I remember as a child the time where there were a lot of ‘flus’ going around. Swine flu, pig flu all these flus that were sure to wipe us out and cause chaos. I remember one night going to bed and telling my dad that I thought I should board up my bedroom window to stop that particular flu getting in.

He asked me a question that night that hit me very deeply. He asked ‘Can you do anything about you catching this flu or not?’ I thought about it and said ‘No I can’t’. He then looked at me and told me ‘well then, if there is nothing you can do to change it, there is no point in worrying about it.’ And with that he left the room, leaving me to ponder such powerful words. It was great advice from my wise old man and something that hit me quite profoundly.

Looking back on reflection at myself as a child. I was a worrier, I worried a lot and let myself get quite anxious. His little piece of advice that night, helped me in many ways.

Some of that worrying thought I have definitely carried with me into adulthood. On one hand I am so carefree and relaxed, on the other, I let my mind spin and worry. The thing I think about and worry about more than anything else in my adult life – MONEY.

And yet, one of my ultimate goals in life for myself and my family to achieve financial freedom. A goal I actively work towards. Having that goal however doesn’t stop my mind running wild, fixating on the debt we still have outstanding and letting myself feel anxious and fearful.

For several years my story was a very typical one I imagine. I wasn’t earning all that much money. In 2018 I was introduced to credit cards and the ‘free money and flexibility’ that comes with them (yeah right!!!).

I started spending thoughtlessly and recklessly. I was trying to ‘fake it till I make’ in the worst possible way. Living beyond my means and racking up credit card debt. Taking out a loan to consolidate the credit cards, then finding myself building a balance on the cards all over again. It was a trapping and degrading cycle.

A couple of years ago, I decided that I needed to learn about money, to understand the rules of the game.

I went on a journey of discovery with money, one that continues to this day. In fact money is one of my favourite subjects to learn and talk about. It is one of the subjects I spend the most amount of time thinking about, in truth I probably still spend 50% worrying about money and the other 50% learning about it and creating our game plan. I read books, I listened to podcasts, I did courses and I got finance coaching.

In the past 3 years I have devoured money and finance books, learning so much from them and implementing some of the systems into my life. It's such a critically important topic and one that we don't in general think about or talk about enough.

Through my reading, there are several books that changed my mindset and behaviour, which I want to share with you.

Here are my top 10 money book recommendations.

1. The Richest Man in Babylon by George S Clason – A really easy to read money book. It shares the everlasting principles of money in an easily digestible way without all the usual financial jargon. A great place to start.
2. Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki – Another great starter book. It was one of the first money books I read and completely hooked me on wanting to learn more. After going away and reading and learning a lot more, going back to it it felt basic. He writes in simple language that won't trip you up but will teach you a lot, even changing some of our beliefs about what an asset really is.
3. Manage Your Money Like A F*cking Grown Up by Sam Beckbessinger. A no nonsense female perspective with really great examples and actionable strategies to implement. She gave me some game changing tips that I use today (see below one example).
4. You are a Badass at Making Money by Jen Sincero – In this book you're encouraged to look at the mindset of wealth creation and what it actually takes. Tapping into our innate skills and leveraging them.
5. The Phycology of money by Morgan Houssel. - Staying on mindset, Houssel provides glimpses into why we spend, what money means to us and the principles that underpin many of our money values and behaviours. A good way to shift your mindset and better understand why we behave as we do with money.
6. Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. - I believe this book and the principles within it are the foundations of many of todays modern teaching on money, manifestation and more esoteric laws on wealth, abundance and prosperity. A Must Read!
7. The Science of Getting Rich by Wallace D Wattles. - Quite an old school book but timeless, I listened to this book while working out on repeat for several months and loved some of the harsh but real lessons it shared.
8. I will Teach You to Be Rich by Ramit Sethi – I like his thinking on getting crystal clear on what a rich life actually means for you. He then pushes you to make decisions based on what YOUR rich life looks like. He has very practical steps and guidance in his book that are easy to follow and implement. His Netflix series 'How to Get Rich' is also great. It's educational and entertaining.
9. Your Money or Your Life by Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez. - I liked this book as it taps into what money actually is; your life energy. They encourage you to deeply consider how you want to spend and invest your life energy. This book for me was about simplifying my life and getting clear on what I actually want in life.
10. Money Master The Game by Tony Robbins. - This book is full on and intense, so I wouldn’t recommend reading it until you have the basics of money down. It focuses on investing and managing money when you have it, more than the others which provide strategies and tips to securing your financial life and starting on your money journey. However, I loved this book and learnt a lot from it, partly because I was desperate to learn about investing. I’m leaving it at number 10 as I’d recommend all the ones above before getting to this book.

This conscious effort to learn has helped me to better understand the game of money. I learnt that it's actually quite simple. Simple yes, easy no! It's not always easy to face where you are, get educated or create a plan and work the plan.

Money still remains such a difficult and taboo topic!

If you're starting from bad habits, no knowledge and a messy mindset, getting to a good and healthy financial place can be hard and it takes times! Ultimately you just have to do the work and work the steps. Something that I’m still doing, getting closer to my financial freedom goal all the time. I won't lie though, it still very often feels like it's taking too long, but as they say 'slow and steady wins the race!' So I will keep on with my plan no matter what!

As women, there are so many stories surrounding us and our money. The statistics evidence some of the financial challenges we experience. For example ‘Women lose an estimated $590,000 in lifetime earnings over a 40-year period compared to men due to the gender pay gap’ and ‘42% of mothers have had to reduce work hours to care for a child or family member, compared to just 28% of fathers’. Check out Clever Girl Finance's article 68 Financial Statistics About Women You Should Know for more stats about us and our money.

We also know or have heard versions of this age old story.

‘Women meets man, they fall in love, get married. Both are working, they decide to start a family, women stays at home to care for the family, man earns the money. Years later women feels stuck or trapped perhaps they get divorced. Women is left stuck, years out of work and trying to start afresh.’

Of course this is very simplistic and generalised and there is so much nuance, but you know the point I am trying to make.

It's because of stories like this and the stats that we read that I have such a burning desire for financial freedom. I believe financial freedom gives us choice and that having choice creates freedom.

This inspires my burning desire and is why I feel so passionate about women knowing the money game and being able to play and win! I don't want to feel trapped in a job, a loveless marriage or a circumstance I don't want due to uncertainties or insecurities around money and for so many of us that is be the case.

So I'm committed to changing my family's financial story and is why I want to talk about money more, especially with women. It is my hope that we all reach our financial goals and feel fulfilled and abundant in our lives.

I believe it starts with education and gaining understanding. It’s up to us, to take the time to better understand and manage our money. As women I believe it’s even more important. The time is now.

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It is my wish that you achieve all of your financial goals and that you create the abundant, happy and successful life you are worthy of. My sister, I know you can do it.

No matter how bad it looks right now, or how far in the hole you are, you can make changes and you can pull yourself out.

You are not alone! I believe in you and your dreams. Don’t let them die because of where you are financially right now. It can change.

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In the next letter, I'll be sharing some of the practical money moves that I have been taking towards my financial freedom!

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Wishing you much abundance.

💛 Emma