I had a conversation with my mentor about improving my sales strategy to better position myself to help my Frugal Feminista community solve their biggest and ugliest financial problems. In our conversation, he shared the backend of his business operations with me. He was able to pinpoint one of his best customers; let’s name him "Mr. Love"—what he bought, what videos he … [Read more...]
Money Monday: 3 Ways African-Americans are Making Huge Financial Strides that Mainstream Media Won’t Share with You
Despite the never-ending onslaught of headlines bemoaning the dismal financial state of Black America, all is not as bad as we’re led to believe. In fact, in many areas, African-Americans are making huge financial strides. Here are three pieces of good news to provide you with relief from the usual stories of financial gloom and doom. We’ve caught the entrepreneurial … [Read more...]
4 Ways to Save Yourself From Nickel and Diming Your Way Into the Poorhouse
One of the interesting things that I see as a personal finance coach supporting black women trying to regain control of their finances is that these women are in debt or have bad credit. It's not that they are poorly compensated and, as a result, have to resort to charging basic necessities on their credit cards. Rather, it is because they have money management issues. They … [Read more...]
Money Monday: Twelve Money Secrets Your Rich Friends Won’t Share With You
Chances are you know someone who is extremely wealthy, but they’re not going to tell you. No, they’re content enjoying life without the need for Trump-like gloating or over-the-top displays of wealth. Author Thomas Stanley calls them the “millionaires next door.” So if your “millionaire next door” acquaintance was to share her money secrets, what might she tell you? 1. I … [Read more...]
Money Monday: The One Key Habit of the Wealthy That Will Prepare You For a Lifetime of Success
Reading is the secret sauce to success. It’s hard to obtain financial freedom or career excellence without it. Billionaire Mark Cuban, in his book How to Win at the Sport of Business, credits much of his success to reading: I read every book and magazine I could. Heck, three bucks for a magazine, twenty bucks for a book. One good idea would lead to a customer or a solution, … [Read more...]
Money Monday: The Four Money Lessons I Absolutely Must Teach My Children
Growing up, conversations around the dinner table never involved financial matters. There were no debates about the best ways to save money or discussions on how to identify the best stocks for long term success. School was no better. Somehow, amidst the countless hours of calculus, American history, and English literature, the topic of personal finance was all but … [Read more...]
Sell Your Junk And Get Rid Of Your Debt in 15 Easy Steps
When I was focused on eliminating my graduate school student loans of $40,000, I entered into hustle mode. Hustle mode is when you focus on finding ways to increase your income through sales and entrepreneurship instead of through decreasing your expenditure, getting a second job, or hard-core savings. Don't get me wrong; both strategies (increasing income and decreasing … [Read more...]
A Grown Woman’s Guide To Making and Keeping A Budget That Works
I am really going to be honest with you and it may sound shameful….but I don’t keep a budget (bad personal finance coach, bad personal finance coach), well, at least not in the conventional sense with spreadsheets and graphs. But, you better believe, a sister named Kara I. Stevens makes her monthly savings goal every month. Every. Single. Month. Let me tell you … [Read more...]
5 Reasons Why God Wants You to be Wealthy
The Bible can be a little confusing when it comes to “being wealthy." It states in Ecclesiastes that the love of money is the root of all evil; but then it also says in Ecclesiastes, “money solves everything." Well God, which one is it? Both are absolutely 100% truth. When you fall in love with money, it will both own you and destroy you. At the same time, however, money … [Read more...]
Before Getting Married Have These 5 Talks Today!
Preparing for marriage can save tons of heartache down the road. Part of that preparation is having the difficult conversations. There are five talks that you should if you are serious about getting married. You will have to be honest and vulnerable but you need to know this information about one another. It will help build a healthy foundation for your marriage. Here … [Read more...]
FREE Singles Webinar: Cleaning Your Financial Closet – 5 Money Mistakes Singles Make Before Love
Money is an area singles should gain control of, now, in preparation for a relationship, if that is what’s desired. Don't wait until after you are in a serious relationship to get yourself together financially. Take advantage of this time as a single to get your ducks in order. If you are seriously thinking about merging your life with someone else, then you don't want to … [Read more...]
Money Monday: Five Steps to Kicking Your Bad Financial Habits
When 2015 rolled in, many of us made promises, resolutions even, that this would be our year to finally get our finances in order. We were determined to follow budgets, eliminate debt, and maybe even increase savings. We had good intentions to change our financial situations; but now, halfway through the year, many of those promises are long forgotten and we find ourselves … [Read more...]
What Do You Want Your Money To Look Like 6 Months from Now?
I subscribe to a few blogs that provide trainings and tools to black women live their ideal lives. In one of the newsletters, here was the opening message: “Where do you want to be in the next 6 months?” “Hmmmm,” I thought, “What a great question.” My short-list answer to that question is: 1) I want to finish the two books that I’ve been working on this year. … [Read more...]
Money Monday: Five Ways To Create A Wealth Mindset
As African-Americans we’ve arrived a little late to the wealth game. According to a 2014 Pew Center report, the median black household in America possessed a meager $11,000 in wealth compared to the $141,900 in wealth held by the median white family. While institutional racism, unequal access to quality education, and other factors contribute to this finding, there are … [Read more...]
How Minimalism Can Solve Your Debt Problems For Good
We all have our Kriptonite when it comes to impulse shopping and buying more than we need or even want. For me, as a self-proclaimed brown girl bibliophile introvert, I can’t pull myself from Amazon without spending at least $50. A sweet circuit of joy courses through me when I come home and find those boxes in my mail box or if they are too big, leaning against my door. But … [Read more...]