We had a wonderful time during the Virtual Money Chat. Moms shared financial tips & experiences over beverages to wrap up the “Moms on a Budget” series with the Chicagoland Mom Squad for Money Smart Week. This is a recap of the session: Money Smart Week The week is still in progress. Visit MoneySmartWeek.org to check out free, virtual workshops on a variety of topics. Chicagoland Mom Squad Tenille Jackson is the curator of The Chicagoland Mom Squad, a great Facebook group. Topics range from p-EBT debates to politics to hilarious mom memes and much more. There are also active momsquad groups in Atlanta...
She Raised her Credit Score 144 points in 1 year!
Meet Desire’ Hunter! She’s a mom of four who found herself starting over after ending a 15-year marriage. I met Desire’ while playing Cashflow (an excellent game for learning personal finance strategy…just FYI). Since that fateful meeting, Desire’ has worked hard to overcome challenges and make progress on her financial goals. “It was my pride I had to drop…I had to say I need help.” ~Desire’ Hunter She shared her in-progress journey & wins earlier this month. Her financial goals include: Improving her credit Paying off a car loan Buying an investment property She’s taking steps in the right direction....
How I’m Learning To Invest in the Stock Market
One side effect of the pandemic for my family (and likely yours) is our dependency on Zoom. We probably could have taken advantage of Zoom before because we’re spread across multiple states. Nonetheless, stay-at-home orders forced us inside. My younger brother is a financial investment professional. He has been for years. Looking for something productive to do, we decided to pick his brain. Family Financial Chats In April 2020, we started weekly Zoom calls. Each Sunday afternoon, we’d jump on a Zoom call and just ask him questions. There wasn’t a formal outline. He did start us off with some...
10 Great Ways to Use Your Stimulus Relief Benefits
We are living in unprecedented times. A global pandemic literally shut down the world. 1 in 5 Americans knows someone who has passed away from the Coronavirus. (((hugs))) 2 million women stopped working to care for dependents leading to a 30% unemployment rate for women by the end of 2020. 10 million jobs have been eliminated in the past year. Millions of families converted their homes to work-from-home offices. Millions of children had to adjust to learning via Zoom. It’s only been 1 year since this microscopic virus turned our lives upside down. Now Congress has passed and President Biden...
Closing Your Personal Wealth Gap
Have you seen these numbers released by the Brookings Institute recently? Does this depress you or serve as a source of motivation? For me, it’s both. It’s a reminder of systemic forces (some historical, others current) outside of our control that make it difficult for large numbers to make great financial strides. It also taps into my competitive nature. I have no qualms about setting goals and working to seize all opportunities available. That includes the opportunity to build wealth. I don’t mean to minimize the significance of historical factors that have blocked millions in this country from retaining wealth...