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Project: Financial Independence |
As my first ever blog-post, I find myself wondering what on earth I was thinking! I have full-time career, teaching, I'm a full-time mother of a teenager (and a grown child), and I am co-creating our homestead life. My list of 'things' to do is long enough to keep me busy for the foreseeable future. But! I find myself drawn to the idea of a "side hustle" to help our family's finances move more into alignment with our goals - #FinancialIndependence and #BreaktheCycle of living Paycheck-to-Paycheck. We are in our first month of this mindful journey and I already feel more at peace. We have a long way, yet!
So, what did I do?
First:
I joined a couple of Facebook groups!
#WomenRockMoney
#WomenRockMoney offers a small group feel, with all the knowledge of a large group - which fits my path perfectly right now. Chelsea does weekly live videos and her newsletters offer a variety of useful knowledge.
#JourneytoLaunch
Jamila offers weekly podcasts to support fellow 'journeyers' on the path to FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early). #JourneytoLauch is a larger group, with weekly podcasts. Although I listen to these podcasts, I have not been as active this group.
Each of these groups is a closed group, so you will need to "join" in order to reap the benefits that they have to offer.
Next:
I began listening to podcasts on my way to work in the morning.
SideHustleNation
One that I thoroughly enjoyed is "Episode 281: How to Start a $1000/Month Freelance Writing Business in 60 Minutes a Day" featuring James Johnson. What an informative podcast! Th
Journey to Launch
There is a great Podcast called "How To Change Your Mindset, Habits & Beliefs To Reach Your Financial Goals" featuring Jim Fortin. This is all about defining and shifting your beliefs towards a growth mindset. Finding my joy in this project, I am confronted more and more with my relationship and belief systems around money.
Last:
I created a budget on YouNeedABudget (YNAB). Their 4 rules to budgeting are extremely helpful!
- Give Every Dollar a Job.
- Embrace your True Expenses.
- Roll with the Punches.
- Age your Money.
I have never considered myself "financially savvy" or even "financially literate" to be honest. We paid our bills, most of the time, and kept our fridge stocked. But, I knew there had to be more out there. I knew that I wanted to be able to enjoy a vacation without "borrowing from Peter to pay Paul". I knew that I wanted to have the money in the account to pay our bills without feeling like we were "squeezing blood from a turnip".
Once I began to immerse myself in these worlds, I noticed my capacity for finance began to grow - and isn't that what it's all about? Having a growth mindset?
So, the next time you sit down to pay some bills, ask yourself if you are mindfully taking this journey or if you are blindly treading from one point to the next.
Namaste,
Bree
