Apr 2, 2018 | Finance
It’s tax season and many Americans look forward to this time of year. Why? Because of the 83% of Americans who actually receive a tax refund, the average refund check is around $3,000 (IRS.gov). This is a pretty good chunk of money. To avoid “what happened to my refund check?” question, here are four things you can spend your money on.
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Save Some
“More than half of all Americans have less than $1,000 in their savings” (Gobankingrates.com). If you are included in this statistic, ensure that you set aside funds from your refund check to have at least $1,000 in your savings account, AT LEAST! If you have a bigger family or more expenses, you may want to save more. You could even save some for an upcoming vacation or set it aside for Christmas this year. Whatever reason you decide to save some, as long as you “save some” you are steps ahead of the game.
Put some towards debt
“Debt is the number one source of financial stress” (Gobankingrate.com). It affects every aspect of our lives. We have to work at jobs we hate because of it. We have to “rob Peter to pay Paul” because of it. We do can not max out our retirement fund because of it. And we can not put our children through school (loan-free) as a result of it. So instead of, splurging all of the tax refund, pay off a bill. Whether it is a credit card, a personal loan or a medical bill, find relief, by paying off one bill. This can and will help reduce some of the financial stress in our lives.
Give Some
Whenever my husband and I receive a paycheck or extra money, we always make sure we give some. When it comes to our paycheck, as Christians, we believe in the Biblical concept of tithing. When it comes to “extra” money we receive (like taxes), we designate a certain amount to give to a family, an organization or even our church. We wholeheartedly believe in order to get, you have to give and we make it part of our financial plan. Designate an amount to give and be a blessing to someone else.
Spend Some
I personally know of people receiving a ton of money back from Uncle Sam and splurging it all within a few days, only to put them in the same cycle of not having enough the next month and months thereafter. Listen, I love being able to have fun, shop, take trips, eat out and live life, but not at the expense of repeating the cycle of never having enough. As Dave Ramsey says, you can have the life you want if you are willing to make a few sacrifices now rather than later. This is the principle we try to (now) live by. “Living life now” has gotten me into a ton of debt. “Living for the moment” allowed me to regret even having those moments. And making financial decisions because “I deserve it”, allowed me to pay a lot of interest on those “deserving” moments. So, yes, taking a portion of your refund check to spend is something you can and should do. Splurging it all without saving, giving or putting some on debt, is not smart.
Being smart with this extra bit of money will allow you to be in a much better financial position later. Be wise! Be Smart! Give Some. Save Some. Debt Some. Spend Some. The future “you” will thank you later..
Feb 27, 2018 | Finance
A millionaire is not considered a millionaire because he/she “made” a million dollars this year; he/she is called a millionaire because he is “worth” a million dollars. Net worth is the difference between what a person owns (assets) versus what a person owes (liabilities). So, if you won a million dollars, but splurged it all on things that depreciate and hold zero value, you would not be considered a millionaire; however, if you took that same million dollars and invested into things that appreciated over time (stock, mutual funds, businesses, real estate etc…), more than likely, you would be worth a million dollars.
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Take Oprah for example. According to a Forbes article, in 2015 Oprah purchased a 10% stake in Weight Watchers investing about $43 million. At the time, Weight Watchers’ stock was trading for about $6.79 a share. Fast forward to February 2018 and the stock is now trading at about $71. Her $43 million investment in 2015 is now worth over $450 million just three years later. And this is just one small piece of her very diverse financial portfolio. Oprah understands the power of appreciation and ownership because she realizes the power of investments; thereby, according to Forbes, Oprah is worth $3.1 billion (with a B).
So, my question is, what are you spending your money on? Name brand purses? Red bottom shoes? The latest iPhone? Things that do not appreciate? Or are you making smart decisions knowing money is a tool, a means to an end, and not just something we use to buy nice things so we can “look” good, but is something we use to “do” good. Not saying we should not want nice things and have nice things; we just have to ensure those nice things do not “have” us. It is called PRIORITIES!
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Nov 9, 2017 | Finance, Goal Setting/Planning
November and December are the highest grossing months of the year for American retailers. Last year, holiday sales topped $655.8 billion. This year, “the National Retail Federation projects sales to increase between 3.6 and 4 percent for a total of $678.75 billion to $682 billion…” (NRF.com). Billions of dollars are spent on gifts, food, and “catching sales” all within a period of 45-60 days! Although I love to spend, spending has created a ton of stress, arguments and massive debt for our family; as a result, we learned early in our marriage to create a spending plan during the holiday season.
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Here are six things you can implement over the holidays to ensure you spend what you HAVE not just what you WANT.
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Oct 3, 2017 | Fearless Living, Finance, Goal Setting/Planning
When was the last time you read a good book? And not just any book, but one that motivated you to do better, be better and live better? As we enter into the fourth quarter, why not end the year with some great books that will encourage you to finish what you started, give you tips towards financial freedom and encourage you to live your best life. Here are three books that will inspire you to end 2017 with a BANG!
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FINISH, by Jon Acuff
This book is the sequel to “START” which is one of my favorite books. If you habitual START a project, a task, a goal, but for some reason end of quitting within weeks of starting (i.e. New Year’s Resolutions), then this book is for you! Finish: Give Yourself the Gift of Done!
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Sep 6, 2017 | Finance
The biggest reason people are working towards obtaining financial freedom is to rid themselves of the burden of DEBT. Why? Because debt is a shackle that hinders many from experiencing life, prevents them from doing what the love causing many to live in a constant state of stress and worry; however, once debt has been eradicated, people are able to freely enjoy their lives without the constant fear of “not having enough”.
Financial freedom provides people to live a life of passion, travel the world and honestly, allows them to not have to make decisions based purely off of money (or the lack thereof). Living a life of passion, however, should not be the only reason people are working to be FREE. Building and leaving a financial legacy should be at the top of the list.
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In reading the Bible, one should notice the emphasis God continuously placed on “generations” and leaving something behind He always spoke, particularly in the Old Testament, about preparing the next generation and leaving blessings. And honestly, as Christians, we are still benefiting from those blessings…We are the seed of Abraham; however, when we look at current statistics, we do not live our lives to ensure it benefits our heirs.
Only 1 of 3 families with children under 18 have life insurance
Average household credit card debt, $16,600
Average household student loan debt, $50,000
Median wealth (net worth) for African Americans, approximately $11,000; White American, $134,000
So, in analyzing statistics, we owe a ton of money in credit cards and student loans, we do not have life insurance (or very little) and because of debt, particularly for African Americans, our net worth (what we own vs what we owe) is not even a tenth of our White counterparts. Is this the legacy we want to pass down to our children? Well, I certainly do not!
So, to ensure that my children have a better financial start in life than I had, I want to not only build a financial legacy, I want to leave one. Here are five ways we all can ensure we leave a legacy.
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Aug 29, 2017 | Finance
The term “side hustle” has become very popular over the last decade. From making meals on the weekend to opening a restaurant, side hustles for many have turned into main hustles and African American women are leading the way. Although I applaud anyone’s efforts in stepping out and hiring themselves, I do not believe everyone should be a full-time entrepreneur. I do, however, believe everyone should have a side hustle or two. Why? Because you never know when you could be fired, laid off, or hear an announcement Monday morning that your company is filing for bankruptcy. If you do not have other means of generating income, it could have a catastrophic effect on your finances.
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So, what exactly is a “side hustle”? According to Entrepreneur.com, a side hustle is “a way to make some extra cash that allows you flexibility to pursue what you’re most interested in. It can also be your true passion – a chance to delve into…whatever it is you care about the most without quitting your day job.”
What are you passionate about?
What do you love doing?
How can you make money from doing it?
We paid off tens of thousands of dollars of debt from just our side hustle alone. What can you do to get you closer to your financial goal? Whether you have a side hustle or would like to start a side hustle, here are 5 Steps that will help you to Win in your Side Hustle Journey.
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