My last blog post was about how I have been busy with a few side hustles. After going through some big life changes on top of experiencing a pandemic, I decided it was time to get some extra cash so I can begin to rebuild my life. The first thing I took on was working with the Census, helping the community count the citizens to make sure each community has proper funding and representation. One of the perks of signing up to be an Enumerator with the Census is that it was for

Maybe it's me being self-conscious, but I haven't been as present these days. Not present on my blog, social media, newsletter, or with money coaching. Yes, these are special times. COVID has changed everything for all of us. That is no lie. But lately I have also been splitting my time between running this money coaching business and a side hustle. Yes, I got a side hustle. Three, in fact! Since the pandemic hit, client work has been up and down. While I still have paying cl

About a year ago, I learned about the concept of different money personalities and I started researching what was out there. Your money personality is your money tendencies, the leanings for your money habits. We all have money tendencies that fall into a category, typically it's all part of the stories we pick up as kids, and through our interactions with money. Knowing your money personality is more helpful than any money habit you can implement. It gives you an idea of whe

Dear Diary, I have a lot of money uncertainty. I'm not terrible with money, I get by and sometimes am all right. But most of the time I'm unsure of how my money is doing. Unease follows my everyday Am I in a secure position? 🤔 Do I have enough this month? 🥴 Each day I go on business as usual, while always holding my breath. Holding my breath to see if my checking account is overdrawn the next time I log on 🥵 Holding my breath to find out if I will have to scramble to make

You just hopped off the phone with a new client. This new project has your heart beating a little bit faster. You're pumped to get started! But before you know it, a little joy escapes you. There's dread creeping up knowing you're getting ready to send out an invoice out for the project deposit. I call this dread charging guilt. For one reason or another, you find yourself feeling uncomfortable charging your client. There are different reasons why people feel charging guilt.

In March 2020, my world changed. At that point, for many, the world has been a different one for several months. For others, it was still on the horizon. As weeks went on, my clients and prospects began to pull back. I knew money was on people's minds and many of the conversations began to sound something like this: "There's too much uncertainty to invest" "I'm not sure how long the money I have will last me and when the next amount will come in. I can't convince myself to sp

You moved into a new home and spent a few weeks settling in You had new hopes for your new space and the sort of new life you'd be living The same problems begin to creep back You're beginning to feel the same anxiety you felt in your old home Your money begins to slip through your fingers like sand You're burning through your money quick, quicker than expected Things stop to make sense, you're questioning your sanity There's a monster chasing you and you fall back into your

The Shmoney Academy is an 8-week mastermind group where we develop a personalized money toolkit that works for you and your life. What is a mastermind you ask? A mastermind group is a peer-learning experience. A group of like-minded people comes together to learn and come up with solutions to hurdles as a group. The Shmoney Academy focuses on building a money toolkit that will allow you to make money choices with confidence. The money toolkit will include: a budget that makes

If we're connected on LinkedIn, you may have seen some of my recent posts promoting grants. I love grants because they are infused cash without having to be paid back. These days, there are grants out there that also have a mentorship aspect. This means when you're awarded the grant you'll have access to monetary and non-monetary resources to take your business to the next level. Now don't get the wrong idea, there's nothing wrong with loans. If you're qualified to receive lo

What is a Money Whisperer and what does this Money Whisperer do?

Dear Olga, How much emergency savings is enough? Thank you, Stressed About Money

Dear Olga: What is the difference between a Traditional IRA and a ROTH IRA?

A few months ago I wrote two posts that explored changing your dialogue with money. The first post was proclaiming yourself as a money magnet. Believing you can change your relationship with the money in your life is the first step to making that change stick. Telling yourself you are a money magnet, even if you don't believe it just yet, will set you on the path to making those changes in your life. The second post covered the actual language you use about money or when you'

I bought a fixer-upper home when I was making 6 figures but now that the commission has slowed, I ran up my credit cards. Please help!

Dear Olga, I started freelancing a few years ago and still don't understand how taxes work. HALP! Thank you, Anonymous Dear Anonymous, Taxes can be incredibly confusing and daunting especially as a creative. Admin business tasks probably make your skin crawl 😖 I promise this won't be painful 🤗 Your tax rate is 15.3% to cover Social Security and Medicare. Typically as an employee, you split this cost with your employer. Now that you're self-employed, you're considered an emp

Most of us underestimate how much money stress actually effects us. The American Psychological Association conducts a stress survey every year and money is one of the top stressors every year. The 2018 survey found that 30% of youths are stressed about their family having enough money. Knowing what causes it would be a first step to addressing any money stress in your life. Money clutter can be visible or invisible. Let's talk about visible stress first. It could be stacks of