The Money Coach Formula to Trade Time for Money

woman-at-cafe

When I first started my own business as a money coach, delegating was really hard for me. I had learned to delegate in my corporate job, but when it came to the home turf, this turned out to be a more difficult feat. Being raised an independent, money conscious, Southern woman, I definitely have DIY in my blood in a big way. I think a lot of women do. I’ve prided myself on being a DIYer, since it is the essence of independence, or so I thought. What I learned is this: When it comes to home decorating projects during play time, DIY can be great fun! When it comes to overall life and … [Read more...]

5 Gut Wrenching Life Changing Epiphanies for 2013

Rich Life Experiences

Don’t you love those life changing “aha” insights? It’s those occasional moments when we really “get it” that lead to the gut wrenching commitments to action that are the catalysts for a truly rich life. Despite the sleepies that accompany winter solstice, it seems that January particularly welcomes such action provoking thoughts with the anticipation of good things to come in the fresh new year. Here are a few of my favorite epiphanies from life experiences in recent years to consider for 2013: Give up negativity. Holy cow! This is huge. After reading A Complaint Free World by … [Read more...]

Are You Compartmentalizing Your Money?

Return on Investment in You!

One of the most important concepts with investing your money and time is that of Return on Investment, or ROI. This is something that we naturally do in most areas of our lives. For example, assume that you’re invited to go on a vacation with friends. Your mind probably immediately goes to the following questions: Will I enjoy the trip? Do I enjoy time with these friends? Will we be doing activities that I really enjoy? How much will it cost? Will it be worth the time away from work? In the end, your assessment will be whether the benefits from the vacation will be more than … [Read more...]

3 Simple Steps for Wealth Building You May Be Overlooking

Wealth Building

The naked truth is that most women need to create additional income streams to rebuild their wealth. The answer to financial freedom for life doesn’t lie in earning 8% or even 10% annually on a traditional retirement account unless that retirement account is into the millions; this varies, of course, depending on age and lifestyle. Sure, it’s super important to understand any investment that  you make, but what I am seeing from working with women who are struggling to put aside money to grow every month is that increasing income provides the means to accomplish wealth building. … [Read more...]

Happy, Guilty or Shameful about Your Money?

Feel Guilty or Happy about Your Money?

Last week at the Texas Conference for Woman I had the pleasure of hearing Dr. Brenè Brown speak for the second time after hearing her speak at my son’s son several years ago. Brenè’s success has catapulted since her Ted Talk went viral. Her years of research on the topic of women and their emotions, especially around guilt and shame, offer us insightful avenues for personal growth. Since guilt and shame are powerful obstacles that frequently block the path to financial freedom, I especially enjoyed a recent Austin Woman magazine’s article featuring Brenè. Below are some of my … [Read more...]

Lessons from My 1974 Orange VW

Financial Education from a VW Bug

One of the most important lessons of financial education that can easily be overlooked is that not all debt is bad. In this time of great fervor over formerly zero percent credit card rates that are now at astronomical levels, it’s not easy to see any debt in a positive light. Wisely used, however, debt can be a wealth management tool that allows an investor to grow money while also living quite comfortably. With this in mind, I want to offer the following financial education tips regarding debt. Good debt enables the purchase of assets that accumulate in value over time. It may be … [Read more...]

Can Style and Positive Cash Flow Go Hand in Hand?

Have Style AND Cash Flow!

As much as we want to grow our money, we all want to be surrounded with things we love, both in our homes, as well as in our closets. It may seem as though this principle could interfere with the important step of creating positive cash flow in order to save money. However, by shifting your mindset to one of “savvy smart spending”, you’ll gain the ability to live a life filled with those things you cherish, while also using your money wisely. Recently a panel of three very impressive IBM executives presented at the Texas State Applied Entrepreneurship program in which I am … [Read more...]

5 Tips for Conscious Spending

Have a Gratitude Attitude

One of the most important steps to grow money is to create positive monthly cash flow. This allows you to regularly put aside money that can be invested. Reducing expenses lacks the upside and excitement of increasing income, but it usually just involves a mindset shift, and not necessarily more work. Conscious and wise spending always make sense, and I prefer this attitude over cheap and frugal. During those leaner times in my life, I have found the following money mindset tips helpful. Look How Far You’ve Come Think about how much money you made earlier in your life when you … [Read more...]

5 Life Changing Tips

huevos rancheros

One of the major decisions I have made over the past few years has been to change my diet so that I feel good. I made a conscious decision to do this after it resisting it for a long time. After being a life- long junkie who could not possibly pass up clipping a great recipe, I changed my focus. This change required changing my perspective; I realized that my body knows what it wants and needs, it tells me, and I want to honor that for my overall good. After making a committed decision, I just have to listen and act accordingly. This same shift paradigm works in any area of our lives, … [Read more...]

Does Risk Hold You Back?

Risk and Uncertainty Are Everywhere

Step four in the Financial Woman Grow Your Money process is putting your money to work for you. One of the biggest challenges with this step is to accept the risk that comes with growing your money. If you stop to think about it, you’ll find that risk is inherent in everything you buy or do.  This post is part of Women’s Money Week 2012.  For more posts on this Sunday's featured-topic, Goals and Taking Action Roundup, see Goals and Taking Action Roundup. Risk is everywhere. There is the potential risk that comes with the loss of love in a relationship, or worse, losing that person due … [Read more...]