 Nearly
five years ago I began a journey, an educational journey to improve my
knowledge about money and how it works. Money was never talked about
when I was growing up. All I knew was what I saw and heard. So, I
repeated this as I became an adult, not knowing that there was a
different way or that I had a choice on what kind of relationship I
could have with my money.
Here’s an example of just how bad my relationship with money was.
During most of my adult life I incurred large amounts of debt, most of
it was bad debt, had one car repossessed, developed a bad credit
history, and didn’t know anything about saving let alone planning for
retirement. What was that? I had no clue about credit scores or
interest rates and this made for a very bad combination when it came
to spending.
It wasn’t until I turned 40 that I realized just how dysfunctional my
relationship with money was. It took my marriage nearly failing before
I realized just how costly my money mistakes were.
I also realized that I had been in a vicious cycle of poverty for most
of my life because even though I had a college degree and a great
paying job the reality was that I was living paycheck-to-paycheck.
This had to stop, and the only one who could make this stop was ME.
My intense ‘learning journey’ began and I quickly became addicted to
bookstores like Barnes & Noble and Borders trying to get my hands on
as much financial educational materials as possible. I also started
listening to talk radio that focused on financial matters, whether it
was personal finance, investments or real estate programs. I read
books, materials, did online research, and attended any workshops
related to improving my money management skills.
Little did I know that I was developing a new paradigm to replace the
old one that once controlled my life. To do this I began retraining my
mind, thoughts, language, and actions and started realizing the
results I was looking for. Today, I can proudly say that I am free of
all the bad debt, I have a much higher FICO score, am a proud home
owner and I know how to invest to expand my financial portfolio and
plan properly for my retirement. In other words, I am no longer in
that cycle of poverty and am no longer a victim of predatory lending.
Today, my goal is to help others who are still in this vicious cycle
by sharing my experiences and what I learned along this journey. As a
result, I started my own business to help others begin their ‘learning
journey.’
The bottom line is that you do have a CHOICE about the kind of
relationship you can have with your money. If you need a healthier
relationship with your money then sign up to attend one of our Basic
Money Management Workshops!
Or call us to schedule a workshop for your group and let’s get
started!
Contact Us:
Stepping Up Together
P.O. Box 2212
Globe, Arizona 85502
Phone: (480) 299-1383
Email: info@spendingjournals.com
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