What Does It Mean to Be Successful With Money?

[00:00:30] Hello and happy Thursday. It is pretty late right now, or at least late for me. It's like 10:00 PM Wednesday night. I definitely procrastinated recording this podcast episode a little bit. And I'm pretty vocally fatigued today. I don't know if you can hear it coming through

[00:00:47] the microphone, but I spent like the entire day filming lesson videos for the wealth building bootcamp revamp, and then I had choir practice this evening. So like my voice has had a really big [00:01:00] workout today. And as I was thinking about the conversation that we would have on today's podcast, I really felt pulled to share with you the first lesson inside of the wealth building boot camp curriculum. And this is on what does it mean to be successful with money? And as I was recording this lesson today, I was thinking back to 2018 when I was first getting started with personal finance and learning

[00:01:26] and improving my financial literacy. And at this point in time, I had very recently just calculated my debt for the first time in my life., and I realized that I was $78,511 in debt. And I was graduating with degrees in music, education and vocal performance. So those are two career paths, really not known for their high income earning potential.

[00:01:50] And I was just feeling so stressed and stuck and overwhelmed with money and my financial situation. And I would read different books and [00:02:00] blogs about personal finance and think to myself, something along the lines of like, “I will never be financially successful like this person.” And I was so far in the weeds

[00:02:11] with my debt and living paycheck to paycheck that thinking about money just made me feel so stressed out to an extent that like I did all I could to avoid looking at my bank account. And even though that I knew looking at my finances was something that I needed to figure out sooner rather than later.

[00:02:31] It was pretty hard calculating my debt for the first time.

[00:02:34] And thinking about checking in with my bank account felt like so much stress to add on top of that. And like, honestly, I felt embarrassed behind and just like stuck on glue or something when it came to my financial life

[00:02:47] because even though I was just starting out in my career, I felt like I was so far behind. Everybody else, because I was in more debt than just about [00:03:00] everybody that I knew. And then a lot of my friends were graduating college.

[00:03:04] Making more than me, especially my friends that went into corporate America because they weren't teachers. So I was just constantly comparing my finances to other people. And also side note, like teachers are extremely overworked and underpaid, and I really hope that that's something that changes in our education system too, because like teachers deserve better.

[00:03:25] But anyways, I was constantly comparing my finances. Uh, two other people to help me figure out how off the mark in quotation marks. I really was. And honestly like this left me feeling so. Crummy until one day. And I really don't know why this happened, but I'm really glad it did. I was like, what do I actually want to do with my finances? And.

[00:03:49] I think I might've been around the time that opera audition season or something was happening. And if you're not familiar with the music world, Um, specifically like the opera world there is [00:04:00] audition season and usually it happens in the beginning of the year to the spring and you'll see people. Buying tickets.

[00:04:07] Flying out to all these different, , audition locations to sing for these different opera houses. And I was thinking about purchasing those tickets for auditions. And I started looking really hard at my goals in life and whether or not buying plane tickets for an audition, it felt aligned with what I actually wanted or not.

[00:04:28] And that's when I started thinking like, If I'm buying a plane ticket. Do I want it to be for an audition specifically or do I want it to be, to travel? And then I started thinking about traveling in general and I started asking myself the question like, well, do I want to travel for my career being an opera singer? Or do I want to travel for leisure? And all of these questions led back to, well, what do I actually want to do with money?

[00:04:56] What is the role of money going to be in my life? [00:05:00] And anyways, prior to this little epiphany that we're going to talk through a little bit more managing my money previously always kind of sucked because I was trying to compare myself to a standard that wasn't actually aligned with the things that I cared about. And I valued. I was.

[00:05:18] Feeling pressure to spend my money on certain things and do certain things that I saw my peers and colleagues and stuff like that doing. And that's when I realized that I needed to figure out what I defined financial success ads. So before we talk about financial success and what that can be, I wanted to talk about the definition of richness versus wealth.

[00:05:43] So this is a topic that Morgan, who's all discussing. And his book, the psychology of money. Yes. I'm talking about that book again because it's seriously so good. If you haven't read the psychology of money at like 12 out of 10 recommend, I will continue to reference it. On this [00:06:00] podcast and in my programs, but in this book, he defines richness and wealth, which are two terms that I think we often use pretty interchangeably in our society.

[00:06:09] He defines him two different ways. So rich is a current income. So someone driving a really expensive car is rich because their income needs to be at a certain level to be able to purchase that vehicle. Even if that vehicle is funded with debt, whereas wealth is income not spent and wealth is often hidden. And that's the reason why.

[00:06:34] I think it's hard for a lot of people to come to terms with what it means to be wealthy or what it means to be financially successful. Because when people have wealth, we often can't see it because wealth lies in the choice of not buying something today to give you more options, flexibility, freedom, and growth.

[00:06:53] To purchase more in the future or do more in the future with your money. Then you could, if you made that choice today, if you [00:07:00] bought that thing today,

[00:07:01] And so now that we've defined the difference between richness and wealth, well, what does it actually mean to be wealthy? We know that wealth is hidden. And if we're talking about what you define wealthy, as I think it's also important to define what financial success looks like for you as well, because I think a lot of people would agree that if someone thinks of themselves as wealthy, they're probably gonna think about themselves as financially successful as well.

[00:07:27] So in the past, I think we've thought about financial success. As richness. So. Having a fancy job, making a lot of money, having a big house and a giant mansion, expensive cars, really nice jewelry. Getting to go on luxury vacations all the time. Like et cetera, et cetera.

[00:07:44] And these things are all signs of richness. But I don't think that they necessarily indicate wealth. They indicate a certain level of income because someone can make millions of dollars a year and still live [00:08:00] paycheck to paycheck. If they spend millions of dollars .

[00:08:03] And I read an article by CNBC a couple of months ago, talking about as inflation has been kicking up and on the rise that 64% of Americans are now living paycheck to paycheck. And on my way to choir rehearsal, I drive through an extremely affluent community and I always think about this statistic because it's been shown that that 64% living paycheck to paycheck is happening. Across the board. And I just always drive by these homes with the expensive cars and the expensive decorations. And I asked myself.

[00:08:35] How many people. In this area are rich versus wealthy. So it's just, it's a perception. That's just kind of changed the way that I look at things. Um, financially at this point in my life. But anyways, so. Back to our discussion. I'm going to make the argument that being wealthy means having money to feel completely comfortable and at ease with your [00:09:00] finances. This means you are not stressed or worrying about money. You have freedom and flexibility over your time. And the decisions that you make, you feel safe and secure by your finances in the event of a negative financial event, like job loss or an unexpected medical expense.

[00:09:18] A car accident, something like that. And you feel abundant financially, you are able to splurge on. Some type of treat yourself thing, like maybe it's a vacation or spending money on a pottery class. For example, I don't know, without worrying about it, interfering with your other financial goals and obligations. You're also able to use money in a way that is authentically aligned to you and your values.

[00:09:43] You aren't shooting all over yourself with other people's expectations of you. You're using your money in the way that you want to. And then you feel empowered by your financial decisions because you have the. Knowledge and information to back those decisions up. And so I truly [00:10:00] believe that financial success is marked more by freedom choice. And security than it is having a certain amount of money in the bank because. Because honestly, like you don't have to make a ton of money to achieve financial success and every single person's definition.

[00:10:17] Of financial success is going to look different because we are all unique individuals with our own interests and values and things that we care about. .

[00:10:26] And that's something that I really want to challenge each of you to consider is what am I striving for with my money? Like, what am I working towards? Because I genuinely care about that thing. What does financial success mean to me? Because once you really start to embrace what being financially successful looks and feels like for you , and the role that you want money to serve in your life and how you.

[00:10:54] I can use it as a tool to build a life that you really love and enjoy. [00:11:00] That's when managing your money starts to feel fun. So I have a couple of journal prompt, reflections for you to think about the first it's pretty obvious. I just kind of started. Set it, what does financial success look and feel like for you and really lean into, like, what does it feel like when you are reflecting on this question? The second question is how will, you know, when you've reached financial success, what are the markers or the milestones that are telling you, like, okay, I'm there.

[00:11:29] Like I've done it because one thing that Morgan who's will talks about in the psychology of money as well, is that it's really easy to keep the bar moving higher and higher and higher. And that. Basically just perpetuates the stress and angst that we feel about our finances, because we're always increasing the bar. So how will you know, when you have reached financial success?

[00:11:53] And then the last prompt is really more of a statement. I want you to finish the sentence. I deserve to be wealthy [00:12:00] because.dot dot. And I'm going to challenge you to. Come up with as many answers as you can, like shoot for like 15. Answers to the statement, because I think that a lot of people struggle with.

[00:12:13] The deservingness like feeling deserving. And we're feeling worthy of achieving financial success and of accumulating wealth. And I just want to say, like, you are worthy of feeling safe with money. You are worthy of achieving financial freedom and you are worthy of achieving financial success and the amount of money that you currently have.

[00:12:33] Your current financial situation does not make you any more or less worthy and deserving of financial freedom, success, security, and safety. You deserve to feel safe with money. And when you own. Your self worth and you acknowledge like, yes, I am worthy of these things. This is when you're able to start releasing the self doubt and embracing more love and confidence with yourself.

[00:12:58] When it comes to [00:13:00] your financial journey and your money, and remember that financial success. It gets to be defined by you and you get to define what that freedom, choice and security, how you want that to look in your life. It's going to be different for every single person. And once I started really pushing myself to view my money in a way that reflected the things that I truly valued and enjoyed and care cared about.

[00:13:26] That's when managing my money became fun.

[00:13:30] Because I was able to trust myself and the financial decisions that I was making. I knew that those decisions were aligned with me and who I am as a unique individual. And that was what helped me kiss the financial guilt and shame. Goodbye. And stop comparing myself, stop the comparison itis when it came to a financial journey. And of course, like, as I'm saying this, like do not get it wrong that , I am suddenly never comparing myself to others. Like.

[00:13:58] Personal growth and [00:14:00] self-development and money, mindset stuff, inner healing, all of that stuff is. A journey that we're constantly on. And I think that as soon as we achieve one level of healing, it's going to be time to work through the next level. So don't think that I'm just like perfect. And me saying all of these things, like I struggle with this stuff too. Still.

[00:14:19] But leaning in to this idea that you get to define what financial success is. It's something that is consistently incredibly helpful for me and releasing a lot of the pressure and stress. Around needing to do a certain thing at a certain time or feeling behind I'm getting to use my money in a way that actually.

[00:14:41] Feels good to me. So that's all that I have to say with this podcast episode. . This is the first lesson that we talk about inside of the wealth building bootcamp revamp, which is launching on Friday. I like seriously, can't wait,

[00:14:56] If you want to be part of a program this year, that's exploring how to [00:15:00] use your money in a way that feels aligned with who you are and build wealth, embracing yourself. How to achieve your financial goals.

[00:15:08] And building up the financial education and financial literacy to make confident and empowered decisions around your money, like saving money, paying off debt, creating a budget that you're excited about. Then this wealth building boot camp is 100% for you. I am so excited about it. Like I know I'm like, I'm like super tired right now.

[00:15:26] So I hope that like, my excitement is coming through as I'm recording this, but like, This revamp is so amazing. I cannot wait for everybody that gets to work through these lessons. I just think it's going to be so transformative and it's a conversation about money that we need to just be having more as a community. And I can't wait.

[00:15:49] So, if you are interested in applying the link to the application is in the show notes of this podcast episode. And I would just love to see your application. And with all [00:16:00] that being said, I think I'm going to go get ready for bed. Now I can not wait to chat with you next week, and I hope you have a.

[00:16:07] Fantastic rest of your day. Bye.

Shownotes

In today's podcast episode, Charlotte talks about what financial success ACTUALLY IS and how to build wealth & use your money in a way that's authentically aligned with you and the things you care about.

We talk about:

• The definition of financial success

• The difference between being "rich" and being "wealthy"

• What it means to be wealthy

• Determining what financial success means for YOU

Sources/Additional Reading:

CNBC: As inflation heats up, 64% of Americans are now living paycheck to paycheck

Interested in working with Charlotte?
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Music written by Chris Glassman

Disclaimer: The content and information provided on this podcast is for educational purposes only and does not constitute professional mental health, financial, legal, or tax advice. For recommendations on your specific financial situation, you must additionally seek the services of an appropriate licensed mental health, theraputic, legal, accounting, tax, or investment professional.