CHAPTER 1~"LOSING IT ALL"

CHAPTER 1~"Losing it all"

Excerpted from Give, Save, Spend;  How to Build Wealth & Change the World!

"You’d think I would have been happy.  I made $100,000 that year.  The year I got divorced.  I had moved my kids from a very lovely, but very quiet, rural community to an artsy tourist town with great opportunities for my work.  My business had done well, and I had also received a settlement from my ex-husband.
 
I was trying to look good.  I had built a successful business in the healing arts & money coaching, using mindset prosperity tools such as giving & tithing, positive thought, and integrity practices.  I knew how to make money, just not how to manage it.  And I was afraid to look bad.  How could I let the world know that I, a money coach, didn’t have my money act together?
 
So I rented a home in my new town, not understanding that to keep the lifestyle I had as a former wife in a 3 bedroom home I would have to pay an arm and a leg
Due to the inflated real estate market.  I kept going into debt in my business, and did emotional spending to assuage the pain of my divorce.  I was bleeding money all over the place.
 
In my rental house I had all the externals of prosperity:  sheepskin rugs, the most expensive organic food, a thriving business…I kept my business going and never thought twice about how much my business expenses were eating up my
Profit.
 
But underneath it all I felt frightened and powerless.  Like a deer in the headlights.   I fed my kids and arranged playdates with a quiet desperation.  My shame about being a broke money coach stopped me in my tracks.  Behind the scenes my debt was out of control, and I had no plan for my spending. 
 
My dream was to purchase a home for myself and my children.  But that was not to be.  Even though I was current on all my bills, the debt load was too high.  I brought in $100,000 that year but had very little profit after business expenses.  The lenders denied all my requests. 
 
Then my income did a freefall, and I ended up having $1500 net monthly income, with $300 of that being food stamps!   The prosperous couples who had wanted to work with me when I was married slowly fell away.  I began to attract a new crowd of single parents, who unfortunately had little money to pay for coaching.  I kept coaching and teaching them, but I had to hustle and work side jobs to actually bring in money.
 
Little did I know that this low point was one of the best things to ever happen to me. 
 
I went on a journey to understand my feelings, and to understand how to manage money.  I saw a counselor, and began to take on new mentors and
Guides.  It felt like I was drinking water after being in a desert feeling thirsty for so long.  At last!  The help and information that had been missing in my life!  Instead of having just 1 money mentor, now I had a whole team!  I felt empowered and grateful.
 
I learned that wealth is not just about making money.  That is half of the equation.  Wealth is also about what you do with the money once you have it.  Are you managing it generously and wisely?  I learned that if you do not give, you are stingy.  And if you do not save, you are stupid!  New patterns and habits emerged in my life that brought balance.
 
But I had a lot of work to do.  There was a mountain of debt to pay off, a shattered
Income to rebuild, kids to raise, and empty bank account to fill.  I started where I was, as a working single mom, and began plugging away.  The goal to buy a home for myself and my children was my motivation.  It kept me going, through 5 years of intense work on myself and my money situation.
 
Fast forward 5 years to the present:  My life has completely changed.  I am debt free, have a large emergency fund, own a home, give 10% of my income away and save 30-50% of my income each month.  My kids earn their own money, and give, save and spend out of what they earn.
 
My new husband and I invest according to our values and watch our nest egg continually grow.  We run profitable businesses that actually cash flow, instead of drag us down in debt.  We are able to give to spiritual organizations & charities a regular percentage of our time & money~even through the Coronovirus!

So how did this turn-around come about?   The short answer:  through a balance of giving and saving.   The long answer:  through 7 powerful steps to wealth building I will unpack throughout this book.  If you stay with me, you will see step by step how to overcome your own obstacles and build wealth while doing good and changing the world!"