauren Bush Lauren—Feed. Lauren started a company where they have a line of bags, and a portion of the sales go to feed one child in a poor country for a year. The other portion goes toward profits. Her company has expanded to a wide range of accessories, and today she works with Disney, Gap, and Whole Foods.
- Ooshma Garg—Gobble. Ooshma created the Gobble company to link up busy but hungry people with personal chefs. Her company began in San Francisco but she plans to expand into other cities. She says that if you want to learn to be an entrepreneur, you should start by being one.
- Hayley Barna—Birchbox. Hayley thought it would be fun for women to receive beauty samples in the mail. The first roadblock was securing that initial funding, so she had to rely on family and friends. She recommends that you be open to feedback from everyone and that you may not have a perfect idea in the beginning.
- Oprah Winfrey—Harpo Productions. Oprah is one of the most well-known names today. She started from a poor family and won a scholarship to Tennessee State University. She became the first African American TV correspondent in her state. She moved to Chicago and the Oprah Winfrey Show began. Today she is a multi-billionaire.
- J.K. Rowling—Author, Pottermore. JK started as a single mother on welfare who would write her first Harry Potter novel at the local coffee shop. She received over fifty rejections before someone said yes. She insisted that she retain electronic rights to the Harry Potter books, making her wealthier than Queen Elizabeth II.
- Celine Dion—Musical artist. Celine is one of the world’s richest entertainers. She started as the 14th and last child of a very poor home in Quebec. She began singing at 12 and was discovered. Later she met her husband who became producer and manager and made her the star she is today.
- Jane Park—Julep Beauty Inc. Jane recognized a need for salon workers to use safe, naturally based nail polish. She opened up nail salons and then began a monthly subscription-based company where women receive nail polish every month, free of the top 5 toxic ingredients that are contained in common nail polish brands. Today the company has a large range of beauty products.
- Shania Twain—Musical artist. Like Celine, Shania grew up in a household that was too poor to have heat and often they had no food. At eight years old Shania began singing in bars to make her first $20. She continued her singing career through high school. She’s now considered one of the highest selling female musicians today.
- Taylor Swift—Musical artist. Taylor Swift started when she was eleven years old in Nashville, Tennessee. She went so far as to take a sample CD around to as many record labels as she could find. She repeatedly heard that her music was too common, but she worked at it and became a success in the country and pop music scenes.
- Hilary Devey—Pall-Ex. Hilary’s family lost everything during a bankruptcy. There was no money for Christmas presents and she had to make do with three dresses. She left school at 16 to earn money and would work overtime to make extra cash. She had two failed marriages but then decided to sell the family home to finance Pall-Ex.
- Indra Noovi—PepsiCo CEO. Indra grew up in middle-class India. She moved to the US without any money and in pursuit of a management degree. She worked as a receptionist to pay her college fees and buy an interview suit. She started at Johnson & Johnson and Motorola. She says that you must work twice as hard as a man to earn your way up the ladder.
- Michelle Mone—MJM Ltd. Michelle started out naive and didn’t realize how much work it would take to start a company. She grew up in a poor home which only had one bedroom. At 12 she started working in a fruit shop. At age 16 she had to leave school to look after her disabled dad. She worked as a model and then lied on her resume to get a job at Labatts. She realized the need for a comfortable bra and became cofounder of MJM.
- Ursula Burns—Xerox CEO. Ursula lived in the bad part of NYC. Despite living with a single mom, her mom raised enough cash to send her to college. Ursula became a summer intern at Xerox and never left. She’s now chairman and CEO.
- Jenna Lyons—J Crew Creative Director. She started working for J Crew at age 21 as an assistant. She says that you must start at the bottom and never expect that you’ll immediately be handed a platter. She worked for what she became. It took some really long hours to become a Creative Director, and today she still works those long hours.
- Christiane Amanpour—CNN Journalist. Christianne also had to start from the bottom and work her way up. She had almost nothing when she first joined CNN as a foreign desk assistant. She had a bike, a suitcase, and $100. She began in 1983 and today she is a CNN journalist.
- Cindi Leive—Glamour, Editor-in-Chief. Cindi was lucky enough to find a job as an editorial assistant for Glamour magazine in the 1990s. She left to work at Self for a while, and then in 2001 she returned to Glamour. Today she is their editor-in-chief.
- Donna Karan—DKNY. Donna Karan is the fashion designer who started DKNY and Donna Karan New York. She began as an assistant to Anne Klein. Her humor has kept her energized through the years.
- Ursula Burns—Xerox CEO. Ursula started out as an intern and then worked as a personal assistant. She worked her way up to the first African-American women CEO to head a Fortune 500 company in 2009.
- Debbie Wasserman Schultz—Congresswoman. Debbie started as a aide to Congressman Peter Deutsh. Her hard work has paid off and today she is the Florida Congresswoman and DNC Chair.
- Cindy Gallop—Website Advertising Executive. Cindy has worked every hour of every day in theater, even though it earned her peanuts. She now manages the advertising for two entertainment websites.
- Ruth Bader Ginsburg—Supreme Court Justice. Ruth studied law in school while caring for a child and her sick husband. She was denied a clerkship because of her gender, but that didn’t stop her. She went on to research, professorship, and then the Supreme Court.
- Helen Gurley Brown—Cosmopolitan Advertising Executive. Helen started as a secretary at an advertising agency. Her talent was recognized and she went into copyrighting. From there she began a successful career in magazine advertising.
Even though there is an increasing percentage of female entrepreneurs each year, there is still plenty room for growth and for you to join the ranks!
From 2013 census data, 7.8 million women were entrepreneurs, as compared to 27.1 million men. Women aged under 35 are also starting businesses at a more rapid pace then women over 35. In the upcoming years it will be exciting to see the percentages balance out, as more women decide to become their own bosses.
If you’re ready to join the ranks, the first thing you need to learn is personal finance and happily, you’re in a great place to start! How can we help?
Schedule a free 30 minute consultation with Elisabeth and get started today. Just click the popup on the bottom right and let’s get started!
Source: http://thegedi.org/2015-female-entrepreneurship-index-press-release/
by Elisabeth Donati | Jan 30, 2016 | Money and Women, Uncategorized
Feminine kindness comes from a place inside us that is hard-wired to take care of others. It’s what drives the majority of women on the planet.
It’s why in my financial workshops I refer to us as ‘takercareofers’ and why, while many moons ago, we relied on the men in our lives to provide for us so that we could take care of others.
For a very long time, this seemed to work. Heck, it works today in a lot of relationships, married or not.
However, in many circles…especially among younger women, it is considered old-fashioned. This does NOT mean it’s wrong in any way, shape or form. Many women actually still want a traditional relationship where they can take care of their man and their children.
It’s a personal choice…it’s all OK…and you don’t have to feel pressured to be one way or another. Just work it out so you’re living the life YOU want and not the life someone told you you should be living. That’s one of the most important steps to being happy!
Taking Care Of in Real Life
This drive to ‘take care of’ is also what keeps us from asking for raising, asking for what we need in relationships, asking for the sale, charging what we’re really worth for products or services we create of perform.
In many ways, learning about money for many women, doesn’t come naturally or intuitively…especially if you weren’t taught about money at home or in school. (And in my experience, financial education that comes from a parent is usually better and longer-lasting that what used to be taught in schools. Times are changing, however, and students are learning about money and investing in much greater detail these days…a very good thing!)
Many women have said to me in regard to money…
- “I hate money.”
- “I just don’t understand money.”
- “I get stressed just thinking about money, even if I have enough of it.”
- “Financial stress keeps me up at night. I just don’t know how I’m going to make my money stretch.”
- “Money makes me so afraid…I don’t know what to do.”
- “Investing is too complicated. I know too many people who have lost all of their savings.”
- “How do I even start saving when I have all of these expenses?”
…and the list goes on.
You get the picture.
You name it, I’ve heard it…in our Celebrating Women & Wealth workshops and from money coaching clients I have worked with over the years. Women simply struggle with the money in their lives and there is no cut and dry answer to their struggles or solutions to their situation. It’s all a matter of figuring out what you need to learn and change and moving forward one step and one day at a time.
Note: even though my programs are geared towards and for women, men also have these same thoughts and feelings and emotions about money.
Random Acts of Kindness
We all know this phrase. We see it on bumper stickers and posters and stickers. We hear people say it less frequently than we did a few years back when the idea was fresh off the idea train, but it’s still very much present in our culture.
The point is, if you’re a woman, regardless of your financial situation, you’re going to continue doing lots of things for lots of people. Sometimes we do too many things because we’re trying to get approval or need to help boost our self-worth or self-esteem. There are definitely situations where we need to learn to say “no” more often.
But that’s not what I’m referring to here. I’m talking about little things you do that you’re just inspired or compelled to do for someone…and often someone who is a stranger.
These are the things that give me, personally, what I call goose pimples and it’s these times when I’m really aware of my purpose at that time. I saw, I acted, I smiled.
Life is good.
Keep doing what you’re driven to do as a woman (or if you’re a man reading this!) and know that you don’t need to stop being yourself. The world depends on our random acts of feminine kindness in more ways that we can possibly ever know!
