Stressed Out and Need To Keep More of Our Money In Our Pockets

 Facing our reality can be a bit challenging when we have to face this reality with no support. I hope that sharing information helps us connect to one another and resources that support our mental, physical and financial health. One of my goals for this year is to get my family on track with our finances. Wishful thinking so far. I approached my sons and asked them if we could have money conversations that leads us to saving and investing together. They both have their own financial issues going on and didn't want to share their status with me. Just didn't want to come together and work on our finances as a family. They're stuck in the anti-social club, another trap for those with little to no support. So I have to create a plan b and c to help them get on track. Understanding that we are stressed out with little support is the foundation for me to come up with a better plan for us. If we are looking to gain stability in all aspects of life. We have to understand our environment and mindsets. "Rich Dad Poor Dad" by Robert T. Kiyosaki shares what the rich teach their kids about money - that the poor middle class do not! He suggests that we read, discuss, study.... and discuss again. 

I share resources with my sons, that cater to black men and our community. They will look at the resources and sometimes utilize the resource. My oldest son would join a weekly call with Focus On Father's, a men's group that helped him understand being a father. Unfortunately the stressors in life stopped him from continuing with the Thursday call.  I keep sharing and staying on them and their friends. Our mental health is super important so I'm sharing with them resources that cater to black men. 

Monthly, hundreds of Black men attend Real Men Real Talk, which includes dinner, an impactful conversation led by agency leadership, brotherhood, and healing in a safe atmosphere. Because of the agency’s commitment to holding national monthly RMRT events, a core group of Black men consistently gather and receive Talk Therapy.

The Black Brain Campaign also has resources that help us erase stigmas towards our differences. They offer free therapy and resources that supports our differences. Understanding our mindset helps us live comfortably. I'm happy that we have resources and support that helps us embrace diversity and understanding for diversity. 

While doing an Amazon delivery I learned about Phoenix Trauma Center in Media, Pa. . A wealth of resources and support both in person and online for Pennsylvania and out of state residents. Parental Stress is part of parenting. Having people and tools to help get through those stressful times is a plus. At the Phoenix Trauma Center they don't accept insurance but can work with you on a sliding scale and connect you to providers who do accept insurance. 

The Phoenix Center for Experiential Trauma Therapy is named after the legendary figure of the phoenix. Mythology suggests that the phoenix dies and is reborn from its own ashes – it is a symbol of transformation and resilience. The phenomenon of growing after experiencing trauma has been labeled “Post-Traumatic Growth”. This is exactly what we strive to help our clients cultivate in their lives, through Individual Therapy and Group Therapy.

The Window of Tolerance

Growth Mindset vs Fixed Mindset: What Do They Really Mean?

In talking to my family about how to change our financial situation, I'm suggesting that we use some tools to help us keep more of our money in our pockets. I really like the concept of the vision board and journals for personal and financial goals. I started my journal last week. Putting my responsibilities and desires on paper allowed me to see my dream. The journal gave me a view of what I'm working on and made everything obtainable. I bought both Tiffany Aliche aka The Budgetnista, "Get Good with Money" and "Rich Dad Poor Dad" by Robert T. Kiyosaki. I look at the books everyday with plans to open and read them by February. I'm sharing this so that people don't put pressure on themselves to conquer our finances. When I share the blog with people, some open and read the blog right at the moment and others tell me they will read the blog when they get a chance. This is life stressors blinding us to pathways that make life less stressful. I've been working on getting my finances in order for several years now. Don't give up, sometimes we have to fall on plan b, c, and d before we start to gain control of our situations. 

Showing my family how to keep more of our money in our pockets, I use several apps. Greenlight is a great tool that helps me teach my grands about better money habits. Greenlight also offers our families earnings for sharing the app. I love when I can share an app that we are interested in. Why not give and get some perks for downloading versus downloading the app with no perks. So I share links that help us keep more of our money in our pockets!! 

I just recently learned about OnePay while we were shopping at Walmart. OnePay is a great tool if you don't have a bank account and would like to get direct deposit. On OnePay you get points for direct deposits and shopping at select stores. Those points turn into cash back that you can save or invest on the OnePay app. In fact OnePay gives you $5 to invest in stocks and $5 to invest in cryptocurrency. Taking advice from Investopedia, I invested that $5 now. If you click on my OnePay link and set up direct deposit. You will get an extra $50 cash back if your direct deposit is $500 or more. With a direct deposit of $500 or more you become part of OnePay Cash+ and now you are getting more money back when you shop at Walmart, Pizza Hut, KFC and other retailers. I have my Amazon flex being directly deposited to OnePay. OnePay also teaches about saving and investing. You can build your credit with their credit builder and file your taxes for free. I'm thinking of doing a YouTube video about the app and doing some taxes with the app. 

Let's talk about tax time and doing our taxes for free. The federal government provides free tax sites all over the country. These free tax sites known as VITA help us avoid expensive tax fees, and often connect us to resources that help support our family stability. The best part of the VITA sites is that your return gets a quality review that helps avoid any errors. 

Discount Cards

When shopping for most anything, Groupon is a great place to start. They give you an additional 20% off exclusive offers.  

Have you heard of AAA membership? Most people think AAA is just for roadside assistance. AAA is the discount card that you don't want to leave home without. AAA is offering a New Year special that allows you to join and add a household member for free. Cha Ching $$$ in your pockets!! I love AAA because you get so much for one low yearly price. You get your membership fees back with the use of the free identity theft protection offer through Experian among other great discounts on movie, sports, and most entertainment tickets with no service fees or taxes. Sometimes you get free food when purchasing tickets to family spaces like the zoo or Sesame Place. 

Recognizing Investments That Work For Us!!

 I would like to share some investments that are making people right now money. Yes we have to spend money to make money, this is known as the return on our investment ROI. I really look to start a cooperative and hopefully a susu. I need to do more research on both but would love help in us taking ownership of both. We really need a way to support our families and community financially like Madame C. J. Walker was able to do. 

The price of gold is up. If you have old jewels just collecting dust. You might want to cash that gold, silver or diamonds in. 

Turo is a car rental platform that allows you to rent cars to people through their app. Car rentals are always in demand. Please do the research.

Uber Fleet  is another way to generate right now income. Your cost is the car, car insurance, car tracker and business registration. I'm looking to start working on an Uber Fleet in April. Again I would love for others to join me and possibly start our own cooperative with the Uber Fleet platform. 

If you have a drivers license and like to drive on various platforms, Uber is always looking for drivers. If you click on my shareable link Uber guarantees that you will earn at least $2,385 for your first 189 passenger trips in 30 days. So if you do 189 passenger trips and the total isn't $2,385 Uber will make up the difference. With that shared, you can take any rides you like. I do most of the rides that come to me, especially short rides in center city, because they are good tippers!! With The Uber Pro card we get paid after each ride and good cash back rewards at the charging stations. Uber also has great perks, like free enrollment at Arizona State University for yourself or one of your children. That's Ching ching in your pockets!! You can rent a car through the Uber marketplace. Uber partnered with car rental companies as well as fleet owners whose cars you can use with no credit or debit card. 

For some of us tax season is when we get a lump sum of money. Let's plan to have that money work for you by making some researched and planned investments. 

Updates from past blog

The inflammation is going away, thanks to the colon hydrotherapy, GasX and noni tea that I purchased for $1.99 at Hmart on Cheltenham Ave. Forgot to mention that I also went down a pants size. I'm feeling really good!! WalMart held a wellness event over the weekend. I talked to the dietician about the gas and inflammation. She suggested that I work on taking the sugars out of my diet and that not getting our teeth cleaned regularly also produces inflammation. I shared that I recently had my teeth cleaned at ESWA.

 Eastern Service Workers Association is a national volunteer organization that supports low income workers from various backgrounds. They are always looking for volunteers to help with food distribution, their free medical, dental and legal clinics along with help at the office. ESWA supports their members with advocacy for a way out of poverty. In Philadelphia ESWA is located at 1518 South Street and can be reached at 215.545.9055

Last tip: some of us look to buy much needed furniture with our tax return. You can reach out to organizations who are part of the furniture bank and furnish your home. 

Let's Talk Family Finances

 Happy New Year!! I hope that you are open to information that helps us pursue a healthy and prosperous life. Healthy in our physical and mental well-being along with our financial understandings. Over the past few years I have been struggling with my health. How can we work to provide for ourselves and family when our body is in an unhealthy state. Overwhelmed with life, I didn't pay much attention to the damaging eating habits I had developed. Allergies were getting worse. My energy was low. Bloating once a month really halted my life production until I purchased a Colon Hydrotherapy. Instantly my energy levels went up, the allergies were less frequent and the bloat went away. I did the Colon Hydrotherapy in October but didn't change my eating and drinking habits. The bloat came back and I didn't have the $59 to get the Colon Hydrotherapy. So I purchased some GasX to hold me over until I get the $59. Now I can work and focus on getting my family financials in order!!

 Setting goals is key. 

What do we want to achieve for ourselves?

Changing the eating habits right now is my biggest challenge. I recently purchased "Fighting Inflammation - Harvard Medical School"  thinking I was getting information about my gut inflammation. Turns out that internal inflammation from bumps and bruises are unseen and have consequences on our health. Eating the rainbow is now on my radar with tasty smoothies. 

I want to learn a to z about building financial security for myself that will create a legacy for my family. Knowing about our taxes is vital to understanding financial security. Thankfully in Philadelphia, New Jersey and New York we have The Campaign for Working Families, a nonprofit, offering volunteer free tax preparation. As volunteers we learn tax law and help tax payers understand their tax liabilities when filing their tax returns. This exposure to various tax scenarios builds understanding of how to manage our money. There are Vita sites in most every city always looking for volunteers to help during tax season. 

Applying what we learn will create the habits of financial wellness. Savings and investment goals is what I would like to work on. We have to change our mindset about our finances. That is easier said than done often because of our current situations. We save only for something to come up and take all that savings away. That's some frustrating #@$%^$%. We can't give in to the hard times. There are tools like Cash App that allow us to build financial security with as little as $1. Setting time to learn with

The Budgetnista

 and Investopedia each week puts us on the right path.

What do we want to achieve for our family? 

If teamwork makes the dream work, then we need to be building team family financial. Having talks with the family about finances is important and helps create the foundation for family support. I recently had a conversation about saving habits with some of my Uber riders. One rider shared that their family created a birthday club. Each family member chips in to help celebrate the families birthdays. Another rider shared that all their siblings chipped in to purchase a vacation for their parents. My favorite of the shares was the rider who uses envelopes to teach their family members how to set goals and save. I also introduce the family money management   Greenlight App Greenlight is child friendly and offers financial learning activities that can support families with better money habits and protection from unseen threats. If you click on the link and download the app you will get $30. Greenlight costs about $15/month to manage all your family's financials. 

When we know better, We do better!! I'm looking forward to sharing more. Please share any suggestions or resources in the comments. Let's talk family finances with our families and extended families!!

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