Valentine’s Day is about love, right?

But do you love yourself? Love your money life?

Dear Valentine,

Happy Valentine’s Day! I’m loving you all over today with a promise to indulge in the most luscious self-care. Not an aromatherapy oiled bath. Not a deep-tissue Swedish massage. But a promise to take to pen and paper or Excel to review this month’s inflows and outflows. Exercise the best self-care! Give time and attention to your own financial needs.

Then, dear valentine because YOU ARE MINE (kiss, kiss!), I’m going to commit my short- medium-, and long-term financial goals to paper.

What do I want Cupid’s arrow to bring me? A medium-term weekend in the mountains with my honey? And long-term retirement goal. I hear you need $1 million to retire, ha! Is that even possible? Yes, it can even be painless if you start when you graduate college.

Be mine! You amaze me every day. What with your generosity, kind spirit, and patience. Your sense of humor, lust for life, and playfulness. You deserve the best self-care in the world!

Self-care = Healthy money habits

Only you can give it to you.

Love, Me

“Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity and change.” — Brené Brown

In the second grade, I wrote a composition. My choice of what to write led to the discovery of my own vulnerability. Seven years old. I took a risk and learned about myself. Maybe I didn’t understand the concept but I felt its power. It launched my life as a writer. It gave me the confidence to write from a deep place within myself. I wrote about this experience as a guest blogger last fall on Kathy Pooler’s awesome web site, Memoir Writer’s Journey. Take a read of “As Writers, We are Daredevils.”

Think of yourself. When did you, in your life, take a risk that turned to good? Making yourself vulnerable may have its rewards but comes with fear and can lead to hurt. Yet it can change your life as your heart, sense of who you are, and capacity to give breaks wide open. Like a walnut. I have learned that being willing to be vulnerable is the essence of living. As they say, growth happens right outside your comfort zone. It may not always feel good or safe but vulnerability in relationships can bring unexpected riches. Please share a story about a time you made yourself vulnerable. How did it work out? I’d love to hear from you.

Best,

Janet

What’s bankruptcy got to do with love?

Find out in my memoir, Bankruptcy: A Love Story, launched June 2017 by Heliotrope Books! Available on Amazon.