Hi Reader, My daughter turned three months this week, and just like that, we made it through the 4th trimester. I know some people love that newborn time, but I do not. This Capricorn thrives on a routine, so I’m excited for a more regular nap schedule that’s to come until she joins her brother at daycare. Because of this, I can open up my calendar more for clients. Right now, there are three ways to work with me: 1) Run Your Money session:
2) Run Your Money Roadmap:
You can get more info and book your spot in either program here. 3) Everything You Need to Know About Investing: A one-time class I’m teaching on Saturday, October 14th, so you can start building wealth. **As long as you have an extra $10 a month, you can and should be investing!** Here's what I'll teach:
Get on the notification list and get a copy of my free investing cheat sheet! -Veronica PS - If you book the 6-week RYM Roadmap, you get a free seat in my upcoming investing class! Why Investing in the Stock Market Isn't As Risky As You Think |
A few months ago, I posted a story on TikTok about how it's usually not smart to quickly pay off a low-interest mortgage if it means you'll put off investing. Someone immediately wrote in one of the comments that I was wrong and that houses are a safe investment because you own something at the end of the day, while the stock market is akin to gambling. I understand people have emotions around investing, and there are ways to invest that are like gambling. I include day trading and buying individual stocks in that. But the way I invest in the stock market, and the way that most responsible financial experts do, is one of the safest things you can do to grow your money, not to mention the most effective. This isn't my opinion. It's also not the opinion of other experts. It's just the numbers. Before I share why the stock market can be a relatively safe place to put your money, let's ensure you understand the nuts and bolts of the stock market. Suppose I own a lemonade stand. It's doing quite well, and I want to open a second lemonade stand, but I need capital (money) to do that. One way to do that is to "go public." This means I'll open up my lemonade stand to outside investors to get a big flux of money and purchase a second location for my lemonade stand. I estimate my lemonade stand is worth a thousand dollars, meaning if I were to sell the lemonade stand outright, that's about how much I could get. But because I want to open it up to investors instead, I'll break up my lemonade stand into what's called shares, little pieces of my business. I'll break it up into ten shares, and because I think my lemonade stand is worth a thousand dollars, each share will cost about a hundred dollars. So I can bring in these investors to buy a share, and boom, I've gone public. Now, I can join other companies that have done the same thing, and we are all trying to sell our shares to each other or the public in what is called a stock market. Let's say you invested in my lemonade stand and wanted to buy three shares. So you paid $300, hoping you would make that money back and more because my business would grow. You would get approximately 30% of those profits. But then, womp womp. I went out of business. You lost whatever you invested if you bought shares in my lemonade stand. This is why people think investing in the stock market is risky, because it is, if you buy shares at an individual company.
If you prefer audio... Submit your question for the Q&A episodes here. How do you adjust financially after getting a promotion or big raise? How do you justify not putting all your increases to meet retirement goals or savings goals? How do you account for the new tax bracket you’ll be placed into? First, congrats! This question probably requires a podcast episode to do this justice (which I'll do!), but here are two key things to consider:
1) I wouldn't worry about taxes too much. If you're in the US, we have a progressive tax system, which means not all your money is taxed at the same rate.
Let's say you were previously making $80k annually. Your salary would be taxed as follows: 10%: $0 to $10,275 12%: $10,275 to $41,775 22%: $41,775 to $89,075 Now, let's say you're making $100k. Your $89,075 and below salary is taxed like when you made only $80k. Only the last $10,925 of your new salary will be taxed at the next income level, which is 24%.
Yes - you'll pay Uncle Sam more, but this is a good problem! As long as you have deductions properly marked on your paperwork at work, you're not likely to see a huge tax bill come April. A CPA or your HR can help you with this. You can also reduce your taxes by upping your contributions to your 401k, HSA, or both.
2) Whatever you did to get your promotion is well-earned, and you deserve to spend the money to upgrade your lifestyle.
With raises, I recommend saving/investing half and using the other half to improve your lifestyle. That's just me, and there's some intriguing math behind why 50% is a good benchmark that I'll have to explain in a future podcast episode.
But I don't think your question is about the numbers per se.
It's about you feeling worthy to spend your new money on yourself. THAT is something to explore with a qualified coach or therapist. I'm excited to share that I have a bit more time on my calendar for clients! Spots are limited, so if you want to book a session, I recommend doing that sooner rather than later! Run Your Money Session: A 90-minute session with me to focus on one area of your money: mindset/money story, spending, saving, or investing. If you want professional guidance on optimizing your money so you can have fun now while also saving, paying off debt, and investing, I'm your gal. Here's the link to book your spot. Run Your Money Road Map: In this package, we have five 50-minute sessions. Each session is dedicated to mindset, spending, saving, and investing, and in the final session, we’ll put everything together in your RYM Roadmap. In this more extended program, we’ll be able to create a plan for most, if not all, of your financial goals. The program includes:
Here's the link to book your spot. Everything You Need to Know About Investing: A comprehensive and live workshop where I'll teach you:
Registration opens Tuesday, October 3rd, class is Saturday, October 14th! Click here to get on the interest list! 📺 Shrinking: I treated myself to a new Macbook this past Prime Day, and with that came three free months of Apple TV. As a How I Met Your Mother super fan, I had to see what Marshall Erikson was up to as a teen dad/widower/therapist. This show was written for the 2020s and has everything: grief, therapy, navigating adult child/parent relationships, nosy neighbors, everything! It's mostly light and funny but with space for the heavier topics. And Han Solo! Really! See you next week! -Veronica PS - I'm so excited to teach you one of my favorite things: investing! Registration opens on October 3rd. Get on the waitlist here, and I'll send you a free investing cheat sheet! Did someone forward you this newsletter?
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Note: I use affiliate links, which means that if you make a purchase, I may get a small commission at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting my work! 113 Cherry St #92768, Seattle, WA 98104-2205 |
Veronica is a Certified Financial Consultant by the NFEC and founder of Run Your Money. She wants you to be done with the money shaming of the finance bros and learn more grounded financial knowledge than what the money manifesters teach. Veronica has been good with money since she started babysitting at age 11, perhaps thanks to her Sun and Venus in Capricorn? She’s been saving and learning to be more strategic with money ever since. She also has a degree in Social and Economic Justice and has a unique perspective on how your finances play out in our larger economic systems. She wants to help you run your money so it stops running you.
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