3 things My Prudential Financial Professional Taught Me

 

(This is a sponsored post for SheSpeaks/Prudential.)

I have been working with my Prudential Financial Professional since the end of last year so it feels like this is the perfect time for a check up.

Meg Morales and I met at the end of last year and frankly I was dreading it because, as you read here, I have a terrible relationship with money.

But here I am, several months later and I can say I am pleasantly surprised! So here are 3 things I have learned from my Prudential Financial Professional.

  1. The Basics of Budgeting: When we first met, Meg and I went chatted quite a bit; it was really like talking with a girlfriend. Together we figured out that my fear was rooted in the unknown; I didn’t have a good handle on money coming in and going out of my household and my life. So how do you handle fear? By shining a light on it and my light came in the form of a budget.

Meg sent me a form to detail every income and expense in my life. Sounds basic right? But in looking at the spreadsheet I realized how much I was actually overlooking, especially in what I refer to as “phantom expenses”; those little things (coffee here and there or fast food meal) that add up.

Getting a handle on that was huge but get this; the thing I thought I would rail against actually provided me with a sense of freedom. I know EXACTLY what I can spend and when.

  1. Celebrate the victories: During one of our sessions, I told Meg that I had one more payment on a loan I had been paying over the course of the last year. One more payment! Meg told me to write that down and celebrate that as a victory. She was absolutely right! The loan was one I had taken for my business and paying it off meant not only freeing up more income in my budget but also represented something greater; it helped me take my business to the next level. It was a big win for me to have chipped away at it until it was paid off. Little steps which, when put one right after the other, cover a lot of ground.

  1. A New Relationship With Money: WOW! I did not see this one coming but this seems to be the biggest lesson of all. Meg helped me become aware of my spending habits and by honing in on those, we changed the ones that were not helping me. I learned that it’s never too late to remedy some of the (bad) habits of my youth and still get me on the path for a firm financial future. Working with (instead of against) my money helps me see how I can use it to empower me as I continue this journey through life. Now, through savvy budgeting, I am able to start socking away for life’s little hiccups, or for all the amazing traveling I want to do in my future.

So if you are like me and thinking you don’t have enough money to even consider a financial professional, I would ask you put that out of your mind. Click here to set up your own appointment to just have an informal chat. Nothing to lose and peace of mind to gain!