Boost your financial prowess with these 4 game-changing books.
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Writing about money has me wanting to sing the chorus "Money, money, money, money" from The O'Jays song ...For the Love of Money!
How we view money and what we can do with the money we receive is the central motivation of each generation. Due to our capitalist society, we need money to survive and consume the items, activities, and trips of our liking. While we all have individual ways of spending money, the common denominator that we all value is money.
They say money brings happiness, so having no money will cause sadness, right? I went through a period in my life where I was highly anxious about money coming in due to losing my job. Can you imagine losing your job right before a pandemic? Can you also imagine losing an offer due to low creditworthiness? I've been there until I learned the best practices for managing money, which is what I'm sharing with you here! I'll be covering:
My self-inflicted financial woes and how I overcame them
The importance of sharing financial wisdom gained from experience with your loved ones
Keeping a good credit score is a game worth winning
How to bounce back from financial mistakes and plan for your future
In this blog post, I'm sharing the 5 books that inspired me to change how I view money and the tips and tricks I learned from each.
So, if you're tired of stressing about paying bills on time, hate avoiding your credit score, checking your checking account before making plans, or holding your breath at the cash register, hoping your card won't be declined, you're in the right place! All the above situations can be avoided in the future!
My self-inflicted financial woes and how I overcame them
My relationship with money was a limited perspective that revolved around only paying my bills and then spending the rest of my money on clothes, accessories, etc., which made me feel good. At the time, I had a 720 credit score and two credit cards: a Victoria's Secret card I snuck and got in high school (sorry, Mom) and a Wells Fargo credit card to fill up my gas tank and cover car-related issues.
While spending money gave me a temporary high, the low would set in when I got my credit card statement bill. If it was too high, I would passively ignore it or pay the minimum balance begrudgingly. This up-and-down roller coaster affected my view of financial stability.
When I lost my job as a service administrator, I helped financial advisors and end clients check on their money at an investment firm (ironic, right?) I had a reality check. I had used my savings, and coming from a family that didn't have a lot of excess money, I didn't have the funds needed to pay my Wells Fargo credit card bill, and the long-standing account was charged off. This was scary because I knew it would affect my credit and hurt my chances of getting other things; I wanted it in my life. After this, I promised to work hard and pay my bills on time. But without a job, how can that happen? I was nervous and unsure of how to survive without a consistent flow of income.
Then, a few months passed, and I received another job offer. During the onboarding process, they requested a credit check. I never had a company ask for this before, but this is a thing! I didn't get to start that job because of this, but that was the turning point of acknowledging the importance of creating positive financial habits, such as having a savings account and paying off credit cards on time.
UPDATE: I'm proud to announce that the bank credit card that was charged off is now paid off! I followed some of the steps in these books and contacted the bank for a settlement offer. As of July 2022, I have that marking replaced by PAID OFF on my record, helping my credit accelerate in the right direction!
Setting money aside and paying things off on time sounds simple; some even say it’s common sense. Your environment and what lessons you were taught about money can affect how you view money. One book I recommend, The Psychology of Money by Morgan House, confirms this theory! This book helped to put my relationship with money into perspective. To truly embrace an abundance mindset, you must address any lingering guilt or shame regarding past financial decisions. After doing this, I researched other books with financial topics that piqued my interest.
How to bounce back from financial mistakes and plan for your future
The first book I read was Clever Girl Finance: Learn How Investing Works, Grow Your Money by Bola Sokunbi. This book was great, with many saving tips and in-depth definitions of investing terms. Also, this benevolent author has created a finance website with free courses, a finance book club, and budgeting worksheets! Here is the website link if you are interested www.clevergirlfinance.com
One of my favorite quotes from this book is, “Your spending habits make you rich … not your salary.” I love this because it helps to illustrate how we can take control of our finances and use what we can to build income for ourselves. In America, we are currently fighting for federal minimum wage increases. While I want to cross my fingers and believe we will win this fight, I feel it’s more empowering to take control ourselves! Here are some other tips I got from the book:
• Using an app that tracks spending habits will help to visualize where your money is going (where you spend most of your money and what opportunities you have to cut back)
• Define your Core Values (what your personal view of financial freedom means to you and no one else). This was an essential part of the process because I needed motivation! My definition is having my debts paid off and being able to spend money without a second thought, whether purchasing gifts for my loved ones or booking flights and traveling on a whim!
Keeping a good credit score is a game worth winning.
Ramit Sethi, the author of I Will Teach You to Be Rich, is and will forever be one of my go-to books because he keeps it real about money and introduces how systematic payments can change your life! This book has so much essential and life-changing information that I couldn't decide which notes to highlight for this post! I recommend keeping a notebook and pen on deck when reading this one. While the credit score system is rigged and in dire need of reform, we can choose to complain, try to vote for our interests, or play the game to win like a spade or uno game at a cookout! I don't know about you, but I focus on what I can do and what is within my control.
The importance of sharing financial wisdom gained from experience with your youngest loved ones
In the fall of 2021, I enjoyed reading a book called Smart Women Finish Rich by David Bach. This book was very informative and helped me learn to be specific in the goals I set for myself. The author did a great job explaining financial concepts and emphasizing the importance of designing your life around values because "without values, goals rarely get accomplished." I loved his idea to put your goals somewhere you can see them daily! Also, he gave tips for people of different backgrounds, whether age, single or married, and retired. I got inspired by reading this and shared many credit score tips with my younger sister to help prevent her from making the same mistakes I made at her age. Knowledge is power; you must share it once you gain the tools to increase your loved one's well-being! Here are some other tips I got from the book:
Pay yourself first! This concept of paying myself before rent, credit cards, etc., is new to me, but it pays off when you see the money in the long run. (The book goes into detail about how this works)
Having a diversified investment portfolio
Paying for disability insurance vs life insurance as a millennial w/o any children
Only spend at most $100 on anything w/t taking 48 hours to think about it.
Now, after reading and applying some concepts from each of these books, I'm happy to say I am no longer in the pits of low creditworthiness! If I can do it … you can crawl your way out, too, by taking control and being consistent!
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Leave a comment sharing your experience after reading any of these books and you're welcome to read other posts on my blog! Good luck on your journey to changing your relationship with money!
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