Episode #34: Money Mindset Level Up: Playing with Wealth Beyond Your Business

The principal focus of this podcast episode revolves around the imperative notion of transcending one's money mindset, particularly by embracing diverse avenues of wealth creation beyond mere business revenue. I engage in a candid discourse regarding my personal evolution in confronting the apprehensions associated with stock investments, which had previously instilled a profound sense of trepidation within me. Through transparency, I elucidate how I have commenced an exhilarating journey of financial exploration, wherein I allocate a designated 'play money' budget to experiment with investments, thereby fostering a more expansive perspective on wealth. This episode serves as an invitation for listeners to reassess their own financial narratives and to initiate a deliberate practice of wealth building, emphasizing the significance of automatic savings and the cultivation of a mindset that permits exploration and learning. Ultimately, I encourage each individual to acknowledge that the creation of wealth can manifest in multifaceted ways, thereby underpinning the realization of one's dream life.

Kara's discourse encapsulates a profound journey of self-discovery and financial education, emphasizing the necessity of expanding one’s understanding of wealth beyond the confines of business earnings. She articulates the importance of cultivating multiple streams of income, particularly in an unpredictable economic landscape. By recounting her personal experiences with stocks—initially fraught with anxiety and loss—Kara illustrates the transformative power of reframing one’s money mindset. She advocates for a playful approach to investing, encouraging individuals to allocate a portion of their finances for exploration and learning, which can ultimately lead to greater financial security and confidence. Her practical advice includes establishing an automatic transfer for wealth building, thereby embedding the practice into one’s financial routine. This method not only facilitates consistent investment but also normalizes the act of prioritizing future wealth. Kara’s narrative resonates with those who may feel constrained by their current financial situations, urging them to embrace a mindset of abundance, characterized by the belief that wealth can be generated through diverse avenues. Ultimately, her message is one of empowerment: by challenging existing financial paradigms and adopting new strategies, individuals can design a robust financial foundation that supports their aspirational lifestyles.

Takeaways:

• The podcast emphasizes the importance of expanding one's money mindset beyond mere business revenue, suggesting a more holistic approach to wealth creation.

• Listeners are encouraged to embrace the concept of investing in stocks and experiences as a means to diversify their income streams and build wealth.

• The speaker shares personal experiences of overcoming fear and limiting beliefs about investing, advocating for a playful and exploratory approach to wealth building.

• A significant takeaway is the necessity of budgeting for wealth building, treating it as a non-negotiable expense, and setting up automatic transfers to foster consistent investing habits.

• The episode highlights that building wealth requires intentionality and a shift in mindset, where individuals must challenge their limiting beliefs about money and investing.

• Finally, the speaker invites listeners to calculate their potential monthly wealth building budget and initiate the habit of paying themselves first to prioritize their financial future.

Links referenced in this episode:

• https://cart.kreativedigitalmediainc.com/ai-work-week-slayer/

  TRANSCRIPT:
  Welcome back to Design youn Dream Life. My name is Kara, and I am your host, and this is episode number 34.

  And I am so excited to talk to you today because we are diving into something that, honestly, I never thought I would be talking about on this podcast. Honestly, we're talking about leveling up your money mindset beyond just your business revenue.

  We're talking about playing with stocks, investing in experiences, and creating wealth in ways that. That used to absolutely terrify me. And I'm going to be completely transparent with you because you know that that is my game.

  This is me pushing myself outside of my own comfort zone in real time. And I want to take you along for the ride because I have a feeling some of you are exactly where I was just a year ago.

  So let me just paint this picture for you. So there I was, successful entrepreneur, having success and helping my clients with amazing results.

  And yet, every time someone would mention the stock market, I literally would feel my stomach drop. Like, I knew how to make money in business. I understand real estate really well. I can navigate digital marketing with my eyes closed.

  But stocks, oof, they felt like gambling to me. And here's the thing. Every time I tried to play with stocks before I lost money, every single time.

  So I developed this story that I was just, like, not good at stocks, and so I should stick with what I know. And I will tell you something, even for me, like, I would get these stock tips. I remember in college, I had a college professor.

  Probably he shouldn't have done this because it was a graphic design class, and he put his life savings into this stock, and he was sharing it with the class. And here I was, a college student, I invested in. I even got my mom to invest in it, and it ended up losing money.

  And this happened to me a few different times where people would, like, give me advice and, oh, my gosh, like, nobody could recommend, you know, Tesla or Facebook or, you know, actually, my brother did invest in Facebook and my mom, like, way, like, when it was really, really new. And I didn't because I didn't have extra money at that time. This is, like, way, like a long, long, long, long, long time ago.

  And I had lost already in the stock market, and they bought way back when it was so cheap, and they have made a ton of money on Facebook stock. And of course, you know, you kick yourself in the butt, you know, and you're like, ah. And then you start thinking, like, you know what, man?

  For me, every time I played with stocks before I lost money, like, so I just didn't have the confidence. So I developed that story.

  I developed that story that I was just no good at stocks or that they were risky or that somehow, you know, it just wasn't meant to be. The universe didn't want me to have it. I don't. I made up some bullshit stuff, right?

  But this year, something shifted in me, and I wanted to share the shift with you because it's not really just about stocks. It's about expanding what you believe is possible for your money and your wealth. And here's what I realized. I had become an expert at making money.

  Oh, this is really good, you guys. I remember when I was first, like, writing this down. I did.

  I feel like I had been an expert at making money, but I have not become an expert at growing my money outside of my business. And that was actually limiting my wealth potential in such a huge way. So think about it.

  If all of your wealth is tied up in your business, what happens if you want to take a step back? What happens if you want to slow down? What happens if life happens and you need some other streams of income?

  I've always been a firm believer that you need multiple streams of income. And honestly, I was just putting all my wealth building eggs into one basket, my business basket.

  And while that basket is doing super well, like, I really wanted to diversify.

  Not because I was planning to stop building my business, actually am planning on growing it so much more, but because I wanted multiple streams of wealth creation working for me. So here is what I decided to do this year. And friends, this is where it gets fun. I decided to give myself permission to play.

  Well, part of my personality, right? And I really want you to hear that word play. Because when I shifted into this, it became so much easier. I set aside what I call play money budget.

  Now, this isn't money that I need for Bill. I want to make that clear. It's not money that is going toward my business growth.

  It's not money that if I lost, would affect me or my lifestyle in any way. It is truly play money. And here's the key. I had to budget for it because here's what I know about money.

  If you don't intentionally make room for wealth building, it will never happen. Because I had been thinking about this for years and never pulled the trigger.

  So here's the secret that really worked for me, is that I make it automatic. When I find that I set up that automatic payment that comes out regardless. It's just a line item that I know is there you Know what I mean?

  Years before, I would be like, I want to invest. Oh, oh, my gosh. Oh, this expense came up. Or, oh, I want to do this fun thing. Or, oh, this thing popped up and guess what happened?

  It would keep getting pushed, and I would never pull the trigger. And then I was like, ooh, do I really want to invest right now? And then I would remind myself how scary it was, and then I wouldn't take any action.

  And then when I decided to make it fun and play this year, I'm like, okay, what is my play budget? And I'm just going to set it, and I'm going to set up this automatic withdrawal.

  And it is what it is, because I've done that in the past, and it has worked tremendously for me. So that's what I did.

  Now, let me tell you about what I'm doing with stocks and this experiment, because it's honestly been one of the most fun financial adventures I've been on in a long time. So because I am super busy, and I was like, listen, stocks seem so overwhelming. They're foreign to me. And I am Canadian.

  I subscribe to Motley fool, and I started reading their reports. But here's what made the difference this time. I honestly. I just. I just approached this as a student. Like, I know I'm not an expert.

  I gave myself permission to learn. I gave myself permission to make mistakes. And most importantly, I only used money that I had designated as play money.

  So there was no pressure, no fear, and no desperation. Literally, I'm just getting my toes wet, right?

  And this is what I said to one of my girlfriends is like, I want to get good at just investing in things. And right now, this is something that feels scary.

  So if I make it fun and playful and then I start getting my feet wet, I can grow bigger and bigger, right?

  So every month, I read the reports from Motley Fool, I'm not an affiliate at all, and I pick a stock or two that aligns with companies that I believe in, and I buy them.

  And sometimes they go up and sometimes they go down, but the whole experience feels completely different because I'm approaching it from an abundance rather than scarcity. And you know what? It's actually working. So not just financially, though.

  It's been kind of awesome to watch, but it's working for my confidence, for my money mindset, for my relationship with wealth creation. But stocks aren't the only way that I'm going to diversify my wealth building.

  I'm also looking at and putting that on My vision board is like luxury experience, hospitality, real estate. So think vacation rentals in incredible locations. Properties that not only appreciate, but also they create these ongoing income streams.

  And that excites me because it combines my love of real estate with my love of creating amazing experiences for people. Plus, it's an asset that can perform well. And it's something that I can understand and evaluate based on my existing real estate knowledge.

  Now, the point isn't that you need to invest in the exact same things as I'm investing in. The point is that you get to expand your definition of how wealth can be created in your life.

  Right now, some of you might be thinking, cara sounds amazing, but I feel like I never have any extra money to invest. I make good money in my business, but it always seems to disappear into expenses or life or whatever.

  Oh, my goodness, friends, I hear you because I was you. And here's what I learned. You don't have extra money for wealth building until you make extra money for wealth building.

  What I mean by that is you have to intentionally create space for it in your budget. You have to pay yourself first. You have to treat wealth building like the non negotiable expense that it is. So here's how I think of it.

  If you were going to hire the best financial advisor in the world, you would budget for that fee, right? Well, think of wealth building as paying your future self to be your financial advisor.

  You're literally paying money now so that money can go to work for you and create more money later. Now, I want to side note this.

  Me playing with stocks is also separate than I do have a financial investor who is a professional and invests for me regularly. This is Kara next leveling my own self. And so while I have that advisor. That's great, and he's wonderful.

  I wanted, I wanted to push this envelope for me and for the real estate stuff too. I just want to be clear. I haven't purchased anything yet. I am, I. I'm in the vision stage of that.

  And it's part of one of the things that I want to do with the money that I create in this business. It's part of the expansion of creating wealth. All right, so let me give you some practical steps.

  If you want to start playing with wealth building beyond your business, first we got to get clear on your numbers. What are you actually bringing in? What are you actually spending? Listen, you might be like me, I spend way too much on Amazon, you guys.

  I need to tighten that shit up because I have been really on my finances Lately. And I'm like, okay, we've got an Amazon spending problem, Kara. We need to pull this shit back.

  You cannot create a wealth building budget if you don't know where your money is currently going, right? Second, decide on your monthly wealth budget. You can start so small. Trust me, mine is not huge.

  Even $50 a month invested consistently can grow into something significant over time. So the amount matters less than the habit. And that's what I really wanted to get into. Right? And it's so funny because even for me, I'm only doing.

  I'll tell you guys, I'm only doing a hundred dollars a month. Somehow it quickly added up. And then on my. Before I knew it, I was like, oh, okay, well, I'll spend 500 on this stock.

  And then before I kn it, there was like another 500. I'm like, whoa, okay, I can invest more money. And so I just want you to know that it can compound. So a hundred dollars.

  For me, it felt like that's something I'm easy to lose every month. That's like a dinner out. Gosh, even for a family of four, that wouldn't even cover a dinner out.

  So I'm like, I'm okay with putting that away and being able to lose it, right? So my amount is not huge. It could be even less than that. It could be $50 if you wanted to. Right? So the third thing is, is you've got to automate it.

  Set up automatic transfers so that your wealth building money moves before you even see it. My goal for this, honestly, is to get this to a thousand dollars a month that I'm gonna play with. That is the goal. That's the vision that I have.

  And the reason I'm doing this automatically is because if you have to manually move money every month, life will get in the way. It won't happen. Something will happen yourself out of doing it.

  So I think when you set and forget it, and I think even having those goals, like, yes, it's a hundred right now, I want to get it to a thousand. That would be. That's the goal. A thousand dollars a month that I'm just like investing in playing and buying stocks.

  Fourth, I want you to educate yourself. So whether it's stocks or real estate, index funds, whatever, invest in your financial education, read books, take courses, subscribe to newsletters.

  The more that you understand, the more confident you will feel about making decisions. Now, again, I went to Motley Fool. I didn't buy a $10,000 program, you guys. Not even a three. Like it's a few hundred dollars.

  I, I also want to make you realize too, because I've been in that spot where sometimes too in the investing space, they are mean and they are like, they just, they're so good at copy and attacking your weaknesses.

  And then before you know it, you're on a call and someone is trying to sell you a 3K, a 5K, a 10K program of how they're going to transform your wealth and that you need them. Please. That's not what I'm talking about. I don't believe in that shit.

  I believe in doing affordable things and creating your, your knowledge and then taking that money, you might have invested on that course and invested in the actual thing. You know what I mean?

  I went on a little tangent there, but the more that you understand something though, the more confident that you're going to feel making the decisions. And fifth, I want you to give yourself permission to play and learn. Because this isn't about becoming a day trader overnight, you guys.

  I don't think, I mean, day trading to me from what I understand is like another job, but this is about expanding your money mindset and creating additional wealth streams that can support your dream life. We all have to start somewhere, right? We all even so that a hundred dollars a month play money, right?

  Well then going to a thousand, then what happens when it can be 10k a month that I'm just investing into these things like this is how we expand and this is how we push ourselves. So here's what I want you to understand. Here is one thing that I want you to understand, though.

  Building wealth outside of your business isn't about not believing in your business anymore. It's about creating a more robust, diversified financial foundation that gives you even more freedom and options.

  So when you have multiple streams of wealth working for you, you get to run your business from a place of even greater abundance. You get to make decisions based on what lights you up, not based on what pays your bills.

  You get to say yes to opportunities that excite you and no to opportunities that drain you. Because your lifestyle isn't dependent on any single income stream. And here's something I realized through this journey.

  The money mindset work that we do around our businesses applies to wealth building too. So those beliefs about I'm not good with money or investing is too risky or I don't know enough, these are just stories. And stories can be changed.

  I used to tell myself that I was not good at stocks. Now I tell myself I'm learning about stocks. I'm getting better every month. Do you see the difference?

  One story keeps me stuck and the other one keeps me growing. And it's that same mindset work that you've done to build your business.

  Believing in yourself, taking calculated risks, learning from failures, staying consistent. All of that applies to wealth building, too. So, friends, I want to challenge you to think bigger about your money.

  Yes, keep building your amazing business. I know I am. Yes, keep serving, you know, your clients and creating impact or creating your courses or whatever it is that you do.

  But also give yourself permission to explore wealth building beyond your business. And maybe, maybe that's stocks like I'm playing with. Maybe it's real estate, maybe it's index funds or crypto or something completely different.

  That specific vehicle matters less than the mindset shift to actually start. And the mindset shift is this. You get to be wealthy in multiple ways. You get to have money working for you in multiple streams.

  You get to build a financial foundation that supports every version of your dream life. And it starts with paying yourself first and giving yourself permission to play and learn. So here is your homework, if you want it, of course.

  This week, I want you to calculate what your monthly wealth building budget could be. Even if it's only $25 to start, even if it feels scary, just calculate what's possible. And then I want you to set up one automatic transfer. Just one.

  Move that money into a separate account designated for wealth building. Don't invest it yet if you're not ready, but just start the habit of paying yourself first. Because here's what I know.

  When you start treating your future wealth as a priority, your future wealth starts treating you as a priority. This journey of expanding my money mindset has been one of the most empowering, fun things I've done this year. And I'm just getting started.

  I'm excited to share more of this journey with you as it unfolds. And I'm excited to hear about your own wealth building experiments that you do.

  So remember, you get to design your own dream life, and that includes designing the financial foundation that supports every aspect of that life. All right, my friends, I will catch you on the next episode.

  I hope that you have an amazing week and go pay yourself first and start playing with wealth.