Financial Freedom

Reaching my goal of 10% wealthier - short term vs long term planning.

Remember when I mentioned that I wanted to be 10% wealthier? Part of that goal was to open up a HYSA. Actually, let's go back further than that. I set a goal in 2022 to become more financially literate. Unfortunately, I didn't have anyone to pass down financial knowledge outside of the regular make sure you put money in a 401k. No one to tell me how, no one mentor me. So, I kind of just guided through life, know I was supposed to have a budget and a 401k. But not knowing how to get there.

I dabbled in a few areas, paper tracking, Mint, digital spreadsheets, Every Dollar, separate spending categories, envelopes, and most recently, YNAB. With that, was my financial knowledge journey. All the other ways I tried to use, just told me that I needed a budget and I needed to put my money in spending categories. None of them showed me how. Except YNAB. Now mind you I'm only 3 months deep into YNAB. But they have videos on how to use the tools. And that helps. I'm also only able to spend money I have...which right now is hard considering I'm not a month ahead yet. But I'm actually able to ebb and flow with this one, since I have to wait until I get paid to spend my money.

Financial Literacy...

That was the game changer. I used all those apps, all those methods, but I didn't have knowledge to back them up. I was just, yeah someone said this is what I'm supposed to be doing. Then I decided back in 2020, I wanted to be literate. Financially literate that is. I wanted to know why and how and what and break down those steps. I searched around, reading different blogs and trying to follow some Ramsey Solutions stuff, but it all made me feel like shit. Like, why can't I live within my means. Mind you, my means was $42k a year as a single mom. Ding, ding, ding. Nail on the head. My biggest problem wasn't that I didn't understand these methods. It was that every single one of these methods told me that I needed to budget and remain in a scarcity mind set if I wanted to get ahead.

What the Pho?! Yeah, apparently women are supposed to be really good at budgeting. Guess what though, I felt like shit cause I was budgeting $42k a year. As a single mom. with daycare expenses. After 2021, I realized, there's got to be a better way. I was already working on my mindset. But when January 2022 rolled around, I knew, it was time to learn more about being a wealthy woman!

I found the Financial Feminist. Now Tori has got the same steps just like all the others. But the difference is she doesn't make you feel like shit for spending and she very clearly sets the expectation that if you want to achieve financial freedom, then you need to play the game and make the money. No more being small, no more cutting back. What I took from her was to live my life the way I wanted to, I needed to find my value and my worth.

So I did. As I'm writing this, I found a non-profit that I'm very ecstatic to be a part of. They also understand my value. I've added $25k to my income. I'm laying out my short term goals that will help me reach my long-term goals.

Step one. 3-6months of an emergency fund. I'm putting 15% of my salary and 10% of additional income into an HYSA. When I hit 3 months worth of emergency fund, I'm shifting that 5% of my salary and 10% additional income to paying off the high interest debt.

I'm finally able to tell my money where to go. And I'm excited for other goals. Owning a home for my child and I, paying off debts, having an actual net worth, not deficit. Being financially independent and moving towards financial freedom. Freedom to spend time with my family, to give money to organizations that are important to me and spend my energy on the things that matter in life. I know I'm capable of this and more. I'm grateful for where I am, how far I've come in such a short time. I'm also going to keep plugging away, so follow along to see how this story unfolds.

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