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Financial DNA

  By remymartini • November 16, 2012 ,

Your life experience creates your financial DNA, not your inheritance or bank account.  The way you grew up, what your family and friends taught or did not teach you about money, what you researched about money and what you did with the knowledge.

For obvious reasons DNA does not start at birth, it starts the moment you start to want things. Not just things that you necessarily pay for, but when you’re a baby or toddler and want your teddy bear or want something done your way. Even though as a baby or toddler you’re not exchanging money for your teddy or something done your way, typically there is some trade off between you and your parents. The gave you the teddy to keep you quiet. That was your payment to them. You give them a goofy face and they pay you with a sucker. That is when your Financial DNA starts. For every desire there is some trade off.

As you get older those trade offs start to turn into chores and money. If you want to go out, make sure to clean your room and take the trash. If you want a car, get a job and save money.

Just like if you have an inherited disease that is based in your DNA, you can have money troubles because it’s engrained in your Financial DNA. If you have the habit of just asking for money and receiving, you don’t have realistic expectations of how the real world works. When you get into trouble and your family constantly bails you out, what expectation do you have when your family is not around?

To understand what your Financial DNA looks like, take a look at your past and how your grew up. Think hard about these questions:

  • What did your parents teach (or not teach) you about money?
  • When you wanted/needed something what did your parents do?
  • If you got into trouble, how was the issue resolved? Did you rely on friends and family or did you get out of the trouble yourself?
  • When you have to make a financial decision, how do you make that decision? Do you do your research or discuss with a trusted individual?

These are just a few questions to help figure out your individual Financial DNA and of course I would HIGHLY recommending to talking a a professional if you feel stuck or want to get their personal thoughts.

Let me know what you’ve discovered on your path to understanding your Financial DNA. Whether it’s gaps or clarity, I’m always here to help.

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Real Winners Fail First

  By remymartini • November 12, 2012 , ,

I read an interesting article the other day about a school in England that’s making their girls take extra risk for a week to learn from it. I absolutely LOVE this idea!

In a time where EVERYONE gets a trophy just for showing up this allows REAL world experience. Take more risk and you either get a greater reward or you fail. This lets them understand input and output of life. It also mentally prepares them that things aren’t as predictable in life as it is in school. Failure happens in life and it seems a lot of people aren’t really prepared mentally for when that happens. This is a great way to teach girls the value of learning from failure as well as showing that failure is a way of life.

There are TONS of examples of this, but the one that is constantly on headlines and has “tips & tricks” is employment. So many people going from high school to college with THOUSANDS of dollars in student debt on the assumption that there is going to be a good high paying job on the other end. Unfortunately, reality is lately that jobs aren’t dime a dozen like previously thought. Even with people with years of experience and the right degree are having a tough time finding a job. Those fresh out of college have a much tougher atmosphere to compete and many times they fail. For those that have only dealt with getting trophies for just showing up and playing without putting in much effort, they’re having a tough time coping. This experience that the Wimbledon School is teaching their girls will last a lifetime. Bringing in famous & successful people through youtube to show that failure isn’t a brick wall to stop you. It’s there to help you learn and get stronger to get to where you want to go.

What was your most notable failure and what did you learn from it? Though I understand this is typically an interview question, it’s a good question for you to reflect on personally, whether you have a job now or are looking. If it’s hard for you to think of one, think about a time you might have regretted. Reflect on why you regret it and what could you have done differently. What was in and out of your control and what you could have done to make a different outcome. Realizing what was in/out of your control can help you deal with “regret” and move on.

Don’t dwell on your failures, learn from them! The bigger the failure, the bigger the learning experience. How much have you learned?

Until next time wonderful readers!

Sincerely,

Financial Landscaper