Keisha BlairIn my new book Holistic Wealth: 32 Life Lessons to Help You Find Purpose, Prosperity and Happiness, there’s a whole section of the book filled with advice on how to achieve financial freedom. Holistic wealth is about creating the circumstances in your life that allow you to be resilient and resourceful. This list of financial mantras for women that I developed is based on two key words: Resilience and Resourcefulness. I love these two words – because they embody what I want for all women – the ability to bounce back from life-altering setbacks and the ability to create and leverage resources to be financially independent.
1. Planning for Financial Longevity is a Marathon not a Sprint.
On average, women live longer than men and with that comes the possibility of outliving our savings. On average, women also tend to work less than men over the course of a lifetime, leading to lower levels of savings and investments. When it comes to women and their finances – taking the long view is best. If you start early with planning for a rainy day and ensuring that your finances are in order, you can achieve your financial goals. For women, planning for financial longevity is a marathon not a sprint.
2. Attaining the Highest Salary isn’t Everything.
I know it sounds contradictory – but when you focus on getting the highest salary possible it prevents you from seeing a whole world of possibilities from investing, and becoming resourceful from exploring other avenues and income streams. Its called tunnel vision – an inability to see the opportunities that are everywhere and becoming hyper-focussed on one goal. However, the most important lesson is that our jobs shouldn’t define who we are or what we are capable of – nor does the salary. Financial resourcefulness and financial resilience are more important than achieving the highest salary – especially as it relates to overcoming life-altering setbacks.
3. Taking Measured Risks Is a Good Thing
When we hear the word “risk” it signals alarm bells – even if it has the word “measured” before it. However, taking measured risks is key to achieving a life, well-lived. It is important to take measured risks to achieve certain goals. For instance, the decision to buy that first home or investment property, or even starting that business you’ve always dreamed of, requires taking measured risks. Achieving your goals also rests on the realization that not taking measured risks, or simply not taking action at all, is detrimental to achieving holistic wealth.
4. Being Debt-free is an Essential Ingredient of Becoming Financially Independent
Paying off debt requires a financial strategy—and often sacrifices in service of freedom. These sacrifices, like foregoing eating out, or buying things we think we need – are important ones in service of long-term freedom. Its giving up on those short-term desires to ensure that we don’t accumulate debt.
If you currently have debt, ignite your creative thinking about ways to reduce it and pay it off. Freedom from debt will pay back in scores of holistic wealth.
5. A Well-Planned Future – Means Planning Well.
Planning well means ensuring you have life insurance, adequate emergency savings to last for at least six months, and investments that can yield enough to enable financial resilience.
In summary, everyone should have a good hold on their spending. Developing a budget and building an emergency fund is paramount. Make sure you have life insurance in place. Focus on addressing debt. After that develop a savings plan (both short and long term) and stick to it.
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