Each time I sit down to write this blog, my goal is to give you helpful tips and information about your money. Things you can take action with immediately or perhaps spur a momentary “what if” thought. There are many money and financial people out there I follow. Some I agree with while others have me rolling my eyes but respect their ideas.

This week, I’d like this post to go on a completely different angle. I want to share some strategies that changed my financial life. And hopefully, they’ll do the same for you, as well.

Growing up the subject of money wasn’t really discussed. I grew up in a small town with a stay-at-home mom, a blue-collar working dad, and my little brother. We weren’t rich. Far from it. Nor did we live in a massive house or eat fancy food. Special and fancy food was at times when the gardens were bountiful of corn or livestock was processed for the year. They did what parents and grandparents did so we could to get by.

I remember visits to the grocery store were carefully calculated as to how much was available to feed a family of four and perhaps a special treat at Dairy Queen. Hot dogs and peanut butter parfaits were the bombs!!

Once I moved away and started my life all the normal debt became normal. It was how everyone operated, right? Besides as long as I have a paycheck everything is fine. Student loans, car payments, eventually the first mortgage, and credit cards! My first credit card was Montgomery Ward and I felt grown up with my $9000 annual income. But over the years, life took me down several paths that were not always fun.

I’ve managed to improve my financial situation from all the misinformation and decisions often made from times of stress instead of calmness. Sure, I started from zero in 2006. But now, I live with flexibility, peace, and confidence in my day-to-day finances. It’s far from perfect but so much better than it has ever been. EVER!

Here are several strategies that you can implement to do the same:

1) Fall in love learning about your personal finance

This is an odd statement to make but one as a woman will empower you further than you will realize. Money touches every area of our life. I’m repeating, “every area”. While I don’t follow the news a great deal there is a report from CNBC that, “American’s are receiving a failing grade with their personal finance”. With everything piled on top, like a pandemic and the job losses the number of sleepless nights and general hopelessness we’re having is out of control.

When you begin to make changes, start small and don’t try to do it all over a single weekend. Learning about personal finance, your personal finance should become a passion. Here are a few things you can start with today to become more financially literate, as we say.

• Watch your favorite money guru on YouTube. Target what you find interesting such as the real estate market or money in general.
• Subscribe to a weekly reputable e-newsletter you would be genuinely interested in.
• Listen to podcasts on personal finance. I listen to several Women and Money-type podcasts while driving around town or cleaning the house.

The goal isn’t to do exactly what everyone else is doing. The goal is to learn from those people and try your best to implement the strategy that fits your situation. When you continually put one foot in front of the other, you’ll start to notice the financial progress. If something you tried isn’t working, stop and go a different route. This was where my confidence starting helping because I noticed it didn’t resonate with my situation so I stopped.

2) Focus on you, not other people

This was one of my biggest struggles early on. The last thing I wanted was for others to find out how broke, confused, and ashamed I was. Asking for guidance or suggestions wasn’t in my vocabulary. When I finally did go to a credit counselor I was told I was beyond help and I should file bankruptcy. Now when I look back at those meetings the information was misguided and wrong.

If you want to build wealth, it’s important to focus on your own journey. I’m empathetic to the fact it’s difficult to ignore other people’s opinions. But sometimes, doing difficult things is necessary for you to win your financial confidence.

When you start hearing the phrase, “you’ve changed” it can be a good thing. This was something that took me a long time to realize: change really is good. It was and still is a sign of progress. Frequently making forward progress moves you closer to the life you desire.

3) Find ways to earn extra money 

There is absolutely nothing wrong with working a 9–5 job. But if you want to get out of debt and build wealth more quickly, it’s certainly a good idea to have multiple streams of income. For example:

• Are you really, really good at something you could make YouTube videos on and earn extra revenue? How-to videos are searched by most everyone.
• Do you love to write? Selling your freelance work either to individuals or small businesses could be your next career.
• Start an online store with Etsy, Poshmark, eBay, or so many others that are available. Even the local Facebook Marketplace can be a local source of extra income.

You may not be the next millionaire with the extra money you bring in, but trust me when I say it all adds up quickly. There is something about the extra dollars bringing you financial flexibility and peace of mind, it’s priceless.

What if, you just earn $300 a month from your side-hustle(s), that becomes $3600 per year, extra!  Chances are, having extra money will make it easier to sleep at night, knowing you can afford to pay rent and buy groceries when you need them.

Like you, I want to build my nest egg, pursue what I’m passionate about, and wake up each morning with a smile on my face. When I started taking interest in making my personal finance a priority with some of the above strategies, my situation quickly improved. Suddenly, I had a lot more money in my checking account than ever before. As a professional career woman, I was part of the 30% of women living at or some years below the poverty level, financially.

Taking those steps towards becoming more financially literate each day just like the power of compound interest enables you to make massive amounts of progress over time. April begins Financial Literacy month and during the month I will be focusing even more on this topic through my social media pages so be sure and follow and share my posts with other women!

I’m also opening up additional time slots in the calendar to coach more women. I have set a hefty goal of 20 additional women this year to help. It’s that important to me and I hope to you. Click through on my calendar and choose a time best for you! Schedule HERE!

So what are you waiting for?

Your Money Coach,

Roxanne