Dear Dumplin,
April held not only my birthday and Easter this year, but the first few warm days of Spring. And then April 14th hits, and it’s Women’s Equal Pay Day. April 14th represents how far into the year women must work in order to make the same amount of money men made in the previous year. In essence, women reach equal pay, and then the next day (April 15th) they have to pay taxes! Inevitably, my attention during this time of year turns to my budget, money, and finances. Money isn’t everything and absolutely CANNOT solve all of anyone’s problems. But let’s be clear. Money is a tool. Over a year ago I watched a TEDTalk with Claudia Chan Wagner and her words have not left my mind.
“Women perform 66% of the world’s work but earn only 10% of the world’s income.”
“Women own 1% of the world’s property.”
“Money is a vehicle to drive change.”
Yes, it is. The journey starts with educating oneself about the laws of money and finance. So even though I look at my budget and accounts often, every few months I go over everything to get a sense of the big picture and what work needs to be done. And when I see that women own 1% of the world’s property, it tells me I have to do better for you and for me. I own our current home with your Dad, and feel blessed to be a homeowner. Can I do more? Definitely. The past few months I’ve been shopping online a little too much and just clicking away every time a sale comes in my inbox. I have to go back to being more disciplined. Without discipline, it is very had to accomplish anything in life. Talent helps, but hard work and discipline will win more often than people realize.
As a result, some of my entries for the rest of April will be about my thoughts on money. It’s something not enough people talk about. I don’t want you to have fears about money or operate off of misconceptions. Learn, then make decisions based on facts. One can never learn stop learning about money because the rules about financial stability are always changing because the economy is always changing. Let’s learn and grow together.
First step? Watch Claudia Chan’s speech from 2013 and get motivated.
Love,
Mama