This one’s close to my heart (we’re getting personal). I’m Stacy, the author of the Financial Wellness Journal. Today, I want to share a piece of that journey. You might think I have it all figured out. Spoiler alert: I don’t🥲 In fact, I created that journal because I needed it myself, and I hope it resonates with you.
The Fear of Losing It All
I came into money quite early in life. I was young, driven, ambitious, and frankly, a little proud of how quickly I’d gotten ahead financially. But even as my finances grew, so did something else: fear.
I was terrified of losing it all.
I told myself I’d be a fool to let that happen.
And on the other hand, I consoled myself: "I’m young. I can surely reinvent myself if needed."
The inner conflict: The pressure to preserve it all perfectly while bracing for the worst, made it hard to enjoy the success I had built. I was stuck between paranoia and procrastination, which led me to take uncalculated risks. (Hello, risky investments with high returns!) Let’s just say not every venture I backed had the same outcome as I had envisioned in my financial projections.
The Setback (Ouch!): Eventually, the pressure caught up with me. Life, as it often does, handed me a reality check. A few costly decisions and curveballs later, I found myself having to liquidate my investments and sell off assets that were meant to grow with me into old age😢 That moment hurt. It shook my confidence and made me question everything I thought I knew about financial security. I felt like I had let myself down, that I had let everyone’s expectations down.
But somewhere inside, a small voice whispered: “Maybe this is the start of something new.”
The Journey to Rebuild: That was the moment I decided to rebuild, not just financially, but emotionally and mentally, too. I paused chasing the next opportunity and instead looked inward.
Where did this deep fear come from? Why did I feel like financial failure defined me?
(Spoiler: I traced it back to childhood memories of expecting to have it all figured out financially by specific timelines, you know, like the age you said you should be married and have kids?)
I began reeducating myself on personal finance basics, budgeting, smart investing, emergency funds, debt, all the stuff I thought I knew as a finance major and an investor since age 13.
But this time, I wasn’t just studying for exams or analyzing portfolios. I was studying myself. My patterns. My limiting beliefs. My behaviors. And that’s where the transformation truly began.
Why Am I Passionate About Financial Wellness? Going through this journey taught me that financial wellness isn’t just about shillings and cents (or dollars and cents, for my international friends). It’s about mindset and intentional living. I had to heal the fearful part of me that equated my self-worth with my net worth. I had to learn mindfulness, yes, mindfulness with money! , like pausing to ask, “Am I buying this because it aligns with my goals, or because I’m stressed and craving a pick-me-up?” Over time, I found that when you handle money intentionally, giving every shilling a “job” or purpose, you worry a lot less about it. True financial freedom isn’t about how much you earn; it’s about how you manage what you have and how you feel about what you have.
And let’s be real, as women in our 20s and 30s, we face unique money challenges. Maybe you’re navigating student loans, trying to grow a side hustle, planning for a wedding or a home, or breaking generational patterns of how our families dealt with money. It’s so important to get a handle on it early, or wherever you are right now. Not for the sake of having more money, but for the peace and confidence that comes with knowing you’re in control of your finances – not the other way around. That peace of mind? Girl, it trickles into every other part of life, trust me.
The Birth of the Financial Wellness Journal
So I created the Financial Wellness Journal as a way to extend that safe space to you.
It’s broken into 12 sections, each one exploring a different aspect of your money life, from mindset and spending to investing, debt, gratitude, and even navigating friendships and financial boundaries.
It’s a guided space, filled with prompts, reflections, and small, empowering actions, to help you not just manage your money, but understand your relationship with it. Because let’s be real: Financial wellness isn’t just about math, it’s about meaning.
This Is Your Invitation: If you’ve made it this far, thank you for letting me spill my heart out 🙂 Now, I want to turn it to you. Have you ever felt anxious or clueless about money? You’re not alone. Maybe it’s time to start your own journey to financial wellness. It can begin super small – like journaling one money fear that’s bugging you, having an honest chat with a friend about saving up, or setting aside just 100 bob a week and watching it grow. And if you need a friendly guide on this journey, the Note It Down Financial Wellness Journal is here for you. It’s the same journal that was born from my experiences, and I hope that it becomes your companion, cheerleader, and accountability buddy as you chase that peace of mind with money.
Hugs,
The (Recovering) Money Worrier 💛