Money Musings 💭 are you a pancake or a waffle?
Last month Eli was home with the Coxsackie virus. If you don’t know what it is, I recommend that you do not google it. 😂 I share this because when Eli’s sick, he gets to watch a lot of TV. And after a few too many episodes of Sesame Street for one week, I decided it was time for a change. I put on Beyonce’s Homecoming documentary because Eli loves music and it’s just so good.
First of all… Eli absolutely loved it. I mean, the boy has taste. He’s now officially “Bee-on-say”’s #1 fan.
And as for me, I’m so moved by it every time (yes I’ve watched it many times). Not only is the music, dancing, and all of it just amazing, what gets me the most is that we get to watch this insanely talented and badass woman (and Mom!) who has achieved such incredible success and power tell part of her story. We get glimpses into what it took and what she’s overcome.
I asked my friend Jamila Souffrant, who hosts the incredible Journey to Launch podcast (they just reached 1,000,000 downloads! 🎉) to weigh in because she had her first Homecoming experience last week. Here’s what she said:
“In a world where we are often one of the only ones in the room and considered the minority, a HBCU (Historically Black College & University) Homecoming experience allows us to reconnect to our roots. We get to channel the energy of those who have come before us and those who are poised to come after us. There is an immense sense of pride and belonging because we can completely; show up as who we truly are, celebrate how far we’ve come and have hope for what lies ahead.”
It’s about representation. As a white woman, I’m so inspired and hopeful by what Beyonce has achieved, that I can’t even imagine what that representation means to Black women who have this modeled even less.
It inspires me to get to a place in my life - financially, in my business, and as a mom, where I can pass some of those same feelings to someone else (probably on a slightly smaller scale than Beyonce 😂).
By getting rich and powerful we’re giving other women hope, permission and inspiration to do the same.
“I just might be a black Bill Gates in the making.” - Beyonce 🙌
What inspires you to get wealthy?
Money Move of the Week
Maximize your benefits offered through work. Open enrollment runs from November 1st through December 15th. It’s a window of time where you can add, drop, or make changes to your health insurance as an individual and an employee. It’s a great time to reassess your options and see if another plan makes sense for you (especially if you expect different medical expenses in the coming year!). It’s also a great time to reassess the other benefits offered to you as an employee. Often times when we start a new job, we’re busy getting up to speed, bonding with our new team, and making a good first impression. We might select our benefits really fast, or we never get around to reading through everything that’s offered. These benefits are part of our total compensation, and if they would add value to our lives or put more money in our pockets, we want to be using them. Some examples - 401(k) matching (free money!), pre-tax transit, health or flexible savings accounts (pre-tax medical expenses), and company discounts.
You Gotta See This
If you’re not sure if you’re more of a waffle or a pancake, you probably haven’t heard about the absolutely absurd self improvement training for women that went down at the big four accounting firm, Ernst & Young. In the workshop, women were told how to dress and act around men and my personal favorite, how “women’s brains absorb information like pancakes soak up syrup so it’s hard for them to focus... Men’s brains are more like waffles. They’re better able to focus because the information collects in each little waffle square.”