We here at BOND Inc are excited to share with you the interview with our upcoming special guest speaker Dr. Maria James, founder of Pocket of Money, LLC. What better way to start off a brand new year than to discuss such a topic as finances.
BOND Girl: Hello Dr. James, thank you for allowing the time to interview you for the upcoming January Gathering discussion on finances. Could you tell our readers a little bit about
you?
Dr. James:
I've always loved finance from the beginning. Coming from a large family,
I discovered a lot about managing money growing up and discovered my skills
with organizing and handling money. I opened an entrepreneurial business at the
age of ten by selling juleps (a frozen treat made from juice) for 25
cents a cup during the summer and I learned important lessons about business
and finance. Those lessons lasted forever and over the years I was always
reading things that dealt with personal finance.
Graduate school allowed me to further develop strategic planning and scientific
analytical thinking and apply those methods to money management. The Money Scientist was born. On a
stipend of $27,000 (about $23,000 after taxes), I saved over $10,000. Applying scientific methodology to
money allowed me to create a money strategy that elevated my lifestyle and grew
a nonprofit. As of 2013, I have been the Director of Finance at HWHN for eight
years.
BOND Girl: Why should folks really be
concerned about how they view money and their habits with money?
Dr. James:
Financial success is important as money touches every aspect of our lives. Your
money mindset (your ideology around money or the way you view acquiring and
spending money), greatly influences your money habits and therefore affects
your financial success. Your money habits determine how well you'll manage your
income, how well you'll save, and build wealth. Knowing your money mindset
helps you to work with it and develop better money habits so you can build
wealth.
BOND Girl: Where do you think most women
go wrong when it comes to their finances?
Dr. James:
I find many mistakes are more likely to correlate with age and lack of personal
finance education. I believe not pursuing personal finance literacy is one of
the top mistakes. Allowing someone else to handle all aspects of your finances,
e.g. the spending plan, taxes, insurance, investing etc, is another top
mistake. In the past this mistake was more commonly found in married women, but
as more women are empowered about finances and take an active role in the money
management, that is changing.
BOND Girl: Any recommendations for
women who are looking to get married? How should they handle the topic on
finances with their potential spouse?
Dr. James:
Communication is king and queen.
Disagreements and miscommunication about money is one of the leading
causes of marital arguments and divorce. Discuss with
your potential spouse
your past financial history. Both parties should be well aware of any debt or
financial obligations the other person will bring into the marriage. Discuss
each person's money mindset and emotions surrounding money, what is each
person's background e.g. from homes of lack or plenty. Discuss how finances will be handled and how
financial burdens will be shared, e.g. joint vs separate accounts. There is no
one right way for sharing the finances, as long as each partner fully agrees
and is committed to the plan. Do what works for you as a couple.
BOND Girl: What would you say to the sister
who is over her head in debt and sees no end in sight?
Dr. James:
There is hope. When you feel out of control of your money, there's a lot of
stress and confusion as to what should be the next step, where to start. The
first step is to determine who you owe and how much you owe them. Get very
clear on the numbers, this can be overwhelming but it is a necessary first
step. The next step is to design a money strategy to determine how much you can
use to pay down the debt and how to cut costs or increase income to pay down
the debt even faster. The third step is to pick the account with the smallest
amount and pay that first. This provides a nice boost of confidence and
strengthens your resolve, this is very important. Once that first account is
completely paid off. You move on to the debt that has the next smallest amount,
and the next and the next until you're done. You do what you can, the key thing
is to make the commitment to paying off all your debt and to start!
BOND Girl: Dr. James, if you could set
the stage for the “Discipline not Deprivation” January BOND Gathering- what
should our guest expect for that evening?
Dr. James:
All participants should expect an interactive workshop where they will receive
information on key personal finance concepts that will allow them to get
financially fit. The information will help them to save money, reduce debt, and
position themselves to build wealth while still enjoying the now.
BOND Girl: So say I’m the type of
woman who’s pretty good with saving money and paying my bills on time, would I
find any benefit in attending this January Gathering?
Dr. James:
Yes! Income and credit management goes much further beyond saving money and
paying bills on time. If you're living within your means, but still haven't
achieved financial success there is content for you as well. I will also talk
about building wealth and using your money to make money.
BOND Girl: Are there any other
thought’s you’d like to share with our readers?
Dr. James:
Come ready to learn, ask questions and have fun!
BOND
Girl: Dr. James, thank you for your time and we look forward to seeing you on January
17th. The RSVPs are steadily rolling in. I suspect that this will be a
topic that many women can benefit from.
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To read Dr.
Maria James’ full bio, CLICK HERE. For
more information and to RSVP for the January 17th 2014 Gathering, “Discipline
Not Deprivation” CLICK HERE. Please grab your seat now as the price
will increase at the door.
