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Financial Empowerment, Financial Freedom, Financial Journey

Push for Change (that You Wish to See)

I am not a sales person. Marketing is not my forte. I don’t like taking risks or putting myself out there. Promoting myself and my work feel downright unnatural. Yet, most of the work I’ve been doing related to this blog needs me to be creative, social and promotional. In the process of developing those skills, I have to learn to face and overcome some of my biggest fears. And that has been hard. However, frequently, I find myself pushing harder (in personal growth) so that I can do more. Advocating for a way of life that I truly believe in and feel passionate about is worthwhile.

Push for the change that you wish to see.

It’s been a little over two months since I published my first post. For weeks, I hesitated clicking on the “Publish” button. Despite having a clear vision and a powerful message I want to share with the world, I had self doubts. Seeing that I was struggling with my feelings, my husband reminded me of my cause. In my husband’s exact words: “You care about the girls and women in this world. You’ve got a beautiful message to share with them. Your contents are important to spread”. Over time, his encouragement provided me the clarity and strength I needed to work through my doubts. And I’m grateful for him.

This blog has been growing in readership. Thank you for taking the time to share your financial stories with me. I’ve been inspired and I’ll continue doing my best to be resourceful. You can always reach me through email and Twitter and Facebook direct messages. To the 78 of you (!!!) who have subscribed to my weekly newsletter, thank you for being my loyal readers. Thank you for welcoming my messages into your Inbox. Your support gives me the energy and motivation to keep bringing new contents to you. I am touched knowing that my messages have inspired and encouraged so many of you to seek financial clarity and financial confidence. I love this community and am grateful we’re able to connect through the Internet!

Push For Change

My husband and I used to be very private about our financial life. We allowed money topics to be a taboo during conversations. Starting this blog has been adventurous for us. However, we aren’t doing this alone.

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Financial Journey, Financial Planning, Investment, Money Psychology, Retirement Planning

Rule of 72: Harnessing the Cumulative Power of Compound Growth

Readers, does hearing about the prospect of doubling your money get you excited? Wondering what’s the best way to start saving for retirement? Would you be more likely to do financial planning if you have access to simple and efficient tools? Do compound interest formulas intimidate you? Don’t know how to use a financial calculator or don’t carry one in your purse? If you responded “yes” to any of the questions above, the Rule of 72 can be your friend.

Mathematical formulas don’t excite me. I skip over them in my readings. While I enjoy thinking about retirement, I am not interested in running the numbers. Even retirement calculators ask for numbers! My husband told me about the concept of compounding shortly after we met, but I had a hard time grasping how the numbers could work in my favor. Or was that a form of mental resistance?

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Financial Journey, Financial Planning, Investment, Money Psychology, Retirement Planning

Rule of 72: How My Husband Convinced Me to Save for Retirement

My husband and I have been saving 50 to 70% of our net income. I wrote about our story in a previous post. This radical approach on savings was not something we always saw eye to eye. I resisted. He kept giving me high-fives. Despite my resistance, we managed to achieve those high percentages. I was mad that his logic to spend less was always so convincing. I thought I was frugal. He took frugality to an extreme. Much of the frictions through the first half of our marriage revolved around this difference. Then my husband introduced me to the Rule of 72. He converted me to become a radical saver just like that!

rule of 72 save for retirement

When I Was in College

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Financial Journey, Financial Planning, Investment

Wealth Preservation: Strategies to Protect What We Have Built and Lessons Learned

In general, there are four phases to wealth management: accumulation, preservation (protection), distribution and transfer. My husband and I manage our own assets. In this post, I am using our story as an example illustrating why wealth preservation strategies are important for managing an investment portfolio and should be an integral part of financial planning. This is true when one is building wealth (wealth accumulation) and when one is approaching or in retirement (wealth preservation). Based on my research, many financial firms treat the four phases of wealth management as distinct financial steps when delivering financial guidance to clients. However, this approach is limited in scope. A financial plan is not well-thought out when an investor just focuses on the growth and yield components of a portfolio. As we accumulate wealth, we also need to implement financial strategies that safeguard what we have built and cushion the downside should the stock market become volatile.

Chasing Growth (Capital Appreciation) and Cash Flow (High Yields)

Throughout year 2009, all my equity holdings were either in individual stocks or index funds (it took another year before I learned about bonds). My investment goal back then was to see my capital grow as far as it could stretch. I also chased high yields (in the forms of dividends and interest payments), too. However, despite the hot chase, all those investments were done with much caution and education. Still, growth and cash flow were mostly what I focused my investment attention on.

Protecting What We Have Built

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Financial Journey, Girlfriend to Girlfriend Money Chat, Personal Finance

When Might You Want to be Honest with Friends about Your Financial Constraints

As promised in this post (click to view), I’m now sharing an update on how I have been working to overcome my fear and making efforts talking with my friends about personal finance.

About two months ago, I found myself feeling stressed. It was around back-to-school week, and several of my stay-at-home-mom friends all wanted to get together with me around the same time. And all of them suggested going out for a meal. I felt conflicted. On the one hand, I wanted to say yes to getting together, but my social budget was limited at the time.

Early in 2016 when my husband and I decided on a FI date (financial independence), we became even more conscious about money and spending. Prior to that, like many of my peers I looked forward to every social gathering where food and drinks were involved. I’ve always been a foodie, and hanging out with friends over delicious food was my idea of a great time. However, once my husband and I decided on a FI date, I drastically changed my spending habits and my views on spending in general. And not all of my friends are aware of this new change yet.

For that same reason, I struggled. I didn’t want to make up excuses to decline the invitations. I was concerned that this drastic change in behavior might have my friends thinking I was no longer interested in spending time with them (I used to say yes to dining out almost always.). I didn’t want my friends to think I was rejecting them. And if I were to share with them my lack of desire to do social spending, would I make them feel uneasy? How would my friends feel about the changes I’ve made in my life recently (where spending is concerned)? Will my friends support me? I had all these concerns and questions in my head. I really wanted to avoid social awkwardness!

money constraints girlfriend to girlfriend money chat

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