Money Tip 009: What even is Financial Wellness?!
Nothing in this post is a recommendation.
So many people have asked me “Why finance, Mel?” And I get it, it was a weird pivot. But it makes sense when you know the whole story. It is hard for people to understand how someone in fashion would or could move over to such a different industry. And yet the transition was so natural. It was what I struggled with as a model and as a designer both with having enough to be where I wanted to be in life and to grow. Over and over I have seen women unable to accomplish their dreams for financial reasons. Some of the top reasons are fear of money, lack of money, lack of access to money, misunderstanding credit, iniquitous relationships and fearing failure so much that they never get started/or at the first real financial loss, giving up. Believe me! I’ve experienced them all. Now I live with more than I need. All with a change in my belief system - in money and in myself. Besides getting around a lacking and ungrateful mentality, which honestly is numero uno on the list of how to start accomplishing financial wellness, the second most important thing is to really understand Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.
“Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a motivational theory in psychology comprising a five-tier model of human needs, often depicted as hierarchical levels within a pyramid. ... From the bottom of the hierarchy upwards, the needs are: physiological, safety, love and belonging, esteem, and self-actualization.” *1
As you can see in this chart, your basic needs will require you… yep you guessed it: money. And that’s okay and that is so important. Because the great thing about money is that you can make it and in a endless amount of ways. And the absolute greatest thing about money is that you can always make more. But not understanding the role it plays in your life and how important it is to use it properly and make it work for you at some point, can lead to major “stuck-ness”, lack of progress, and often depression. And thinking that having lost it all or having none makes you less than, is a limiting belief system that paralyzes so many human beings. Your net worth is not the same as your self worth, and when it is, in any amount, you are in danger. Ever heard of those people who lose it all many times and then always get it all back and then some? How do they do it? Money is a tool, a mindset and an energy that is harnessed, not something that should be feared and/or avoided.
Not everyone thinks they need to self-actualize to hit “success” in life, but I urge you to reconsider if that is your stance. Why wouldn’t you want to actualize and be living outside of time sickness and doing your purpose every day? Are you seriously going to just do your 90 years and contribute nothing but offspring? Or are you going to find what you’re here to do? Maybe you purposely do not go there because it is scary? I know I’ve felt that many times. Is the idea of it so far away because you haven’t been able to hit basic and psychological needs…ever? Whatever your reason, you control this. You are the one creating the world you live in, and only you can truly drive yourself to the other side of it, if that is your desire. Your destiny is within your energetic control once you understand and accept that there is an order to life and that you are the driver. And thank goodness we live in a day and age where information is accessible and endless.
To have food, water, warmth, security, and relationships, you will need money. And you should always have enough of your own without depending on anybody to at least get to these. You need money to be able to pay for the activities and items that provide for you these necessities of life. This is first and foremost defining the path for us to financial wellness. And how you make your money matters too, because money is an energy exchange. If you chose to vibrate your need for money from a place of lacking, you will create more void. If you choose to see opportunity in problems, solutions and organization in your chaos, and work with your own energy, you will get everything you desire. Knowing the tools to grow your mindset and money will guide you to more of it. With grit, and hard work, and a positive attitude, it will come. When I worked with Dr. Colleen Lindstrom on my energy and my purpose, I instantly remembered that one of the reasons people don’t have wellness is because they don’t realize they’re sick. We are living in a world where we are supposed to have money, but no one helps us find our purpose so we study things we like but don’t make us feel fulfilled. We have an education system that doesn’t teach anything about our spirit, the basics of finance or growing our own food, and when we have no soul or direction in our life, including community, we wonder why we feel empty or lost. We live in a world where we are supposed to play by the rules, but there are loopholes at every turn that only a select few educate themselves to really understand or had someone teach them. Privilege breeds more privilege while poverty breeds more poverty. We must be the change in our lineages, if we come from families that do not know how to or teach the mastery of money. We live in a world where so many people in the financial industry have messed up that people actually fear and avoid their own finances. We don’t teach financial literacy in public schools. So the elite grow and the middle and lower class just never break out and move up. Since poverty perpetuates itself, we must make finance not only a wellness field but a standard for schools to teach as early as elementary school. So everyone understands its importance and that it is something that can be learned and achieved. So that compound interest is something kids have the chance to work with, not just adults. This is how we grow as a creative community and not a competitive one.
Financial wellness is about getting your energy and needs right. It is about using professionals, banks, creditors, and financial services, those who do finance day in and out as a resource, not an enemy or something to be avoided. It is about knowing 1,2, & 3 so that you can then learn 4,5, and 6.. all the way to 100 things and then 1000 things that you never knew that you should have known. Most importantly you will find out that you can work less because now your money works for you. It’s about knowing your risk tolerance and then taking it. And it is about reading and learning and then empowering others through your new knowledge base. There is nothing cooler than seeing women lift other women up. Nothing sunnier than to see the underdogs, whoever they may be, building a pyramid together with their friends to lift each other up. To see someone self-actualize and heal and help the world. That is in all of us. The time has come to pay attention, to yourself and to your work. To find some badass-ness, your intelligence, and your passion and work hard with people, often smarter than you on specific topics, to create the life you dream of. The opposite of success is not failure. In fact you cannot get to success without hundreds of little failures. The opposite of success is conformity. Stop thinking because all the people around you don’t know about money, that you simply won’t learn either. Be the change. Refuse to take what is handed to you in life and instead take the reins and direct your life the way you want with your mind and spirit is not living. We all have a purpose. And sometimes the purposes change; let them. Go with your intuition, she/he is always right! I want to help people and inspire others to help themselves, other people and the planet. I also want people to not be suffering because of something so basic to our existence and necessary to live as money is. So financial wellness is my focus, because I understand the struggle of financial unwellness, and it’s not a fun place to be, not a smart place to stay, and most of all not where anyone has to or should stay.
I truly believe financial wellness is the first step towards overall wellness. It is so hard to commit to physical wellness, mental wellness, spiritual wellness, intimacy wellness, karmic wellness, ANY wellness, if you are worried about basic needs being met, or the stack of bills on your table, or the cost you just insured because of whatever. It is virtually impossible! So fix your money. Dig deep to reach out to people like me and just ask what direction to go, what programs exist, how other people are making money, and sit and meditate on how you want to make your money and the dreams you’re building once you do. WRITE IT DOWN. There is power in written and expressed word. And also watch the words that come out of your mouth. Stop saying you’re horrible with money or being mad at money. That energy continues to manifest until you correct it with things like “I’m getting great at money!” and “I’m definitely going to have all the things I ever dreamed of because I now know how to use money!” How do you want to expand your life in every direction once your money is right? Start thinking about the kind of person you would be then, and just be them now. Don’t wait. If you do that, you’re going to get there and feel empty. There is an energetic trick to believing it before it’s true and watching it come to life. But you have to believe it. Resonate with it. So first get really still, figure out what you want, financially, and how you are most likely to achieve that goal. Then figure out, once you make it, how it’s best to invest or put it to work to make it work for you (with someone like me or any other resource you find). Use advisors and interview them. Find one your gut tells you cares, like me. And then do it until it’s done. Use money, don’t let it use you. If you lose steam, come back here and remember why you’re working so hard. Financial wellness leads to all your other wellness and to major creativity awakening and ability. You are a ball of infinite light, who is here for a reason. You ARE smarter than you think, this I promise to you. You can do the hardest things that no one else is doing. I know, because I did it. Please show us! The world needs you to be okay first so that you can grow to great. Take care of your financial wellness starting now with these steps, find mentors, and always know I’m here to help!
