Money Musings 💭 How do you afford to travel? ✈️
To commemorate Black History Month, we’ve asked some of our favorite, most inspiring voices in the $$$ world to take over the Fiscal Femme Money Musing and our Instagram. We’re so excited to have Cinneah kicking us off this week! Check her out on Instagram and hear from her below:
Cinneah’s Reflection
“How do you afford to travel?” was the question I frequently received from peers, and family alike whenever I would post a travel pic on the ‘Gram. I was working an entry-level position in NYC and honestly, not managing my money well. I was living off of credit cards, swiping for everything from brunch to uber rides, and digging myself into a hole - over $10,000 deep.
Still, it was clear to me that some of the strategies I was using to save on travel weren’t widely known by my peers. Many of them were overpaying to travel or worse… not traveling at all because of a lack of funds.
Fast forward to today, I am the creator of Flynanced® - a debt free travel and financial freedom digital platform that has inspired me and thousands of others to get control of our finances, prioritize what brings us joy, and build wealth.
I feel empowered to do this work because I believe the world needs more Black women like me boldly claiming abundance and freedom. Moreover, I believe there’s still PLENTY OF WORK to be done in elevating the conversation around travel, money, privilege, and consumption.
Here are 3 facts:
In 2019, Black Americans spent over $109.4 Billion on leisure travel, according to a study conducted by MMGY Travel Intelligence. [LINK] The same study found that Black Americans spent on average $600 per overnight stay.
Yet, in 2019, the median usual yearly earnings for full-time employed Black women ages 25 and older in the U.S. was only $38,220, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. [LINK]
What’s worse: Consumer debt accounted for over 50% of all debt held by Black Americans in 2019, according to Forbes. [LINK] We know, as fiscal femmes, that consumer debt can carry some of the highest interest rates, making it harder to become debt free and build wealth.
So what? It means that we’re living way beyond our means and incomes to have the experiences we want and deserve.
This is why I created a video course, Fly Financially Free, to give people like us the tools and strategies to extract MORE VALUE out of travel so we can see more of the world on our terms.
I’m not only passionate about showing people how to afford to travel, but how travel can be part of our financial goals - not a detriment.
Over 100 people have learned the keys to traveling for the low, no matter their income. I’d love for you to join us so we can elevate the conversation around travel and money. You can purchase the video course here.
Thanks for reading,
Cinneah (sin-EE-ah)
PS On February 17th at 5 pm EST, I’m (this is Ashley again) going to be hosting a workshop: Create Your 2021 Financial Goals (+ Money Party 🎉). At the end you’ll know how much and by when you need to save for each goal, plus which goal(s) to prioritize first. Tickets are on sale now!
MONEY MOVE OF THE WEEK
Keep a money journal. Most of us have no idea where our money is going - and we don’t want to look because we’re afraid of what we find. 🙈 Technology makes it so easy for us to remain in the dark. When I first started keeping a money journal, I found out that I spent almost $200 per month on frozen yogurt. 🍦 Although I love froyo, I would have MUCH rather spent that $2,400/year on something else.
Keeping a money journal allows us to know exactly where our money is going. It’s about awareness. If we don’t like what we see, we can make adjustments so that we’re spending our money on the things we love and enjoy most! Keep it simple: start by writing down everything you spend along with what it cost in a notebook, the notes on your phone, or in my free template.
YOU GOTTA SEE THIS
Discrimination Against Child-free Women. As a new mom in the throes of a childcare crisis I talk a lot about the mistreatment of moms in our patriarchal system. But it’s also really important to talk about how this same system affects women who don’t have children and how that’s been amplified during the current pandemic.
Women without children are discriminated against in the workplace in both the same and different ways. They still experience the motherhood penalty but also encounter other biases for not having children.
The pandemic has left parents scrambling to balance work and childcare duties, and the additional unpaid labor at work has disproportionately affected child-free women (more so than their male colleagues).
This has amplified tensions between working moms and their colleagues without children when in reality, both sides are victims of a broken system. Pitting us against each other is one of the ways the patriarchy keeps us down.
It’s up to companies to support all women. Here’s a proactive list of ways they can do that.