Cynthia M. Martínez
Creator of My Barely Famous Life and Founder Lead Up Labs
I always made it a priority to educate myself, but for some reason, I always found it inaccessible to learn about finance. One day I found myself going through so much work to generate money and an entrepreneur told me, “Money is a game between making the right decisions and strategic actions” I later learned that the action to be taken is intentional and seeing it as a game is what makes it accessible to any lifestyle. Here are 4 common mistakes we make when it comes to managing our personal finances:
Delegating household finances to the partner and not working on them as a team.
It is important that you know about household bills, outstanding balances and payments to be made. Maybe your partner is the one at work and you take care of the children, then all the more reason I invite you to understand that your job is just as important since you would have to pay hundreds of dollars for childcare if you were to hire someone.
Trusting or lending money to loved ones.
“No ticket, no laundry” is a saying among the local laundry service shops in New York. It proposes that no matter how well they know you if you don’t have a piece of paper stating that what you’re asking for is yours, they can’t give it to you. In the 80’s through the 90’s when these services were in their heyday, it was what you heard from the moment you walked in the door. Losing that yellow paper meant you would most likely never see your clothes again. This applies in a big way to your personal and professional life. If the person doesn’t give you the money, don’t deliver the product. We live in times when people pay for items online in advance to strangers they have never seen on the computer and are waiting for what they only saw in an image to arrive. If you want real change you must avoid acting the way you have always acted.
As for family loans: don’t lend money you are not willing to lose. There is a good chance that money will not come back to you. If you can’t, don’t take the risk. I’d rather be okay with the person saying no even though it might leave a bad taste than to be harassing and asking for the money back and losing that family member forever for something that could have been avoided in the first place.
Low tolerance when talking about money and learning strategies to manage it.
Many times when talking about money, people change their posture, roll their eyes, and even shed tears. It is a topic that triggers all the impulsive reactions of an adolescent who does not understand his or her emotions. It’s unfortunate because feeling in control of your future is key to being able to design impactful results in our professional and personal lives. You are a product of your choices. Choose to learn about your personal finances which gives access to financial health as opposed to bad habits which give access to scarcity. Choose wisely.
Missing opportunities to save or use credit to generate miles or points.
Savings can only be achieved by looking for the best deals, sometimes buying in bulk when there is a promotion, and claiming the “rebates”. Setting alarms and reminders are excellent ways to redeem these opportunities that contribute to financial health. As for credit and access to points or miles, you must understand that the card must be in its zero interest year or ZERO balance. Also if your card has a balance you are not saving anything because you are tripling the interest. Your first focus should be to pay off that card by selling things you don’t use at home and minimizing your expenses during the week. YOU CAN!
Design a life you love, without limitations and with the determination to grow in the areas you need support. Financial literacy is the opportunity you have to materialize dreams and increase the possibilities of having a future without financial worries. Take the first step today by identifying in your home what things you can sell that you no longer use and start working on your financial health so you can experience and have an unforgettable year in 2022.
About the Author:
Cynthia M. Martinez is a rebel with a cause, entrepreneur, and life and business strategist with a specialty in leadership and innovation. As part of her extensive trajectory as a strategist, she has been developing leaders in the field of direct sales, market opening, and consulting at the corporate and SME levels for more than a decade. She is the creator of the social media movement in a blog format called “My barely famous life” in which she equips followers with leadership and technology tools through her educational program. She is also the founder of Lead Up Labs, a digital platform that has all the tangible and digital tools for participants to increase their productivity and achieve their goals.
