Face Your Money Fears

Oraynab Jwayyed

Description

This family/childcare book offers a series of essays that tackle the everyday demands of running a household and empowering people to take control of their financial lives.
With a little commitment and persistence, it’s possible to gain the financial freedom and peace of mind you’ve been seeking. In Face Your Money Fears, author Oraynab Jwayyed shows you how to navigate the world of money, finance, and politics.
She offers a compilation of essays published online when she first started working as a financial literacy consultant. Relying on personal and professional experiences, the essays tackle the everyday challenges families face as they run their households and manage their finances within the political challenges of the time.
As a bonus, Ms. Jwayyed offers an eight-step guide to financial health to help you get back on your feet and manage your money on your own terms. While the essays focus on the advancement of women in the workforce, she believes in including the men to create an equitable environment where both genders can thrive together.

Sujets

• guide
• Reference

Informations

• Publié par: Archway Publishing
• Date de parution: 07 août 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781665726320
• Langue: English

Extrait

ORAYNAB JWAYYED
 
FACE YOUR MONEY FEARS
 
 
 

 
Copyright © 2022 Oraynab Jwayyed.
 
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
 
The information, ideas, and suggestions in this book are not intended to render professional advice. Before following any suggestions contained in this book, you should consult your personal accountant or other financial advisor. Neither the author nor the publisher shall be liable or responsible for any loss or damage allegedly arising as a consequence of your use or application of any information or suggestions in this book.
 
Archway Publishing
1663 Liberty Drive
Bloomington, IN 47403
www.archwaypublishing.com
844-669-3957
 
Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
 
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.
 
ISBN: 978-1-6657-2630-6 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-6657-2631-3 (hc)
ISBN: 978-1-6657-2632-0 (e)
 
Library of Congress Control Number: 2022912291
 
 
Archway Publishing rev. date: 08/03/2022
Contents
Introduction
 
Chapter 1     Managing Debt and Spending
Chapter 2     Investing and Saving
Chapter 3   On Being a Woman
Chapter 4     The Career Woman
Chapter 5     Let’s Get Political
 
How to Use the Eight-Step Guide
The Eight-Step Guide to Financial Health
Research Statistics You Should Know
About the Author
Introduction
I started blogging in 2010 to reach out to more women who needed to learn to budget. At that time, I was a mere novice to writing and knew absolutely nothing about blogging per se. Yet after some research, I discovered it was the best way to throw myself out there and put lessons and experience to virtual paper, which in this period of the internet is the fastest, most economical, and of course, easiest way to reach out to the masses.
I never viewed myself as a writer, although countless teachers—including an adjunct professor who taught English literature at my high school—encouraged me to give the profession a try. I was in love with literature but could never see myself as an author. Back in those days, authorship was limited to the select few, to those who wanted to spend countless hours writing novels or risking their lives to travel and cover the news. It was the perception at the time that you had to be either very daring or well-connected to write, regardless of the path you chose. So when the idea of blogging came up, it was an opportunity to try what I once had been told I was destined for.
There was more to it, really. I wanted to build myself as an expert on all matters related to financial literacy and money management. I was that passionate about reaching out to other women who, like me, had found themselves on the unexpected path of divorce and financial independence. What thrust me into the blogging sphere was actually the women I encountered while pursuing my MBA. Their stories, as well as my own experience at the time, led me to this newfound world of finance. I can’t recall another time where I had witnessed such intelligent, independent, and successful women so scared of the uncertainty that was likely to follow.
One day, I sat on the bench of a school gymnasium during my child’s basketball game and cried after one such woman recounted her divorce process. This was an acquaintance who at one time had appeared to have everything together. She had carried a nice, warm smile on her face whenever we met, and she seemed fine, even content. Then she’d learned that her husband wanted out of their marriage, and her life started spiraling out of control. She still carried that smile around after that, but it was strained. It had been evident that something was amiss, but we were mere acquaintances. Aside from the cordial greetings and expected responses, there had been no telling how well she was actually doing. Unfortunately, she was among the scores of mothers and wives who traipsed through their married life expecting it to last forever. I ran into this woman several years after her divorce, and she confirmed that she was just starting to rebuild her life back to some semblance of what she had once enjoyed. It was a wrenching journey for her, but her positive demeanor is bound to get her where she belongs.
Looking back now at my first encounters with this woman and others like her, I know that my reaction to the news of her divorce had everything to do with what I was expecting from my own marital problems, only I couldn’t accept those problems or put them into words at the time. I knew my marriage was coming to an end, but I wasn’t strong enough to take that step. Much like my acquaintance, I was terrified of starting over alone. First, I had been raised in a traditional family where women were taught that divorce was never an option, even if some female members managed to leave their marriages due to extreme circumstances. But in my family, even extreme circumstances involved unwarranted scrutiny and pleas of reconsideration.
It’s been a harrowing journey, mind you. I had to contend with the judgmental, the naive, the proud, and the conservative and had to reevaluate my priorities and values. More importantly, there were the children to consider. It hasn’t been easy on them. I am pleased to report now that we’re doing well with our lives. Through my writing and work—and some good old-fashioned soul searching—I’ve gotten my life back together again. I’ve learned to manage my money and to save enough now and for my future. Hell, I’ve even learned to enjoy my money as well.
In the past, my savings goals included putting away every extra dollar for a rainy day. My frugality felt crippling at times as I aimed to scrimp and save everything just in case a crisis arose. I’ve now learned that it’s okay to treat myself occasionally so long as I remain within my budget. The result from this journey that I’m proudest of is that despite the uncertainty and the added expenses that come with starting a new life, I’ve managed to save, spend, buy a new home and a new car, take vacations, enjoy my money, and avoid going into uncontrollable debt.
I’ve also learned that any woman can accomplish this major feat. It takes determination and self-discipline to genuinely learn about managing your own money. Like everything else we strive for, money management is all about goals and sticking around for the long run to see those goals materialize. That’s it. There’s no magic formula, investment strategy, or get-rich scheme. Financial security is all about us, every single one of us, putting in the effort to get where we want to go. I know I did. Although Wall Street returns have been disappointing, and interest rates at their lowest in recent memory, I made my financial security a reality. And now I’ve compiled my blog posts into this book so you can as well.
What you’re about to read in the following sections is a compilation of essays I published during my time as a financial literacy consultant. The essays cover the years 2013 through 2018. As I revisited my earlier writing, I was amused by the evolution it has undergone. My first posts are a carryover of the formal writing expected by my professors during the MBA program, so don’t be surprised if you can’t suppress a yawn or two. I started blogging right after publishing my first academic paper on diversity training in the workforce. It was the only writing style I was familiar with at the time. However, I have spared you some boredom and moved those articles down to the end of each chapter. I have kept these pieces because they’re just as relevant and as important as my newer, less formal writings. Some tweaks have been made to keep the passages flowing and the material updated, but they stand pretty much as is—or was—to keep with the period in which they were written. The newer posts are written in the informal speaking style that has now become mainstream.
Pick up any major newspaper or magazine or simply log on to your favorite news source, and you’ll notice the contractions and the writing style that breaks all the conventional rules of grammar. This has happened for two main reasons. The first stems from the large volume of reading the average person is exposed to thanks to the free information system of the internet. With so much to read now—and the limited time we have to read it—keeping material simple is the best way to keep readers engaged and interested. The second reason is that after the real estate bust and the ensuing economic collapse in 2008, it has become the rule—and the law—to keep writing simple so that the average person can understand what is being communicated. This is especially true in the financial industry, where consumers have to understand what they’re buying into so they’re not duped by the greedy professionals out there.
My posts have been divided into general categories to keep things simple. This is the only way to learn about managing money the right way. I’ve made it a point to mention in my writing that there should never be a scripted formula for managing your money. We’re all unique in too many ways, and this appl