Prioritizing Your Financial Self-Care

It’s been a while, but I wanted to be sure I concluded this self-care series with the last two sections I’d written about as we take this journey called life one day at a time.

So now let’s get into another area of self-care we don’t always think about — consumer self-care.

Considering saving… investing… are you doing those things already? Great! If not, let’s start today … don’t just spend, spend, spend.

Now I know we know we can’t take it with us. Preachers love to say they’ve never seen a Brinks truck or U-Haul following the hearse in a funeral procession.

So considering this, let’s think about generational wealth and how we can build a financial legacy for our loved ones that blesses one generation to the next instead of burdening them.

I’m no finance guru, but I do know finding a financial planner I could trust and call on with all my questions has been a welcomed resource. There are also Queens like @Pretty_financial and @DominiqueBroadway of @financesdeymystified that are out there dropping gems for FREE but also providing low-cost options should you choose to invest in your financial planning and investing acumen.

And when we do spend… where is our money going?

Research the brands you support. Do they support people that look like you? Do they hire people that look like you? To take it even further — are they owned and operated by people that look like you?

And speaking of supporting black business — as October has come and gone and the holiday shopping season is fully upon us, people are ready to bring out the Black Santas and go into full-on Christmas mode and once we get past Turkey Day I'll be right there with them.

For those who celebrate Kwanzaa in December, there is a principle we recognize called Ujamaa, which is Swahili for "Cooperative Economics." This principle urges us to build and maintain local community stores, shops and businesses and profit from them together.

Experts say it only takes 6 hours for the black dollar to leave our community, whereas, for the Asian community and white communities, it could be 17 days or more.

Think about that when you spend your hard-earned dollars at Bath and Body Works without considering supporting our fellow sister queens making luxurious body butters, oils and soy candles. And yes, I’m talking to myself too.

In the end, you want to be sure you’re a good steward of the resources God has blessed you with. Ten percent of each paycheck and financial blessing, say a surprise bonus, should be returned to the Lord.

Pray over your finances, thank the Lord for the provision and ask the Spirit to guide you in what will be smart investments for your future and that of your financial legacy.