Changing Your Relationship with Money for Good
Above photo: ©Getty Images, courtesy of OneEleven Financial Wellness
The concept of financial wellness is often associated with managing your money the right way or having a certain net worth. But this definition leaves out something just as important as the numbers – how your finances impact your mental and physical well-being. At OneEleven Financial Wellness, we are changing that by looking at more than just the numbers and taking a holistic approach to personal finance. Our Wealth Coaches help our members change their relationship with money for good and build healthy spending habits.
According to the APA, money is the #1 cause of stress in America. There is a huge need for apps like OneEleven that can help Americans reduce this stress and get to the root cause of why it’s happening. We’re not alone in these beliefs, Well+Good listed financial wellness apps (including OneEleven) as one of top self-care trends for 2022. This year, it’s predicted that financial wellness will continue to expand as we embrace this new convergence of money, psychology, and technology. Now more than ever, people have strategies at their fingertips to learn effective financial habits and take control of their financial situation.
What Motivated Me to Leave Wall Street and Launch OneEleven
My own money story begins with my mother, who at a very young age had to learn how to support herself financially. At age 16, my mom was living completely on her own in New York City. Despite having massive financial struggles in her early years, she was able to become a homeowner and comfortably retire early – all because she was able to reframe her relationship with money.
This isn’t the norm. We live in a world where socioeconomic status often predicts your future. But seeing this kind of financial transformation firsthand and knowing what is possible, I became deeply motivated to help people manage their finances. After graduating college, I started my career on Wall Street in private banking where I ended up managing money for individuals with $25 million or more in the bank.
Working on Wall Street, I became painfully aware of the wealth gap in America and how hard it is to get good financial guidance if you’re not already rich. The type of financial services available to my private banking clients weren’t accessible to people who needed it the most. Even more, important financial topics are not taught in school. Our education system never taught us how to have an emergency fund or spend in a way that is in line with your values.
I felt that the status quo needed to change so I left on a mission to democratize financial wellness in our country by launching OneEleven. The OneEleven Financial Wellness app gives our members access to 1-on-1 private coaching, custom financial plans (that would otherwise cost them thousands of dollars), educational video lessons, and accountability to stay on track to achieve their goals. Our goal is to make financial wellness as accessible as possible. Our memberships are offered by organizations to their employees at little to no cost, as well as directly to individuals on our website.
Money Advice for Women
• Boost your money knowledge.
Learning about personal finance is so powerful. The knowledge will give you a better understanding of your financial situation and also help you increase your confidence when making financial decisions. There are many ways to do this (podcasts, courses, books, coaching, etc.), but what’s important is you find the method that works best for you. At OneEleven, our clients have access to an entire library of short video lessons where they can learn about money topics in just a few minutes per day. They can also work 1-on-1 with their Wealth Coach to apply what they learn to their personal lives.
• Work on your relationship with money.
The majority of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, but oftentimes this is a result of spending habits more than income. That is why a big part of our approach at OneEleven is helping people to develop healthy spending habits and changing their relationship with money so that they can become financially well. The end result of this can look like a couple of things:
- You’ve created a spending plan that is aligned with your personal values. Every dollar you spend is getting you closer to the person you want to become.
- You saved up an emergency fund with at least 3-6 months of your living expenses. With this financial insurance, you won’t ever have to fear unexpected expenses.
- You feel confident about your financial decisions. This can be achieved by taking the time to learn those money topics that weren’t taught in school.
- You have a plan for your future, and you are consistently saving towards those goals. When you are funding your future goals and see that number increase, it is motivating and encourages you to stay on track.
- You have little to no financial stress!
By creating a realistic spending plan, building healthy money habits, and investing in your future, you can break the regretful spending cycle, avoid debt, and increase your happiness by feeling confident with your financial situation.
• Start Investing Sooner Rather Than Later.
When it comes to investing, the best time to start is now! Sometimes high-interest credit card debt or a lack of savings may take priority, but the sooner you start investing the better.
Statistically, women live longer than men; the average life expectancy at birth is 79 years for women, 72 years for men (PRB). Additionally, women also earn less because of the pay gap. So, this means we have to do a lot more with a lot less.
The solution is compounding and understanding the time value of money. If you want to be a millionaire by age 65, start saving at age 25 by putting $322 away a month. If you wait to start your retirement savings until 35, you’d need to put away $736 to become a millionaire at age 65. That’s more than double the contribution, just because you waited 10 years.
Article by Dani Pascarella, CFP®, Founder of OneEleven Financial Wellness
Dani is a Certified Financial Planner™ and earned a B.A. and M.A. in International Business from the University of Florida and a M.S. in Journalism from Columbia University. She previously worked on Wall Street where she managed money for ultra-high net worth individuals with at least $25 million in investable assets. While working on Wall Street, Dani became painfully aware of the wealth gap in America and left to democratize financial education in our country by launching OneEleven. In her free time, she loves hanging out with her husband and black lab. Her favorite activities include yoga, boxing, and reading biographies.