Cynthia M. Martínez
Creator of My Barely Famous Life and Founder Lead Up Labs
In my experience as a speaker, every time we work on the topic of financial literacy I face many obstacles with the audience, primarily with their conditioning. From parents whose economic limitations were so great that they decided to create a money villain to family members who had great purchasing power, but did not develop a personality worth admiring. The examples of prosperity that we obtained in childhood greatly define our personality when it comes to money. This does not mean that it is a tattoo for life. It only lets us know that we must make healing from this a priority, since it can be an obstacle to battling for the rest of our lives. Next, I want to present to you the two most common myths that exist about women and money:
First myth: “Women need more help managing their money than men”
Imagine… if reading it was horrible, hearing it from the mouths of female leaders is like feeling the apocalypse is coming. Ok, it sounds exaggerated, but I, who invest so much in female leadership, am very affected by seeing this type of thinking in extraordinary women. The reality is that men are exposed to money at an early age unlike women. A boy is more likely to accompany his father to work to earn money and a girl to accompany her mother to buy the things they need. The male sees the father EARN money and the female SPEND money. If you are a father or mother, you should consider exposing your children to seeing personal finances in a healthy way at an early age.
Second myth: “Women naturally reject investments”
Mom teaches to save for a rainy day, but not to invest in the sunny day. Times have changed and we all learned that saving is important, but it is not enough. We need to invest and diversify our income if we want to have a stable financial future. My recommendation: start planning your retirement. Meet with an expert. You can even make an appointment at Oriental to guide you about their IRAs, among other services, for planning your future. Then, start educating yourself on other investments WITHOUT putting your savings at risk. Small steps are crucial to effectively learning any new skill.
At the end of the road, it is important to understand that money is a result. It can be the consequence of intentional action or informed decisions, but it is rarely due to a stroke of luck. I would like that in this women’s month you give yourself the opportunity to not leave it to luck what your actions can give you. BELIEVE IN YOURSELF! Believe in your potential to make things happen, in your ability to maintain your focus in the face of adversity, and that you are more than enough to have control of your finances. Start your path to financial health today. Come on, I believe in you!
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.
