Advocacy Archives - Ms. Financial Literacy

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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.

Spread the message. Encourage others to begin their financial learning!

Financial Empowerment, Financial Independence, Women and Financial Literacy

Putting Women’s Financial Independence at the Forefront of Advocacy and Philanthropic Work

women financial independence financial security self-reliant

Running this blog is a passion that’s second nature to me. If my resume is an indicator of what I value and what I’m passionate about, it would say that I’ve been a strong proponent of advocacy work. I’m grateful for all the leaders who are volunteering their time, energy and money working tirelessly turning their visions into realities. It’s no surprise then that once I created a Twitter account, I followed @MelindaGates and @LeanInOrg. I enjoy being part of this inspirational and uplifting community. As for myself, even though Ms. Financial Literacy blog is a small platform now, I feel like I’m spreading an important message here while sharing practical and valuable contents.

Recently, @MelindaGates and her supporters have been doing lots of work and running campaigns empowering more women and girls to become technology innovators. I absolutely believe in and support this cause. In the same spirit, in this post I am sharing why I believe empowering and supporting women to be financially independent is good for the world, too. Knowing what I know now about the freedom and sense of fulfillment that comes with being financially independent, I have this vision of my own–that our world would be a much better and sustainable place to live in when (1) we aren’t constantly worried about money and we can take care of ourselves and follow our hearts and passions while making a contribution in the world; (2) we are able to build meaningful relationships with those we truly love and care about and (3) we are thinking about our planet as we align our behaviors with our core values.

Recommended reading: Your Money or Your Life and Money, A Love Story

#1) Focusing on Personal Growth and Your Contributions in the World

As women across the globe join high ranking/high paying job sectors, we need the tools and skills to help us become financially secure and stay self-reliant. Having a high income is not the whole story to a woman’s financial independence (FI), but supporting a woman to have a FI mindset and live her life according to FI principles and values is a step closer.

The first step in the process is becoming aware of what lies ahead once FI is achieved, which is freedom and self-satisfaction. The process also requires us to reexamine our values and identify what makes us feel fulfilled. If staying in the “rat race” is not a priority, then we need to come up with an exit plan in order to pursue what truly matters to us. That is, view the high ranking/high paying job as a means to FI (having high income certainly helps speed up the process), but always keep in mind the end goal. Once one decides that FI is what’s desired, then there is a need to make conscious choices to live life a certain way and be okay with that (e.g., minimizing spending, minimizing waste, having a long-term view of money invested today). From my own experience, working toward financial independence takes discipline and hard work, however, I believe that all the hard work is absolutely worth it. True individual freedom cannot exist without financial security and freedom from all money woes.

Once FI is achieved, we can begin to lead a life without financial constraints, where we can take care of ourselves financially, be free from owing others and free to do as we choose. With FI, we can finally sleep well at night and take care of our health. And we can finally summon back the life and creative energy that our money worries once sucked away from us and begin putting this energy toward pursuing our passions and building our dreams. From hereon, when we choose to do something, it’s because we want to and not because we feel obligated to do so. And when we do something, all the big and small decisions we make will be in accordance with our values and our own terms. In other words, financial freedom allows us to focus on personal growth. We now have the time to work on improving our health, pursue hobbies and learning of our choice, and do meaningful work. Yes, knowing that we no longer owe anybody anything puts us more in control of our lives, and as a result, we feel empowered and become more confident. This sense of empowerment and confidence is not of the same kind that one would derive from having a high status and/or high paying job.

Spread the message. Encourage others to begin their financial learning!

Investment, Personal Finance, Women and Financial Literacy

Women Can Participate in the Stock Market with Confidence, Too

women participate in the stock market

Polls and surveys consistently showed women tend to worry more about making investment mistakes than our male counterparts do and get bogged down in all the financial jargons and end up completely confused. We’re also more likely to think the stock market is too risky. All this boils down to women’s lack of confidence and lack of knowledge when it comes to investing. In this post, I share a simple strategy that helped me make sense of the stock market. Despite the strategy’s simplified approach, it gave me the motivation and confidence I needed to get into the stock market. I hope you’ll find my story inspiring, and I encourage you to give the stock market a(nother) chance. I also challenge you to rethink some of your misconceptions about men and women. This is especially important when many women believe that men are more knowledgeable when it comes to making investment decisions, more assertive and more risk-tolerant.

When I Shop

For years, I’ve been using the unit price comparison strategy when I shop. This was something my mother taught me when we were still living in China. During my first couple years in the U.S., navigating through the grocery market was overwhelming. However, understanding numbers and being able to do simple arithmetic helped tremendously. I had no problem figuring out how much an item costs per pound, ounce or gram, square foot or meter, etc. As my English vocabulary grew, I found myself comparing unit prices while keeping in mind the ingredients list. It made sense to me that a product has almonds listed as the first ingredient charges a higher price than another product that listed almonds as the third ingredient. Once I mastered this strategy, look-alike products (and of various sizes) on rows and rows of shelves no longer intimidate me.

Women as Shoppers

As a gender, women are being praised for being good shoppers. And for many of us, we know that’s true and we own this identity. We instinctively know that $3 off a $6 sandwich is a great deal. When the math gets a little complicated, we use the trusty calculator on our phones for assistance. The calculator also makes doing price comparisons easy when unit prices aren’t readily displayed. In general, it’s safe to say that we, women, carry an air of confidence with us while shopping for groceries, household items, clothing or services. So, why do so many women feel intimidated when it comes to shopping in the stock market? Buying stocks is just another form of purchase, right?

Making Sense of the Stock Market

Spread the message. Encourage others to begin their financial learning!

Financial Empowerment, Girlfriend to Girlfriend Money Chat, Women and Financial Literacy

10 Ways Getting Your Friends Onboard Talking about Personal Finance

10 ways getting friends onboard talking about money

In part I of Girlfriend to Girlfriend Money Chat, we read that many women feel uncomfortable discussing money topics with their friends. We also gained some insights into why women generally refrain from talking about personal finances with those they’re close with. Then, I shared some of the internal struggles I’ve been experiencing and my vision for my girlfriends (and other women around the globe) as related to their financial confidence and sense of empowerment. In that post I also shared with my readers a plan for actions so that my behaviors align better with what matters to me.

Today, we’re going to explore additional strategies to spread financial education and support women’s financial empowerment. I’m currently using several of them and seeing great results. As you read, think about what’s applicable to you and your circle of friends. There’s no natural order to follow. The strategies are meant to be causal and subtle so hopefully your friends won’t even notice what you’re trying to encourage. Also, some conversations can flow in ways allowing two or more strategies to be used together. If that’s the case, even better!

Take Advantage of Context:

I already discussed this strategy in Part I of Girlfriend to Girlfriend Money Chat and shared couple examples. Think about the life stages where you and your friends are at (e.g., fresh out of college and climbing up career ladder? planning for a wedding? raising young kids? saving for your kids’ college education? having to provide for your parents financially? getting ready to retire?) and take advantage of those common grounds when starting conversations on money topics. There’s no doubt that (almost) every aspect of our lives involve money. Find out what you and your friends can learn from each other.

Volunteer Information First:

During your get-together with friends, usually you get an opportunity to talk about yourself. Take advantage of moments like these and share with your friends what’s happening in your financial life. Are you having a hard time keeping up with your student loan payment? Are you about to receive some inheritance money and you would like to spend that money to pursue higher education? You’re a frugal person, but your boyfriend is not? You want to buy a new refrigerator this year, but your husband wants to wait until next year? Once you start sharing, you’ll be amazed how much your friends will open up about their money situations, too.

Share Knowledge:

Spread the message. Encourage others to begin their financial learning!