Money Musings 💭 the mistake that cost me thousands 💰
I’ve made a lot of mistakes when it comes to my money but one in particular really changed my life. Back in 2010, one of my male colleagues said he had a “brilliant” 💡 investment idea. He sounded so confident and threw around a lot of words and phrases I didn’t understand. I thought - he must know what he’s talking about. And I sat there feeling bad about myself for not knowing more.
I purchased the investment he recommended and waited eagerly for it to go up. 📈 It ended up doing the opposite and I lost thousands of dollars. 📉 I realized that confident sounding man actually had no idea what he was talking about, and as a result, I lost a large portion of my savings.
I decided - never again.
This was one of those critical moments in my life where I decided that I was going to take charge of my own finances and never blindly rely on a man again.
Always, always understand what’s going on with your money. If you aren’t sure where to start, we have an amazing beginner’s investing guide to help you out.
We also have a comprehensive three month course - The Savvy Investor. It will teach you everything you need to know, step-by-step, to be a confident and competent investor. No prior knowledge needed!
My hope is that these resources prevent other womxn from having the same experience. My investment mistake was completely preventable with a little knowledge and confidence.
As womxn, we earn less (wage gap), have to spend more (pink tax) and live longer (on average), so it’s even more critical that our money work for us.
MONEY MOVE OF THE WEEK
Prioritize your debt. Last month we took inventory - now it’s time to decide which debt we want to pay off first. To do this, rank each piece of debt in your inventory tracker. #1 will be the first debt you pay off and you can go down the list from there. How to choose what comes first? I recommend using one or a combination of the following methods. Whatever you choose, make sure to keep your motivation in mind. Which method(s) will keep you motivated 😄 and feeling good 👍 along your debt pay down journey?
The interest rate method - pay off the debt with the highest interest rate first because technically it’s costing you the most money
The snowball method - pay off the debt with the lowest balances first. Getting to cross an entire piece of debt off of your list can be so motivating that it propels your progress
The emotional method - pay off the debt that causes you the most emotional stress first. This might be a loan from a family member or a bank that you’ve had a horrible experience with
To get your full debt pay down plan, join the 8-week Tackle Your Debt Course! I’ll take you through everything you need to know to create a manageable and sustainable plan to pay down your debt, for good. 🙌
YOU GOTTA SEE THIS
Diverse companies perform better. But duh. Not only is diversity and inclusion an important social justice issue, it’s also a clear competitive advantage. Diverse companies are more likely to achieve above average profits.
According to McKinsey & Company research, companies in the top 25th percentile for gender diversity on their executive teams were 21% more likely to experience above-average profits. At the board of directors level, more ethnically and culturally diverse companies were 43% more likely to see above-average profits.
Despite this research, BIPOC and womxn are still underrepresented in management and on boards of the largest companies in the world. COVID-19 has only exacerbated the problem and will make a focus and commitment to diversity even more important for companies looking to keep and grow top diverse talent.