Getting Better With Money
April is also Financial Literacy Month! For many people, talking about money can be very uncomfortable, perhaps because of messages we received as children about money, beliefs we’ve developed around money as adults, our own past money mistakes, and more; which are all valid! However, these conversations are necessary, particularly, to holistically heal ourselves, inform ourselves and future generations, and generate and maintain generational wealth.
Personally, all of the above resonated with me and as a result I found myself avoiding conversations about money both personally and in relationships, hoarding money, not having a budget and no boundaries around money, not negotiating my worth, and more. I can say that most of my behaviors ultimately stemmed from fear: fear of not having enough, fear of repeating past mistakes, fear of facing a topic that I didn’t know much about. Soon enough, I realized that fear was holding me back from stepping into the abundance that surrounded me and surrounds all of us.
Shifting and developing my money mindset took lots of time and patience and is still a practice that I’m always giving attention to because it is an ongoing process. I am book lover so I turned to a number of books to gain a great deal of my financial knowledge, including: “Rich Dad Poor Dad” by Robert Kiyosaki, “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill, “You’re A Badass at Making Money” by Jen Sincero, “The Blessed Life” by Robert Morris, “The Total Money Makeover” by Dave Ramsey, and my favorite, “Get Good With Money” by Tiffany Aliche. Additional resources include the Earn Your Leisure Podcast and working on my spiritual wellness.
Each book had a significant impact on shifting my mindset and becoming move engaged, action-oriented, and communicating more openly about my finances. Most recently, I joined a book club and we read “Get Good With Money” by Tiffany Aliche, which totally blew my mind. Maybe it was having the opportunity to process this book as a group, identifying with the author as a Black Woman, or that I was in a posture to receive, but I gained many new money realizations.
3 Of My New Money Realizations:
I am not my past money mistakes, behaviors, or patterns and I have the power to transform my financial situation.
It is important for me to always remember and believe that I am worthy and deserving of money and that I am abundant and abundance surrounds me at all times
Becoming good with money is an ongoing process that requires your active participation, planning, willingness to grow your financial knowledge, and share that knowledge with others.
To end, I want to encourage you to be compassionate and patient with yourself as you go along your financial healing and liberation journey. Additionally, leave you to of my favorite phrase that stuck with me as I was and continue to develop my money mindset “you can’t change what you don’t face”, “ tell your money where to go, so you don’t have to ask where your money went!”, “knowledge is power, only if it’s applied.”