The Secret to Motivating Yourself to Learn About Finances

If you have a poor relationship with money, it’s going to be hard to talk yourself into how to manage it. Whether you view money as boring or you have a hostile relationship with it, getting financial education is probably one of the last things you’ll want to do.

It’s difficult to be motivated to learn about money if you don’t see how it can bring meaning into your life. Here are a couple of my tips for changing your mindset to see how money can be a positive force for life satisfaction:

Get Honest About Your Relationship With Money

First off, it’s important to get a clear idea of your relationship with money. So, how do you feel about it? What are some beliefs you hold about it? Here’s an excerpt from my article “How Your Relationship With Money Affects Your Finances (and What You Can Do About It)”:

If you want to get a quick pulse on your relationship with money, think about money or say “Money,” out loud to yourself, and then keep track of what emotions come up. More than likely, there will be several that come up in a quick succession: anxiety, avoidance, excitement, compulsion or repulsion, etc.

The goal with this exercise is not to suppress or judge any of the feelings as good or bad. Simply take note of them as they come up. Try this several times to get a full emotional picture.

Once you’ve tried this out, reflect on how your current feelings about money can give you insight into how to improve your relationship with it. I list a couple ideas for doing this in the article mentioned above. 

Brainstorm Your Life Goals

Think about your goals for a moment. What are the most meaningful things you can dream of doing? Maybe you dream of supporting yourself as an artist, building a beautiful home, or going on the adventure of a lifetime.

Those dreams are possible, and they are financeable. Your income can be the financial engine that brings those dreams to life! By reflecting more deeply on your goals and connecting them to your finances, you can begin to more clearly see the equation between money and life satisfaction. 

Get Inspired

Many people are able to do amazing things with money. This is where finding your “money crush” comes in. What’s a money crush? Someone you know, or know of, who handles their finances in a way you admire. This could be somebody you know personally who has the kind of financial setup you want. It could be someone who writes or speaks about money in a way that inspires you. A money crush is essentially somebody who models the things you want for your own financial life.

Try thinking about the most generous people you know. Imagine being able to give like they do, from a place of abundance. One of my personal money crushes and favorite resources on this topic is Lynne Twist’s book, The Soul of Money. Check out my book review if you want more inspiration to improve your relationship with money.

If you enjoyed this article and you want regular tips and insights about doing money in a way that feels meaningful, you’ll probably enjoy being on my newsletter list. Click below to subscribe! 

Why Getting Financial Education is Key to Success

 

Managing your finances, whether business or personal, is a skill. It’s something we need to hone, not just something we might be naturally good at. To grow this skill, we need education!

Financial education has so many benefits to our financial lives. Here are my top 3 for you:

Increasing Your Longterm Wealth

When we hear the phrase “return on investment”, this is the first thing most of us probably think of. Financial education does indeed have a great financial return, especially in the longterm. No matter what type of financial education you pursue, if you implement what you learn, you will increase your longterm wealth.

The knowledge you apply to your financial life will change and improve how you handle money. You may find yourself more capable of making decisions around saving, spending, and investing. Over time this can have compounding positive effects.

This is true both in the case of business and personal finances, by the way! Even just the way that financial education can make you more aware of your money tends to have positive effects on both areas. When you pay more attention to your money, it’s more likely to flourish.

Acquiring Relevant Skills

The skills you learn when you invest in financial education will always be relevant to your life. As far as I know, most of us need to manage our money throughout the course of our lives.

If you are a business owner, the money skills you acquire will be helpful not only to your business, but may also be helpful to your business peers and any people you want to hire or mentor in the future. Money skills really do keep on giving!

A Sense of Peace with Money

In my opinion, this one may be the best of all the benefits. The peace of mind and clarity that come along with getting the financial skills you need to manage your money well are absolutely amazing.

I’ve witnessed many clients experience a great reduction in their stress levels after a few sessions together. Money is one of the leading causes of stress in the U.S. Especially for those managing debt, gaining the financial skills to recover and surmount it can be deeply emotionally healing.

Where Can I Get Financial Education?

In this article, the term “financial education” refers to any resource that helps you better understand your finances. Whether this is a podcast, a YouTube channel, a workshop or class series, or working with a coach or bookkeeper, anything you find helpful in this arena counts!

If you’d like some ideas about finding financial education resources that meet your personal needs, I have a couple articles on finding the best financial education resources for you:

And of course, if you liked this article, you’ll probably love my e-Book, 9 Secrets of Financial Self Care! It walks you through 9 different ways to upgrade your financial life and add self care to your routine. Download it free here.

This post was originally published in July 2021.

5 Steps to Educate Yourself to Financial Success

#1 Consider Your Values, Goals, & Dreams

How do you want financial success to feel in your life? To answer this question, consider your values. These are the touchstones that will remind you of your desired feelings.

Now, let’s consider: What are your life goals? To quote my free e-Book Reach Your Life Goals: A Business Owner’s Guide, “they are not only possible, they are financeable.” And the more you know about money and how to use it, the more easily you can reach those goals.

For more ideas on this step, check out my article “Why Your Should Always Base Your Goals on Your Values.”

Once you’re clear on your goals, winnow them down by asking the question at the crux of Gary Keller’s book, The One Thing: “What’s the one thing I can do, such that by doing it everything else is easier or unnecessary?” This question will help point you in the direction you want to go.

#2 Choose a Learning Objective

Once you’ve considered all the above questions, you’ll likely have an idea of where you’re headed in life, and what financial steps you’ll need to take to get there. Based on your ONE big goal, choose a learning objective to focus your financial education efforts on.

For example, if you decide your one big goal is buying a house for you and your family, then your financial learning objective would be learning everything you can about home-buying. From here, you can resolve to research mortgage types, savings strategies, etc.

If you have clear life goals but are unsure what financial moves you need to get savvy on, make figuring this out your first learning objective. Start by researching financial strategies of people who have done what you want to do, talking to a money buddy about your goals, or speaking with experts to get some resources.

#3 Set Up Some Weekly Financial Learning Time

If you’ve been reading my blog for any length of time, then you know that I advocate for doing a weekly money check-in. Not only is this strategy a great way to get tuned into your money and start making better financial decisions, it’s also a my #1 strategy for achieving financial goals.

Why? Because if you set up a system to make time for something, you will accomplish it. The key is setting aside that time regularly and protecting it.

#4 Optional: Make a Timeline

Depending on your learning objective or the style of goal-setting you prefer, you may or may not feel called to do this. I’m including it as an option because making a timeline can be especially helpful in cases where things are time sensitive, such as in the case of contributing to an IRA.

Or, perhaps you’re the type of person who does better with finite timelines. It’s absolutely true that many of us do better with deadlines or milestones ahead of us. I work in 3- and 6-month coaching engagements with people in part because sometimes commitment to drastic financial change feels more possible over a shorter span of time.

If you know this about yourself, you might like to investigate setting 12-week learning goals. This idea comes from the book The 12-Week Year by Brian Moran and Michael Lennington, and might be worth checking out.

#5 Gather Your Resources and Begin!

This is the fun part! Start gathering your learning resources, and then get going. I have a couple recommendations to start you off:

If you enjoyed this post, you’ll almost certainly like reading my free e-Book, Reach Your Life Goals: A Business Owner’s Guide. Click here to download.

At Peace With Money’s Best of the Blog 2021

This year at At Peace With Money, we covered a lot of great topics on the blog, so I thought it might be a great time to do a “best of” post to wrap up the year. Collected below are our top 10 blog articles from the past year. The topics run the gamut from money affirmations to taxes, but all of these articles provide solid enough insights that they became crowd pleasers! My goal is always to provide helpful and compassionate financial education resources, and I think these ten posts do a great job of just that.

  1. Book Review: 55, Underemployed, and Faking Normal – In which I highly recommend Elizabeth White’s wonderful book, which manages to combine healthy doses of compassion and practical advice, a potent and helpful mix. 
  2. How to Use Affirmations to Transform Your Relationship With Money – This post goes into depth on my thoughts on how money affirmations can assist us in rewiring our money mindsets and digging through the emotional baggage we carry around our finances. 
  3. Why You Should Always Base Your Financial Goals on Your Values – A post that goes into the ideas central to my financial coaching practice, this article discusses the link between values and life satisfaction, and the importance of avoiding lifestyle creep. 
  4. Why Self-Compassion is Important During Tax Time – I believe financial self-compassion is always important, but especially at tax time, it can help us keep a cool head and clarify solutions! 
  5. Why You Need a Year End Bookkeeping Review – A couple practical reasons to get your books reviewed – a great read if you’re new to DIY bookkeeping. 
  6. Why Financial Education is One of the Best Investments – Three strong reasons to invest time and resources into financial education, this is another good read for people just diving into financial learning. 
  7. How to Prep for the Holidays as a Service-Based Business – Service-based businesses can get overlooked during the holidays, but that doesn’t have to be the case! 
  8. Boost Your Happiness By Clarifying Your Lifestyle Costs – Your business exists to support you; to fulfill your needs. If you don’t have a clear picture of what those needs are, it can be difficult for your business to fill them.
  9. Boost Your Social Impact With the Power of Belief – This post on reclaiming your power in your community as a small business owner is all about believing in your vision for a better world! 
  10. How to Tailor Your Income Goals to Your Life – If you’re on board with investigating your values and making sure your money reflects them, but you need a method for how to get there, start here! 

I hope you enjoy this list of top 10 blog posts! While you’re at it, this might be a great opportunity to reflect on your own financial year. What were your big financial lessons of 2021?

☮

Angela

Why Financial Education is One of the Best Investments

When we evaluate whether an investment is worth making, one of the most important considerations is what type of return it offers. Financial education boasts an excellent return. This is true in the context of your business and your personal finances. Below, I go on to list the top three benefits of investing in financial education of any kind!

Increasing Your Longterm Wealth

When we hear the phrase “return on investment”, this is the first thing most of us probably think of. Financial education does indeed have a great financial return, especially in the longterm. No matter what type of financial education you pursue, if you implement what you learn, you will increase your longterm wealth. The knowledge you apply to your financial life will change and improve how you handle money. You may find yourself more capable of making decisions around saving, spending, and investing. Over time this can have compounding positive effects.

This is true both in the case of business and personal finances, by the way! Even just the way that financial education can make you more aware of your money tends to have positive effects on both areas. When you pay more attention to your money, it’s more likely to flourish.

Acquiring Relevant Skills

The skills you learn when you invest in financial education will always be relevant to your life. As far as I know, most of us need to manage our money throughout the course of our lives. If you are a business owner, the money skills you acquire will be helpful not only to your business, but may also be helpful to your business peers and any people you want to hire or mentor in the future. Money skills really do keep on giving!

A Sense of Peace with Money

In my opinion, this one may be the best of all the benefits. The peace of mind and clarity that come along with getting the financial skills you need to manage your money well are absolutely amazing. I’ve witnessed many clients experience a great reduction in their stress levels after a few sessions together. Money is one of the leading causes of stress in the U.S. Especially for those managing debt, gaining the financial skills to recover and surmount it can be deeply emotionally healing.

Where Can I Get Financial Education?

In this article, the term “financial education” refers to any resource that helps you better understand your finances. Whether this is a podcast, a YouTube channel, a workshop or class series, or working with a coach or bookkeeper, anything you find helpful in this arena counts!

If you’d like some ideas about finding financial education resources that meet your personal needs, I have a couple articles on finding the best financial education resources for you. This article discusses why it’s important to find resources that cater to your personal vision of what wealth and success look like, while this article breaks down a couple red and green flags when it comes to evaluating a financial education resource. You can also take a look at some of my favorite financial education resources.

If you want to take a look at more of my content for some financial education resources, check out my library of free e-books (scroll down on the page) and my episodes of Financial Self Care Friday! You can also check out my services and book a free Financial Self Care Consultation!

☮

Angela

Image: Keren Levand

How to Tailor Your Income Goals to Your Life

One of my favorite sayings comes from the artist-turned-business mind Jennifer Armbrust: “A business is a needs-fulfillment machine.” Your business exists to support you; to fulfill your needs. However, if you don’t have a clear picture of what those needs are, it can be difficult for your business to fill them. This week, I’m suggesting that to really financially care for ourselves, we investigate the true costs of our lifestyles. By doing so, we will be able to make informed decisions about what income goals we’d like our businesses to meet. 

The Process

Time to take a realistic look at how much money you’re spending every month. Dig up the past three months of your bank and/or credit card statements. (For most of us, these should be available online). Go through line by line to see where your money is really going. Total up all the expense categories, i.e. groceries, utilities, rent, etc. 

Once you’ve got your totals, you have a realistic picture of how much money you need on a monthly basis. At this stage, you may find it helpful to look critically at your lifestyle, and see if there’s anything you’re interested in culling. If you’re looking for some ideas around creating a budget or spending plan, I’d recommend these articles of mine. Click here. 

Set Informed Goals

Whether you decide to create a spending plan and reign in your expenses, or feel satisfied with your lifestyle costs, you now have a complete picture of your financial needs. At this point, you can now set informed income goals that are designed to meet those needs in your personal life. Without this crucial information, your goals will just be shots in the dark, aimed at an amount of money that “sounds nice” but doesn’t tangibly satisfy a need.

Additionally, once your have this information, you can also take a look at how your business is doing in its current state. Is it making enough to support you? Whether you’ve got a side hustle or something you want to stretch into a full source of income, checking in with this question is important. If your answer is no, you can start to strategize around how you might close that gap. For more ideas on this, check out this post.

I hope this post inspires you to keep working to create a business that truly meets your needs. If you would like to work with an accountability partner and guide to identify your values and shape your finances around them, check out 4 Week Money Refresh, a package of 4 private 1 hour personal financial coaching sessions on early bird sale through April 15th!

Angela


This article was originally posted in 2019 as part of a month-long series on  financial self-care. Specifically, I’m focusing on what you can do with your money to take care of yourself and improve your business in 2019. You can read the whole series by clicking here. 

Image:  CoWomen

What You Can Learn From a Money Crush

There’s nothing like having a crush. You can spend hours admiring them. You love to watch them do things. I experience crushes regularly – money crushes, that is! Today we’ll talk about what a money crush is and why they’re helpful, how to find yours, and a couple of mine. Let’s dive in:

What’s a Money Crush and Why Would I Want One?

A money crush is a playful term for someone you know, or know of, who handles their finances in a way you admire. This could be somebody you know personally who has the kind of financial setup you want. It could be someone who writes or speaks about money in a way that inspires you. A money crush is essentially somebody who models the things you want for your own financial life.

The benefits of having a money crush are pretty simple; these role models inspire you take your own steps towards emulating what they embody in their finances. They give you someone to look up to, someone whose actions you can study. Your money crush can help breathe life into the vision of your own ideal financial situation.

Finding Someone Crush-Worthy

So, how do you find a money crush? Money crushes can be found in all types of places – in your friend circle, at an industry gathering for your profession, or on the web. Take a couple minutes to reflect – have you ever encountered someone whose way of doing things around money really inspired you? If yes, they’re money-crush material. I’ve written before about money buddies and business mentors. If the person you have in mind is someone you know, consider establishing a relationship like that where you can feel free to talk about money and pick their brain.

If the person you’re thinking of is an author, blogger, or other public figure, you’ll probably take a different approach. First, search out all their material. They’ve likely produced more than whatever book or article introduced you to them. See what else they’ve got – maybe it will be something you love! You might consider reaching out and writing them an email of thanks, too.

Lastly, I’d like to recommend my articles on finding good financial advice. A Brief Guide to Finding the Right Financial Advice breaks down tips that can help you find financial advice tailored to your vision of financial success. Financial Advice: How to Avoid the Bad and Find the Good lays out some red flags to look for when searching for financial wisdom, as well as some green flags that tell you you’re in the right place. Finally, Find Good Financial Advice During COVID-19 gives you some tips on avoiding financial gurus who rely on fear tactics. These articles may help inspire your search for a money crush!

A Few of My Money Crushes!

I want to introduce you to a couple people of whom I am a not-so-secret admirer! They might become your money crushes too:

  • Megan deBoer of Tended Wealth is a constant inspiration – I love her thoughtful posts on Instagram and the way she really invites people to imagine thriving financially.
  • Lynne Twist is the author of The Soul of Money, and her writing encapsulates my favorite way to think about money.
  • Karen McCall of the Financial Recovery Institute is an inspiration and a mentor of mine. I first fell in love with her book, Financial Recovery, before seeking out her training!
  • Vicki Robin is one of the authors of the well-known book, Your Money or Your Life. I especially love the way she thinks about how our finances have to do with satisfaction, and finding our “Enough” point.
  • Hadassah Damien has a plethora of resources dedicated to helping marginalized people learn about money and how to handle it well. She’s also a motorcyclist!

Could I be your next money crush? If this post has inspired you to do some digging around my resources, I encourage you to check out my free e-Book, 9 Secrets to Financial Self Care! It’s packed with tips and helps you think about ways you can work financial self care into your work routine.

Happy crushing!

☮

Angela

Image by:  Sharon McCutcheon

3 Simple Tips to Infuse Financial Self Care Into Your Routine

When you first decide you want to put effort and intention into your finances, it can be hard to know where to start. Especially as a business owner, you already wear many hats. You have a lot to do, and whatever you add to your plate needs to be simple. I’ve got you covered. Here are three ideas for infusing some financial self care into your work routine.

Organize Your Passwords

If you want to look at your accounts regularly, organize your passwords for easier access! I am a huge advocate for looking at your numbers on a weekly basis. The more you’re checked in with where you and your business are at financially, the better. Taking some time to do this step will simplify the process of working on your finances, and take away some of the hesitation.

Find a Financial Education Resource You Love

…and then stick with it! Whether it’s a podcast, a book, or a YouTube channel, financial education comes in all formats these days. Find a person or resource who really resonates with you. Then, dive deep into what they have to say, and try to integrate that into your life. If you want some guidance around finding sound financial advice, read my guides on some things to look for and how to steer clear of the not-so-helpful stuff.  You can also check out my favorite educational resources. Here’s a list of some of my faves from other sites, and a list of my best educational blog posts.

List Some Action Items

You know your business and personal finances best. Chances are, there are probably already some to-do list items in the realm of your finances. Try jogging your memory for those and writing them down. Perhaps you’ve always wanted to try creating a money map for yourself. Maybe you want to automate all your bill payments. Identify those action items and write them down somewhere you can revisit them.

Next, strategize. How can you get these done? What resources or assistance do you need to do so? Can you divide the tasks into bite-size chunks and work on them piece by piece? Your financial wellbeing is something you can handle – sometimes it just takes some strategy and awareness.

9 Secrets to Financial Self Care Book Cover

I hope you’ve enjoyed these quick tips for financial self care. You might also be interested in downloading my free e-Book, 9 Secrets to Financial Self Care. In this e-Book, I go in-depth into 9 different steps you can take to build a solid financial self care routine for yourself. Try it out by clicking the link above!

☮

Angela

Image by Siora Photography

How to Find Good Financial Advice During COVID-19

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic ripple effects, there’s been a lot of discussion and advice about what business owners should do. I’ve added my own voice to the mix, with a recent article and a full-length guide accompanied by a video series. Along with the variety of advice out there right now, there are also differing tones and points of view. Whether you’re looking to speak with others about money in the time of pandemic, or just hoping to find a way to navigate through all the guides, resources, and economic commentary, here are a couple things to pay attention to.

Nix the Shame and Guilt

Right now, I’m seeing a lot of people writing about this from a point of view that places a lot of shame and guilt on readers feeling unprepared and surprised by the economic fallout that’s occurred. Some are claiming that people’s lack of savings or inability to save for these types of emergencies is the ultimate source of their misfortune during this time. While saving up an emergency fund is of course a great idea, I do want to make sure that we recognize we are in the midst of a global emergency.

If you have lost money and don’t have enough saved to cover that loss, please don’t internalize that as your own fault. Sources that are encouraging you to do so or blaming those in need of unemployment benefits and other assistance are best avoided. If you are experiencing shame and guilt, take some time to process these feelings, but don’t make any decisions based on them. This might be a great time to do some mindset work.

Bye, Fear Tactics

While there’s certainly been an uptick in economic uncertainty, I’d advise you to steer clear of anyone leading a business pitch to you with this information. There are some coaches and other financial professionals who are currently using fear tactics to draw more clientele. Here’s a good litmus test to avoid people like this: don’t sign up for anything or listen to anyone who makes you feel more scared and activated than you were prior to hearing from them.

What We Really Need


Instead of fear tactics and guilt-tripping, we need to listen for messages that are factual. Resources that speak in practical terms and outline solutions are your best friend right now. Additionally, guides that approach the current economic situation from a growth mindset which stimulate your creativity and promote problem-solving, are good resources. If you have a public platform, keep all this in mind. People need guidance right now. The more we spread messages that are empowering and hopeful, the more we can contribute to the wellbeing of our communities.

If you’d like more thoughts about navigating all the financial advice out there, check out my articles on the topic:

☮

Angela

Image by: Fa Barboza

Getting Health Insurance If You’re A Solopreneur

Health insurance is often one of the biggest reasons people cite when they talk about why they don’t leave their job to start something of their own. Having your basic health needs covered contributes to the peace of mind and focus you need to really run a business. Figuring out health insurance on your own might seem scary, but it’s not impossible. In fact, about 18 million people buy health insurance on their own. So how can a solopreneur find health insurance that works for them?

Well, I did a little digging and came up with a couple ideas, plus a lot of resources. Here are my findings:

Don’t Freak Out About Numbers

If the sheer cost of health insurance is what scares you, this might calm your nerves. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, in 2016, the average American holding a federal Marketplace plan paid $106 per month, after subsidies. Of course your individual costs will differ depending on your situation, but I like to throw out a statistic just to help us all relax.

Assess Your Situation

Now it’s time to get into the nitty-gritty. What is your situation, and what are your needs? Are you able to qualify for subsidies through the ACA? Do you qualify for COBRA coverage? Do you qualify for Medicaid and CHIP programs in your state? (Note: These are all links to Healthcare.gov which you can click on for more info on each type of coverage)

How many people are you trying to insure? If you have a spouse, can you get on their plan at low or no cost? Determine what your needs are, what you qualify for, and any special concerns you have. Once you’ve got that information, you can begin the next step.

Shop Around

Once you’ve established your needs and what you qualify for, it’s time to shop around. There are an incredible amount of options when it comes to solopreneur healthcare. If you’ve explored the marketplace options above and found none of them work, it’s worth looking into the various group options available to you. These include the Freelancers Union, which offers a range of plans. There are also some religious groups who have ventured into buying group insurance through a money pooling system. If you’re interested in this option, check out the Alliance of Health Care Sharing Ministries, Health Share, and Samaritan Ministries. There are also often local professional groups or organizations that offer group health plans. It’s worth looking into any local options that might exist in your area. Finally, you can get healthcare as a business, if you are a legally registered business.

Another option to compare is taking a high deductible plan that includes a health savings account, or HSA. HSAs allow you to put money away in a tax-sheltered account, meaning you can save up for medical emergencies without being penalized come tax time.

Sometimes it can be helpful to talk to an insurance broker who represents various companies and go through all the different options with you. As you can see, there are quite a few. The more you look and compare, the more likely you are to find an affordable plan that works best for you.

How To Get Health Insurance As A Solopreneur: At Peace With MoneyFurther Reading

For further reading on the topic of health insurance, I recommend a couple articles. “Health Insurance For Freelancers: 12 Viable Options,”“How To Save On Health Insurance as a Freelancer in the Trump Era”, “Health Insurance for the Self-Employed”, “Health Insurance for Creatives”, “5 Places to Find Health Insurance for Freelancers and the Self-Employed” and HealthCare.gov are all current, helpful resources. They contain even more information about unions, group plans, short term plans, and the particulars of the ACA. If you feel like you need a broad explanation, check out the videos “Health Insurance Terms You Need to Know (In The U.S.)” and “The Structure and Cost of U.S. Health Care”.

Phew! Well, I hope that’s enough information to get you started. There’s certainly a lot to know about the ins and outs of health insurance, but that shouldn’t stop you from pursuing the solopreneur life you dream about. If you’re interested in talking to me about the financial particulars of your business, check out my Services page and schedule a call! I hope these resources empower you to shape your life the way you want to.

Angela

Image:  Rodion Kutsaev

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