Loving Yourself by Preserving Your Wealth

BY ANTHONY PERRY

With Valentine’s Day being the highlighted event of February, love is at the top of everyone’s mind. Around this time we’re focused on showing our affection to our current bae, but when is the last time we made time to show love to ourselves? When we think about selflove, we often associate it with spoiling ourselves through pampering, gifts, and PTO days. But it’s really about discipline such as motivating yourself to hit the gym or following up with your therapist.

One aspect of self-love that’s often overlooked relates to your financial health and wellness. “Save 10% of every check” “Pay yourself first” “Invest” “Buy back the block.” These phrases are ingrained in us, but we still struggle with the execution. Why? Similar to getting to the gym weekly, following up with your therapist, or even standing firm on the boundaries you have set for yourself, it’s tough to remain consistent. Discipline is key.

However, many of the steps related to your finances can be automated. While it is still important for us to address our inability to be disciplined, our finances don’t have to suffer while we fight that uphill battle. Below are a few resources and guidelines I use to improve my financial health.

Rule 1: Set It Up & Forget About It

Set up a second savings account.

Automate direct deposit (5-10% of your check).

Forget about it.

As my mom used to say, “Out of sight, out of mind.” When we see the dollars in front of us we are more tempted to spend them, no matter how good our intentions. Be real, how many times have you dipped into your savings account and transferred $50, $100 or even more to one, buy things you didn’t need or two, replace the money you needed because you spent it on something you didn’t need. Regardless of your reason, it can be a problem. By adding a second savings account with automated deposits, you take one step closer to financial health and ultimately self-love.

Rule 2: Know Where Your Bread is Going

Hulu: $5.99 / Month

Netflix: $8.99 / Month

Disney: $6.99 / Month

It’s important that you put thought into what you are spending your money on. People are always shocked when they realize how much money they are pouring out over time. For example, if you hit Starbucks every day for your $5 latte, you will spend $150 dollars by the end of the month or $1800 on coffee by the end of the year (trust me $1800 worth of coffee ain’t that damn good).

Leverage applications like MInt to track where you are spending just to get a better understanding of how your money is moving. If you prefer to DIY, pull up an excel sheet and map out your consistent spending. No matter the resource you choose to leverage, track your spending.

Rule 3: Invest. Invest. Invest.

“I want to invest but know nothing about the market or stocks or any of that stuff. It’s frustrating.”

Investing does not have to be intimidating. Despite all the charts, graphs and random terms like alpha and beta, you don’t have to be the Wolf of Wallstreet to make your money work for you.

1. Set up a brokerage account e.g., TD Ameritrade, Robinhood, Charles Schwab

2. Fund the account with as little as $100

3. Invest in the S&P 500 (Ticker: INDEXSP) or your favorite companies (Nike, Disney, Starbucks, Microsoft, etc.)

4. Pay attention to the news around the company, e.g., does Microsoft plan on launching a new Xbox? What are the reviews of the product? How do you think sales will perform?

5. Most importantly, let the money sit, you are not a day trader, allow time and the money you invested to work for you

Note: Just like your journey with self-love, there will be both ups and downs with your investments; however, over time those investments that you make both personally and financially will trend upward.

Preserving wealth isn’t easy, it’s hard work. But taking strides to alleviate the stress associated with finances grants you more time to dedicate to yourself and the people you love. Just take one step today and make it count. And then another next week. And so on and so forth. Soon you’ll realize that it’s always been about the journey and not the destination. Today is the day you begin to love yourself in new ways.