Money over everything?
No, not really, but kind of …
Because two things can be true at one time.
If you scroll through your timeline as much as I do, I’m sure you’ve come across the saying:
You were not born to just pay bills and die.
Not sure who said it first, but it’s a catchy little note to self, because that’s what seems to be the case at times. We go to work, come home, pay bills, and pray for the weekend – over and over and over again. It’s a sad, but necessary reality for many of us. But what’s also a reality is that many of us want more.
And wanting more usually comes with setting goals … and often times achieving those goals costs money.
So when we’re looking at our respective “dashes” between the dates of our birth and death and what we want them to represent, we have to link that in some way with the all mighty dollar.
For me, I’m an indie writer, so that means that everything I do comes out of my pocket. Now, while all of the profits also go directly to me, it’s a long, hard road before the money starts to roll in. I have to buy my books to resell them, pay for editors, incur the cost of printing materials (the list really is a mile long, but I’ll spare you the details) … and all of this … you guessed it … costs money.
In looking at my goals for the next few years, I began to understand that I was going to have to take a good, hard look at my coins with a magnifying glass.
The problem was that I had no idea where to begin.
But I set my sights on the first thing I knew I could control, like my budget and my expenses …
and that’s really where this story began: when I walked into my bank to see about refinancing my car loan.
Where did the story end?
With successful adventure in navigating interest rates and bank jargon (yay, me!), talking to the wonderfully helpful agent during the process, and walking out with a completely unintended, full understanding of my personal financial plan (double, yay, me!).
Maybe the universe knew exactly what I needed and that I had no idea how to get there and set me on that path; maybe it was pure coincidence. Either way, looking at my finances and WRITING DOWN my financial plan helped me put some things in perspective.
And in true Erin fashion I wanted to share my experiences with my blog fam.
As someone who has become accustomed to doing everything by myself, it was definitely a weird experience letting someone into my financial life.
It felt invasive – almost like going to the dentist and opening your mouth for someone to see how well you’ve been brushing and flossing.
But when you’re in a rut and you’re trying to “find” the money you need to make that personal investment, it’s necessary.
So regardless of if you’re struggling financially or not, I want to encourage you to take a look at you’re your dough cheese …
Count those coins …
Make a plan …
Stick to that shyt …
And if you get stuck …
Go see someone at your bank …
Or a financial advisor …
Or some other third party with financial knowledge.
Then I want you to …
Drink your water …
Moisturize your skin …
And prepare for that inevitable glow up.
Love and Light,
Erin
What did you say?
You miss me when I’m gone?
Well, you know you can keep up with my antics every other day of the week …
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Good Reads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8022454.Erin_T_McMillon
You can also find all of my books The Becoming of Us, Vol. I, The Becoming of Us, Vol. II, What’s Hiding in the Dark: 10 Tales of Urban Lore, and They Eat on Amazon:
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