If you are new here, welcome! ❤️

PS: Today is my birthday🥳. If you want to celebrate my day, ask someone you care about to sign up for this newsletter. Help me grant access to financial literary for everyone💸. 

February is the month of love. Personal finances are not often associated with love, but this newsletter is going to convince you otherwise😉. The most important relationship in everyone's life is the one with ourselves. In January everyone talks about healthy resolutions in terms of money or exercise. We also constantly hear that selfcare is about our mental health or work-life balance. Well, there is another realm to selfcare: personal finance. 

Working on your financial journey is a privileged position. If you are receiving an unlivable wage or in an unsafe environment, finances are not your priority. Assuming you are safe and ready to embark on your financial journey🧭, I believe facing our fears regarding money is the ultimate form of selfcare. 

By getting our finances in order, we are not only taking care of ourselves, we are taking care of whatever we believe in. Take a minute and imagine a person that has their finances in order. What I imagine in this exercise, is a person👷🏽‍♀️ that has options and wealth to distribute among whatever they chose: businesses they believe in, their families and friends, and most importantly their communities and generations to come. In order to become a financially secure individual, one of the first steps I recommend to my coaching clients is to open a High Yield Savings Account (HYSA) to host their emergency fund. 

An emergency fund is a cash cushion that can cover anywhere from 1 to 6 months of your needs (not wants like Hulu) for when 💩 hits the fan. A High Yield Savings Account (HSA) is a savings account that usually pays 5-10 times the national average of a standard savings account. These accounts are usually hosted by online only banks, which have lower running costs than large brick-and-mortar. HYSA accounts have no cost to you, no penalty when withdrawing your money, and little to no fees. I have used HYSAs since graduate school for my household’s emergency fund at Ally. Other banks, like Synchrony and SoFi, also offer HYSAs, I just don't have an account with them. 

My referal code above will give you a 0.50% cash bonus (up to $125) on your deposit. I will also receive $50 after you open and fund your account. This offer is valid until 3/25/2024. If you are looking to do more research, here is a NerdWallet article on what online banks offer these types of accounts. FYI, they also use referral links!