Money Musings 💭 ignoring standard financial advice 🚫
As our Black History Month takeovers continue, I’m thrilled to have Jamila Souffrant, founder of Journey to Launch, writing today’s Money Musing. 🤗
JAMILA’S REFLECTION
Most people have a very linear way of thinking about money. You should spend less than you earn, prioritize paying off debt, save, invest, you know the rest. In general, we’ve been taught to think of money in a particular way.
The problem with a lot of general personal finance advice is it lacks customization to make it work for you and your unique journey to financial freedom.
What happens when life occurs, or an opportunity arises where it doesn’t always make the most financial sense but it makes the best intuitive sense?
On the surface, some really valuable opportunities don’ t appear to be financially sound because they doesn’t follow the typical money advice of what you should do. But doing this very thing is what will actually allow you to break through to the next level.
That’s why financial freedom is not a one size fits all approach. Personal Finance and your journey to financial freedom is meant to be personal. No one’s journey is the exact same and while there are some baseline things you can do to set yourself up for success, your journey is uniquely yours to craft and travel.
For example, If I would’ve followed the traditional financial advice, I wouldn’t have bought my first condo at 22 years old. There is no way I should’ve been able to technically do that or afford it.
I barely had enough money to cover the mortgage when I first went into contract on the unit but I knew deep down, this was the next best step for me. Turns out it was. That risky investment has been the most profitable and life changing investment that I ever made.
Even more recently, had I followed logical financial advice I would not have quit my “safe” 6 figure job to pursue entrepreneurship full-time-- specially not with 3 small children under 5 (at the time), a New York City mortgage, and other bills to pay. But I ditched my 3 hour daily driving commute and work from home.
Giving up my 6 figure paycheck to follow a passion before I replaced my income did not make strategic financial sense but it has been the most liberating thing I’ve ever done. While it may delay my initial goal of reaching complete Financial Independence, in the end, it may accelerate it too.
Using standard financial advice as a baseline is good but I truly believe that it’s not a one size fits all journey. Everyone has a different starting point and path. You’ll need to create a flexible framework that allows you to take measured risks and make financial decisions that work for you and your unique life circumstances.
- Jamila
For more from Jamila:
Check out Jamila’s podcast, Journey to Launch, at the following locations: Apple Podcasts, GooglePlay, Android Phone Users, Stitcher, Youtube, iHeart Radio, Google Podcasts
Follow her on Instagram @journeytolaunch
Get her free jumpstart guide to get info on her top podcast episodes, her fav resources and an intro to the 5 stages to Financial Independence
PS: Today (Wednesday) at 5 pm EST is the Create Your 2021 Financial Goals workshop. You can get your ticket here. 🎉
MONEY MOVE OF THE WEEK
Mitigate an Environmental Toxin. Environmental toxins are the people, places, and things that get the best of your spending. Maybe it’s a friend that you shop with that always encourages you to “treat yourself” or the store you tend to impulse shop online. It's not personal - it just means your spending gets off track when you’re together.
Environmental toxins can derail our goals, so even though we can’t always avoid them, we can try to mitigate them. The first step? Awareness. Make a list of what triggers you to spend money (without punishing yourself about your answers). What are your environmental toxins? What happens when you encounter them?
YOU GOTTA SEE THIS
Support Black-Owned Businesses. Anytime we purchase something - an item or a service - we have the chance to vote with our values and support a Black-owned business.
You can switch a recurring expense or take the time to do some research before making a one-off purchase. We asked you, our amazing Fiscal Femme community to share your favorite Black-owned businesses and here’s what you came up with.