Queercents

What is integrity? The word gets tossed around a lot, but do you know what it really is? Are you clear on what it means to be in integrity? Did you know that integrity is perhaps the most important part of your personal foundation and that without a clear understanding of what integrity means to you you could be living your life like a house of cards?

Why is it so important?

• It is the foundation and critical success factor for achieving financial freedom.
• It holds the key to living a life you feel good about.
• Without it all success feels hollow
• Your reputation with yourself and others relies on it
• Your relationships - with yourself and others - personal and business - count on it.

And the best part of this is it is all within your control. How inspiring is that?!

Want to know more? Read the rest of this entry »

Here we are on the last day of January and I bet many of you had a New Year’s resolution that sounded something like “I will get my finances in order.” or “Handle my finances.” I’ll also bet that most of you haven’t taken a single step forward on these resolutions. Why? It is just too overwhelming, a little bit nebulous, and most certainly intimidating. I want to give you some tips to move from inertia to action.

1) Get Clear on Your Desired Outcome

What does “handle your finances” look like? What is your actual desired outcome? After all the category of finances can run the gamut. Look at the list of categories on this blog alone. You could spend lifetimes learning about each one and never become an expert on it all. So, what area of your finances do you want to tackle first? And, what are some clear measurable goals you wish to achieve. Remember the whole rule of having SMART goals? Let me recap that for you:

S = Specific (Exactly what do I want to achieve?)
M = Measurable (Answers the question - how will I know when I’ve achieved it?)
A = Achievable (Is this possible? Hint: dump any story you have around whether it is possible for you)
R = Realistic (Basically don’t bite off more than you can chew - chunk it down)
T = Time Bound (Set a time frame so you are accountable and have a deadline)

I also feel compelled to add that I consider the “A” to be more importantly defined for me personally as Aligned. Are these outcomes aligned with my values and what money means to me. Otherwise you’re leaning your ladder against the wrong wall and climbing a steep slope to somewhere you don’t really want to be. Read the rest of this entry »

What does money mean to you? A while back I talked about how this very question can be the source of great friction in relationships but it goes beyond that. Whether you are in a relationship or not, you are in a relationship with your money whether you spend a lot of time consciously thinking about it or not. Even if finances are the neglected step-child in your personal life, it is still there and your mindset and relationship to it is running the show.

Several years ago I asked colleague and Savvy Ladies Founder Stacy Francis what is one financial book she really likes that she would recommend I read. She suggested I read “Smart Women Finish Rich” by David Bach. I must admit that I let this one sit on my shelf for a year or two before I recently dusted it off. It has been my “morning read” book with breakfast the past few weeks. In the book Bach starts with the most important question you can ask yourself : What is Important About Money to You? He then uses this question to guide the reader through the Values Ladder exercise which is taken from the book “Values Based Financial Planning” by Bill Bacharach.

Lucky for me this conversation is not new. When I hired my most recent financial planner several years ago the first thing we did when I met her was to march through the values ladder exercise in Bacharach’s book. For me it was the first time I ever thought about money in this way. No surprise that it coincided with my foray into the coaching profession. It was like the world was conspiring to get me aligned with my own values first before I launched into helping others.

The values ladder is a brilliant coaching tool that asks the question “what is important about money to me?”. Read the rest of this entry »

We’re less than a week away from the big retail day of reckoning known as Christmas here in the United States. This coming weekend is bound to be filled with door to door gridlock for people headed to malls, outlets, and other shopping meccas. I will be far away from the maddening crowds opting instead for a few quick errands on Friday and a weekend filled with connecting with friends and doing some last minute holiday touches.

Part of what fuels this last minute push in my opinion, besides the obvious procrastination factor, is the intense tie-in between gifts and expressing our love at this time of year. So many of us have family, friends, and partners we love dearly. And, because as humans we often feel woefully inadequate at expressing how we feel fully, we turn to outside expressions of that love. Now, that isn’t all bad of course, who doesn’t love gifts? But, I know for personal experience, last minute shopping and wayward spending can often be fueled by feeling like we don’t have “enough” or the “right thing” for that special person in our lives. Read the rest of this entry »

A number of weeks ago I watched Suze Orman on the Oprah show. She addressed a number of people in the audience head on with no holds barred truth. These were people who were struggling with everything from dodging creditors because they couldn’t make payments to facing the wrath of a mortgage payment that was set to double or triple due to earlier “creative” financing. Suze looked each one of them in the eye and told them to Admit the Truth.

So much of the agony we can experience in our financial world has to do with telling ourselves stories. You know the kind:

• I’ll worry about it later
• I’m only a little late (or only late on certain bills)
• I can afford it, after all I have a good job
• Assuming your partner has their own financial ducks in a row and that you share the same money values
• I can’t do anything about it - that is just the way it is.
• Sure, I know where my money goes (when in fact you haven’t tracked it dollar for dollar

All these stories do are disempower us and leave us stuck for years or decades all because we don’t want to admit to what is really going on. After all, what would it mean about you if you fessed up to the reality of your finances? I don’t mean the facts like you have $X debt or are Z days late on a payment. Those are just facts of a situation and are extremely important. What I am referring to is the reality that is even more powerful than the facts — what you make it MEAN about you. When our money stories are at play we have given the interpretations ultimate power over us and we are at the mercy of a force far more powerful than reason - emotions. Read the rest of this entry »

In their December 2007 issue, Kiplinger’s attempts to solve your 19 most vexing money problems. That made me wonder how different queer money problems are from those covered in a mainstream money magazine.

Here’s a list of Kiplinger’s money problems, in no particular order. What would you say is missing from the list or different for the queer community? Read the rest of this entry »

As a certified coach who walks my talk by always having my own coach I get to see the coaching profession from both angles - that of coach and client. One of the biggest questions that are always being asked is “Can I afford it?” If you’re someone looking to make the most of your finances, career, and life in general, the real question is “Can you afford not to?”

Now that might sound pretty presumptuous of me since I have my own coaching business. I’m happy to lay that disclaimer on the line and clearly say that I earn money and build a portion my business by coaching others. However, even if I never earned another cent in my lifetime from the profession of coaching, I would still feel just as strongly about the value and overall ROI of hiring a coach. Let me tell you why… Read the rest of this entry »

“In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities. In the
expert’s mind there are few.”
– Shunryu Suzuki

The concept of “Beginner’s Mind” has been around for ages. Yet, as people dying to be seen as “expert” and “adult” we often resist letting go of the need to know everything. After all, we have careers where we are paid based on our expertise. If we are parents we are expected to be experts on raising children and answering all their questions. The list of ways we need to be “in the know” in our lives just goes on and on… Read the rest of this entry »

In a recent issue of O Magazine, Suze Orman talked about “The Eight Qualities of a Wealthy Woman” from her book Women & Money: Owning the Power to Control Your Destiny. I can still remember listening to the audio book earlier this summer and literally writing these qualities down in a notebook while I was driving (I know, not the safest act ever, but I was at a traffic light and the blog made me do it ;-). I was thrilled to hear one of the most visible financial gurus talk about more than money.

According to Suze, the eight qualities (besides money) that serve and guideposts to make sure she’s walking toward wealth are:

• Harmony and Balance
• Wisdom and Courage
• Generosity and Happiness
• Cleanliness and Beauty

They way I see it is no amount of money in the world will make you wealthy if you are missing these eight qualities. Money is just a tool, an exchange of energy, and a way to quantify daily existence. Read the rest of this entry »

• One who recognizes opportunities and organizes resources to take advantage of the opportunity.

• A person who takes the risk of organizing and operating a new business venture.

• One who assumes the financial risk of the initiation, operation, and management of a given business undertaking.

Entrepreneur. Does the word describe you? Entrepreneur.com points out common traits of entrepreneurs and helps you consider this route.

I’ve been a self-employed entrepreneur for several years now. It’s been a dream of mine to be my own boss, head up my own company. While running my own business comes with pleasant perks and horrific hassles, I wouldn’t change it for a traditional 9-5. In fact, I encourage researching entrepreneurship or self-employment to anyone considering it. I’ve even inspired a few friends to start their own businesses.

My last formal employment netted me two lifelong friends, Polly and Gary. I also met my partner, Khaia, because of that job. Khaia is now self-employed as a general contractor, and Polly owns her own design firm. And finally today….welcome Gary! He gave notice yesterday! We celebrated with some after work drinks, hence the late post.

The transition from employee to business owner can be difficult. In Gary’s instance, he transition from being an independent contractor. Cutting one of your main client lifelines can feel like you’re tossing your life preserver into the ocean. How will you save yourself without it? Making a bold step like this encourages you to look for new opportunities. Gary let his one main client go and opened the door to a million potential options. As scary as the leap of faith seems, great things are on the other side.

So, if you’ve got an ounce of entrepreneurship in your body and have ever considered flying solo, here are a few reasons to go for it: Read the rest of this entry »