financial empowerment Archives

This Really Got My Attention

January 31, 2012 By Camille Gaines 1 Comment

The old saying “the way you do one thing, is the way you do everything” keeps surfacing in my life. When something appears three times or more, it definitely gets my attention. I have thought about this statement quite a lot lately; I believe it’s really true, and have even decided to put it to the test. This year I have decided to choose a focus area for personal growth, and now plan to do this each new year; I think that business growth and personal growth are really one in the same; when we increase our skills or lifestyle, we grow personally as a result of that … [Read more...]

If Apple Can Do It….

December 8, 2011 By Camille Gaines 1 Comment

In Tuesday’s Financial Woman blog, I wrote “Imperfect action is always better than waiting for perfect action, as it will never come. How many times do Apple, Dell and Microsoft improve their original product after launch? If they can use this strategy, so can we”. In today’s article, I’d like to expand on this topic as it relates to women and money. I hear from many women that they often feel overwhelmed or intimidated about getting more involved with growing their money. There is a misperception about investing, as with many other aspects of life: that we have to know it all … [Read more...]

6 Steps for a Financial Health Checkup

November 23, 2011 By Camille Gaines 4 Comments

Can you believe November is almost gone? It seems like just yesterday summer was approaching, and now here we are about to face the end of another year. The time between Thanksgiving and the holidays is perfect for a financial health check-up. Spend some time before life gets too crazy to access how your money situation has changed over the past year. I find that when I take a proactive step to access where I am BEFORE the end of the time frame I am measuring, I feel ahead of the game in improving any situation. Here are a few thoughts to get clear about your 2011 financial … [Read more...]

Let’s talk Money Ladies!

May 2, 2011 By Camille Gaines Leave a Comment

When was the last time you had a money conversation with a girlfriend? Ever been at a dinner party when the conversation at the table turns to finances and the guys stop making eye contact with you? I have! What’s up with that? I think we know… Why is it that men talk about financial opportunities and investments so openly, but women rarely do? On the free Financial Empowerment Now call I hosted last week, I gave 7 simple tips especially for women to increase their financial fluency. One of the tips was to simply start having conversations with your friends about money. I’m not … [Read more...]

Does the Word Wealth Feel Creepy?

April 25, 2011 By Camille Gaines Leave a Comment

Last week I hosted a free call, Financial Empowerment Now. On the call, I gave seven tips for increasing your financial fluency. Often the topic of finance and investing is just too large; it can feel overwhelming, especially with the lingo. I encourage women to take some simple steps to first become more comfortable with the topics of money and investing by starting to use wealth language. One of the seven tips I gave is to simply start using the word wealth. For many of us, this may be an uncomfortable word. On the call, I suggest that if you had the ability to simply be on that call, it … [Read more...]

Do You Have Financial Harmony?

April 18, 2011 By Camille Gaines Leave a Comment

What a perfect weekend! I hope your weekend was as wonderful as mine; it included kayaking on beautiful Ladybird Lake near downtown Austin followed by dinner on the patio at Whole Foods Market with friends, editing yet another “final” draft of my financial book for women while spending a gorgeous day on my patio, golf, hiking, spiritual time and a little time focusing on my finances. I even found some quiet time to explore my own personal money reasons in my Financial Woman Alliance member wealth journal; updating my money reasons always helps me get and stay on track with my financial … [Read more...]

Remember Shoulder Pads and Huge Earrings?

April 11, 2011 By Camille Gaines Leave a Comment

You know how you just know not to wear or do certain things when it’s out of style? Wearing shoulder pads and giant earrings from the 1980’s come to mind. It is almost like an intuitive knowledge, but it’s not intuitive, because you somehow just know. You know what is in fashion by simply paying attention, flipping through your regular magazines, or watching movies or TV and noticing the styles. All of this triggers ideas and thoughts that you then act on as you make decisions when you shop and dress. That same awareness and attention level is the goal for your finances! And why can’t … [Read more...]

What’s a Money Reason?

February 28, 2011 By Camille Gaines Leave a Comment

Today’s investment education call for the Financial Woman Alliance was about the psychology of money. While my original intention for Financial Woman was to focus only on core investment education, such as as the basics of the stock market and successful investing strategies, I have found that until you deal with the head stuff around money, it is hard to become the woman you want to be with your wealth management. Last week I wrote about identifying your childhood money beliefs, and this week I want to write about your money reasons. One of the first steps leading to financial empowerment … [Read more...]

Are Childhood Money Beliefs Holding You Back?

February 24, 2011 By Camille Gaines Leave a Comment

Monday’s investment education call at the financial woman alliance will be about mindsets. Since our beliefs about something affect how we handle everything in our lives, regardless of how much we know about the topic, this seemed like the best place to begin our core curriculum calls for the alliance members. Once you have identified any mental roadblocks that may be holding you back around your financial empowerment, then you can forge ahead toward your money goals. Most people have childhood beliefs that affect their money habits and the way they handle the responsibilities involved with … [Read more...]

You Won’t Believe How Easy This Is!

February 17, 2011 By Camille Gaines Leave a Comment

Last week my Short & Simple Investing lesson explained how to use benchmarks to evaluate your investment choices. This week I want to expand on that hugely important topic a little more. Once you understand and begin using benchmarks, you are definitely on your way to financial empowerment. Now that you know about the benchmark, you can be on the lookout for the benchmark that applies to your specific investments to help you monitor them. Don’t feel like this is a huge task; there are usually a just few very common benchmarks that are used for most stock and bond funds. For example, for … [Read more...]