About a week ago, I was watching one of my friend Amanda Abella’s Instagram stories. She is currently doing a 31 day work out challenge and she mentioned that she needed to show up for herself daily. That comment really got me thinking about money and how women in particular may be struggling to show up for ourselves financially.
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Show Notes
During last week’s show with Kassandra Dasent, she brought up the fact that the personal finance community doesn’t spend enough time having conversations about the following topic: falling back into debt after debt repayment.
This resonated with a lot of people and I thought I would expand on that thought in today’s episode with some action steps on how to show up for yourself financially every single day.
First, I want to acknowledge that showing up for yourself financially after years of having money happen to you is pretty freaking hard.
How do I know?
Because this is my life.
Showing up for yourself financially means: acknowledging when you backslide-this happened to me recently and it was 100% a result of being out of alignment with my money related actions.
There are actions that I must take daily in order to maintain and continue making progress with my finances.
- Tracking my spending. By creating a simple Google Doc that functions as an app on my phone, I’m able to input my spending as soon as it happens. I’m looking at all of the small expenses that add up overtime like…going to coffee shops, buying snacks, etc. I wasn’t as good about tracking my spending in March as I should have been and my goal is to get back on it in April.
- Focusing on Money Mindset Exercises-This is the most important action that I need to take on a daily basis and I notice when I forget to work on mindset. Doubts start to crop up in my mind, I earn less, and I just….lose ground. Here are some mindset related tasks that work for me and may work for you.
- Journaling about what I want-I’ve always journaled and I find it to be a great way to get ALL THE THINGS that I’m thinking about out of my mind
- Motivational Mantras/Affirmations things you have to tell yourself. Go to https://www.girlboss.com/money/money-mantras-affirmations to check out some that they shared-they’re great
- This too shall pass
- Money flows freely to me.
- I have a positive relationship to money and know how to use it wisely.
- ***I’ve learned that my money is not just a reflection of what I know about it, but also a reflection of my belief system about what I deserve
- Grow Your Income
- My overall expenses are pretty freaking low. Seriously. But, as I focus on paying off my debt I have to grow my income, and, REAL TALK even if I didn’t have debts to repay-I (and you) should be focusing on growing your income. And, from March through the end of October is a great time to focus on growing your income.
- Remember the story of the Ant and the Grasshopper?
- Every year December-February are my hardest months financially. Especially since become self-employed. Kind of like knowing that Christmas is coming and you need to prepare.
- Growing your income includes the following:
- Growing your earnings-if you’re working a 9-5 spend some time figuring out what you’re earning hourly (even if you’re salaried)
- Can you:
- Work over-time?
- Put in for a promotion
- Change jobs building in a significant raise angle for AT LEAST 15% more
- Side-hustle?
- Don’t just work any side-hustle though. Think about what will make it an ideal fit for you.
- Weekly paychecks?
- Frequent availability of work?
- The amount of energy it actually takes. If you’re working a people facing job daily, look for a side-hustle that doesn’t deal with people. It will take less energy and you’ll likely work it longer.
- Work the numbers-Do you have to commute to your side-hustle? How much time does it take, do you have to pay for gas?
- Don’t just work any side-hustle though. Think about what will make it an ideal fit for you.
- Are you self-employed?
- How often are you getting in-front of your ideal customers? Basically, your goal is to get sales daily how are you prioritizing that?
- Are you raising your rates or accepting low-rates because you’re nervous?
- Are you creating products that people will purchase?
- Are you focusing on the right things as an entrepreneur that will actually grow your income?
- My overall expenses are pretty freaking low. Seriously. But, as I focus on paying off my debt I have to grow my income, and, REAL TALK even if I didn’t have debts to repay-I (and you) should be focusing on growing your income. And, from March through the end of October is a great time to focus on growing your income.
Your Financial Life is an Ultra Marathon
Recently I’ve begun to reframe how I view my financial life. You always hear about money as a marathon
- Your debt repayment is a marathon, etc. I say bull! Because you’re going to be dealing with money and making financial choices FOREVER!!! Bwahahaha (don’t mind me)
Keeping that in mind don’t forget to:
- Be kind to yourself-you will make mistakes
- Remember that you CAN clean up those financial mistakes-it may take a long time, but, you can clean your financial mess.
- Consistent action builds up over time.
- My friend Lindsey from Science Finance pitched one company a day for freelance work as she built up her confidence and her freelance business. In less than a year she is making 6 figures.
- She had a goal
- She built up her confidence
- She created a plan and worked it
- My friend Lindsey from Science Finance pitched one company a day for freelance work as she built up her confidence and her freelance business. In less than a year she is making 6 figures.
Don’t Be Afraid
I was always afraid to look at my numbers. To see my debt, my earnings, etc. The numbers aren’t there to judge-they are just a barometer to make sure you’re taking the right actions to meet your goals.
And, even after all of these years I still get afraid. But, I push through and look at the numbers anyway because I have to show up for myself financially. There really isn’t any other option.
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