Give Me My Money

by LaSonya Roberts-Lopez, MD. March 29, 2023

What grade would you give yourself for financial literacy? I would probably say a C for myself. Although baffling, it is true. Financial literacy refers to the knowledge, skills, and understanding that enable individuals to make informed and effective decisions about their finances. Most have heard of the concepts of ownership, investing, entrepreneurship, and establishing a career. In fact, many of us have dipped our toes into some, if not all, of those ponds. However, we are stumbling around blindly, trying to figure out how to properly execute our plans. It's like trying to play darts with your eyes closed and your hands tied behind your back—not exactly a recipe for success! Conversations over dinner tables or small talks at barbecues cannot be considered a crash course on how to get your money right. Some of the information is definitely valuable, but before you take action, do your research. Our hesitance to admit where we may be falling short and our busy schedules often result in not allocating sufficient time to educate ourselves thoroughly about financial affairs.

Here are a few of the alarming statistics about financial literacy mentioned on OppU website- 2023 that blew my mind:

• 2 out of 3 families lack an emergency fund.

• 78% of adults live paycheck to paycheck—a 2017 CareerBuilder survey

• 60% of adults have had credit card debt over the past year, with the US collectively owing over $1 trillion, according to the Federal Reserve Bank.

• 4 in 5 adults experience barriers to home ownership.

• Fewer than 1 in 5 adults feels confident about their savings (NFCC 2019 Consumer Financial Literacy Survey).

According to the 2020 National Financial Capability Study conducted by the FINRA Investor Education Foundation, about 63% of Americans could correctly answer at least three out of five basic financial literacy questions related to interest rates, inflation, financial risk, and investment diversification. I am definitely in the 46 percentile, but I am about to turn that C into an A+. And guess what? I am taking you on that journey with me.

In the early 2000s, I said to myself, "Self, you are going to be ahead of the game." Being a physician with the resources and awareness to do something big was the only formula I thought I needed. Some friends and I started an investment group, and we would have book club conversations about "The One Minute Millionaire." I was buying houses left and right and investing in startup companies along the way. As riveting as it may sound, the reality was that we were "green" and ill-equipped to maneuver when things went wrong. Our lack of financial savvy left us vulnerable to the predatory tactics of those big bad wolves of the financial world. Now, did we have the right intentions and the right goals? Absolutely. Did we understand how to use our assets as leverage and how to make long-term plans instead of getting rich quick? Definitely not. If only we had taken a deep breath, gathered accurate information, and made an effort to comprehend the situation, we could have avoided dropping a whole bunch of F-bombs. But hey, at least we learned our lesson and came out of it with more knowledge than we ever thought possible!

So, Doc, if you learned from that, why do you give yourself a C in financial literacy? While our financial assets may not have been completely blown to bits, it made us mentally function at the other end of the spectrum. Our eagerness turned into fear as quickly as a Buggati goes from 0 to 100. That’s not financially healthy either. We shuffled into survival mode, determined to avoid any more financial mishaps with an "ain't no way that crap's happening to us again" mindset. I hate to break it to you, but acting hastily without adequate information or operating solely in survival mode is not a sustainable strategy. Our objective should be to cultivate a healthy financial mindset that not only enables us to live a prosperous life but also helps us build generational wealth and leave a lasting legacy. So in order to have effective change, we are going to take this step by step.

Are you ready to make the Shyft? . Transforming from a survival mindset to a prosperity mindset is a powerful way to transform your financial situation and create the life you want. A survival mindset only focuses on meeting basic needs and making ends meet, while a prosperity mindset, as previously mentioned, focuses on achieving financial success and abundance.

Here are some of the things we are going to do to shift our mindsets:

1. Recognizing the limiting beliefs and attitudes that may be holding us back. This may involve challenging beliefs such as "money is hard to come by" or "rich people are greedy" and replacing them with more positive and empowering beliefs such as "there is abundance all around me" and "I can create my own financial success."

2. Focusing on learning financial skills such as budgeting, investing, and debt management

3. Setting up financial goals: goals that align with our values and aspirations

4. Taking action: This may involve making changes to our spending habits, seeking out new opportunities to earn income, or investing in our education or career

5. Embracing abundance means recognizing that there is enough wealth and opportunity for everyone. This involves cultivating a sense of gratitude for what we have and focusing on opportunities for growth and expansion rather than scarcity and limitation.

Today we are going to start with changing our mindset. Here’s a mantra I will share: "I am abundant in my thoughts, intentional in my actions, and the creator of my own financial prosperity." Drop a comment and share a mantra that you use to shift from a survival to a prosperity mentality. This is just the beginning of our financial journey. What's next for us? Focusing on financial skills. Remember, we are all in this together. Until next time!