Mo' Money, Mo' Freedom!

I was recently watching one of my favorite shows, Shark Tank (If you have entrepreneurial dreams/ideas and need inspiration and encouragement to pursue them, I highly recommend this show!). One of the sharks, Kevin O'Leary, frequently says, "Money is my military, each dollar a soldier. I never send my money into battle unprepared and undefended. I send it to conquer and take currency prisoner and bring it back to me." In my last post, I mentioned that I am committed to the journey of learning how to invest, market and sell. I think this is exactly how you accomplish Mr. O'Leary's point.

After becoming debt free and building up my emergency fund, I quickly realized that my newfound soldier dollars (discretionary income) were reporting for duty and needed a purpose. (Corny I know, but hey, that's me and I'm proud of who I am!). Anyways, as you know if you read my post on stewardship (Click here to read), I am passionate about giving and managing my money wisely. I found a couple charitable causes that I am passionate about and designated some money for that. I also set money aside for vacations (this wanderlusting penny pincher loves to travel!), and a new (to me) car so that when the need arises, I can pay cash and avoid financing (Dave Ramsey will be so proud!). The rest goes into a Roth IRA and an investment account.

So by now you might be thinking: How do you have enough left over to do all that with? Where do you keep the money you are saving for these various purposes? How much money do you make??

Those are great questions - thanks for asking! Let me just start by saying that if I told you the amount of my annual income, you would not be impressed. Not. even. close. In fact, your jaw would probably drop to the floor like a cartoon character! Hear this: it's not about how much money you make, but how you manage the money you have. I just finished reading Secrets of the Millionaire Mind by T. Harv Eker (Another must read! Seriously. Read it.). One of the main points of the book is that if you are financially well off (regardless of your income), it's because you manage your money well. If you struggle financially (regardless of your income), it's because you mismanage your money well!

I can't stress enough that it's about your mindset. I'm sure you've heard the phrase, "Mo' money, mo' problems." If you don't know how to manage your money, then that is absolutely true because in your mind, the first thing you would do with mo' money is buy mo' house, mo' car, mo' bling, mo' stuff. Indulge. Indulge. Indulge. Mo' money, mo' problems = mo' money, mo' expenses = same problem you already have on a larger scale! That's why a majority of the people that win the lottery end up broke again. By the way, lottery tickets sell the best in poor communities (I'm not bashing people who buy lottery tickets as I buy them, but very rarely!). Ever noticed that there seem to be more Payday Loan places in those communities as well? Think about that. People with a poor money mindset believe that wealth is something lucky that happens to you. People with a rich money mindset believe that wealth is something you create and are directly responsible for. And if you have a rich money mindset, mo' money = mo' giving, mo' doing good, mo' saving, mo' investing so your money can work for you so you can escape the rat race of working for your money. Mo' money = mo' freedom!

So where do I keep my emergency fund/money that I save for various purposes? A high yield online savings account that can be easily liquidated. I use Capital One 360 (Click here to open an account) which has an APY of 1.0%. That doesn't sound like a lot, but compared to the .02% that most brick and mortar banks offer, that's a great deal! They deposit the interest into my account monthly and they give you $20 for every friend you refer, up to $1000! That's free money! I just get to sit back and watch the interest grow and compound. Make your money work for you!

Another thing I recommend doing immediately is getting a financial advisor. Because I am passionate about connecting my faith and finances for good, I invest through Thrivent Financial. Check out their website (www.thrivent.com). I highly recommend Margi Swords (Click here for her contact info to get set up!) Make your money work for you! And remember, mo' money, mo' freedom!!